In Poland, refugees from Ukraine escape the danger, but not the war
Iryna Lvovych takes out her phone and pulls up photos of her young, smiling family and of a garden where she grew tomatoes and berries in and around Irpin, Ukraine, which she called home for the past 10 years. Then she shows a photo of what remains of her family’s apartment building today.
“We will not return to Irpin. It’s dangerous,” says the mother of two. “Our apartment that we bought, the roof burnt off and it’s not livable.”
Ms. Lvovych is one of more than 3 million Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Poland from Russia’s full-scale invasion, and now find themselves in limbo. Uncertain how long they will stay in Poland and when it will be safe to return home, they find themselves faced with questions and choices over finding long-term housing, jobs, and schools for their children.
“The people who are here, most of them will stay here for the foreseeable future,” says Katia Roman-Trzaska, the founder of SOK
