Galyna Svchuk was at risk for her life last week.
She was alone in her sixties and spent her nights in darkness, listening to the sirens outside.
She arrived in Edinburgh last night, the first Ukrainians to enter the UK through the government’s visa program.
It hasn’t been an easy road and Mariia Zommers, her daughter, might not have been able to fly to Poland to fight red tape for her.
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Mariia said that she believes there are hundreds more mothers on the other side. “And I believe there’s quite a few Ukrainian girls in Scotland who would love for them to come here to safety.”
“But not everybody has the ability just to go and make it happen.”
Mariia flew from London last week to save her mother. This was before the UK visa scheme was even launched. Galyna made it to Poland after waiting for 10 hours at the border. She had never traveled or left Ukraine by herself before.
It took them six more days to get Galyna’s application processed through an increasingly chaotic, oversubscribed system. Mariia described the visa centre scenes she saw as “like a switch to another reality”.
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She stated, “It’s very heartbreaking. These people don’t have anywhere to go and all they want is to get to their families.
“The entire process is too complex and long. No one seems to understand what’s happening.
“My hand was shaking as I filled out the application. Although I knew I had all of the documents, so many people don’t have them. They’re running from war and sometimes it’s impossible to stop and get all the papers.
This is not what these people want after they have been through so much. They are left with little backpacks and their entire lives behind, and they worry about whether or not the visa will be approved.
“If I hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would happen to my mother.”
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Galyna, despite the fact that her two children have been living in Scotland for some time, was unable to visit them. She was denied a tourist visa shortly before Christmas. Sky News spoke to her about how she never dreamed that there would be such circumstances to finally bring her to Edinburgh.
“I have always wanted to go to Scotland with my family and enjoy the time with them. Unfortunately, I have to now come here because I am fleeing from the war. But I am glad to be here.
“I am devastated for my country and so concerned for all my friends that I have had to leave.
They are always in my thoughts. My body may be gone, but my mind and heart are there.
Mariia is safe now, but Mariia has a half-brother in Ukraine and cousins there who she worries about but cannot help. She believes that the UK government has allowed its immigration policies to be extended to refugees.
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She stated that she believed the UK should do more to enable people who are not part of a large extended family to move in.
“I know that even if my cousins or my friends would like to come over, they won’t stay for very long. They would wait for things to improve before they return to Ukraine. They are comfortable there and don’t want any reason to leave. They want to wait for it to be safe.”
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