A Ukrainian journalist has sparked dozens of reactions after explaining why she is staying in her country despite Russia’s invasion.
Tweeting on Sunday, Nika Melozerova, executive editor at The New Voice of Ukraine, said: “I am staying in Kyiv partly because you never leave your loved ones. But also because I don’t want to become yet another unwanted migrant, uprooted and seen as a threat ‘that will take your job’.
“Only three million out of our 40-million nation fled. Most of them want to go home.”
Upon being met with a wave of support by Twitter users, Melozerova praised them for being “so welcoming” and said she is “very grateful”.
“But the reality is harsh,” she said, adding: “It’s been only four weeks. It will become harder.
“I just wanted to say that most migrants, not all, but most want to go home, where the roots are.”
Reactions
Cosi Doerfel Hill, who has campaigned for the rights of EU citizens in the UK as part of the In Limbo, group, said the journalist’s comments are a “sad indictment of our times”.
“It’s a sad indictment of our times that the word ‘migrant’ has become linked with the word ‘unwanted’,” she said.
She added: “Migration is a human right because we are a migratory species and welcoming those traumatised by war is not only a duty of humanity but also a privilege.”
Upon reading Melozerova’s confession, one Twitter user said: “This breaks my heart”.
Another added: “Fleeing your country due to war, violence, or other turmoil is hard. People don’t flee to ‘take jobs’, they do so to escape threats to their lives, livelihoods, and existence.
“It is excruciating to uproot your life like that. It’s cruel to say otherwise, but some sadly do.”
Homes for Ukraine
Meanwhile, UK’s shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy said the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme is “completely unworkable”.
In an interview with the Observer, the shadow communities secretary urged the government to slash red tape and get involved in matching refugees with their hosts in Britain.
“There is no formal central system of matching the people on the register to those in need, which is pretty extraordinary,” the Labour MP said.
Almost 3.4 million Ukrainians have so far fled their country since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
As of Saturday, over two million went to Poland and over half a million to Romania, UN data shows.
Nandy hit out at the UK government earlier this week, saying there is a “lack of urgency” both in getting Ukrainian refugees to the UK, and in ensuring they receive support after they arrive.
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