The family of three, Dmytro, his wife Valentyna and their daughter, lived in Berdjansk, which is less than an hour’s drive south of Mariupol in the far east of Ukraine. Since Russian soldiers invaded the city just over a month earlier, life had turned upside down for the Yemelianenko family.
”We saw military vehicles in the city. In the first month after the occupation of our city, several Ukrainians were arrested or killed, interned and beaten,” says Valentyna.
Their mobile phones worked occasionally, and when they didn’t work, they had no communication with the rest of the world.
”We sat at home and were afraid. The city was filled with Russian soldiers, while Ukrainian soldiers and police left the city. In the end, we were only civilians left.”
Dmytro worked as a lawyer and Valentyna was active in a feminist organisation. Working on legal and political issues made the situation even more dangerous for the couple.
“Russia needs skilled people who are good communicators, and we knew we would soon be in their sights,” says Dmytro.
Every day they received bad news about neighbours and friends being arrested and injured. A cousin from Oslo called Valentyna and said: “You have to flee to Norway”.
So that morning they made the decision to flee.
They quickly packed the most necessary belongings into bags and loaded them into the Toyota Landcruiser. They locked the door to their home and took the keys with them.
Ahead of them lay a 5700 kilometre route through enemy territory.
Ukrainians dream of staying in the Nordic countries
For more than three years, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing, and millions of people have been displaced. 300,000 of them, including the Yemelianenko family, have been given temporary residence in the Nordic countries.
Initially, the Nordic countries stood by with open arms and all Ukrainian refugees were promised temporary residence. But as the war drags on, the open arms have begun to close, and now politicians are discussing what will happen to the Ukrainian refugees if there is peace one day.
At OsloMet, researchers from the project To integrate or return? Policies, aspirations and outcomes for Ukrainian refugees in the Nordic countries (NOR-RETIN) have investigated what Ukrainians themselves want for their future.
10 per cent of refugees want to return to their home country if there is peace. 50 per cent want to stay in the Nordic region, while 40 per cent have doubts.
”Our survey shows that very few Ukrainian refugees want to return to Ukraine. What should the Nordic governments do the day there is peace? Should they force the refugees to go home or should they be allowed to stay? These are the difficult dilemmas we face,” says Vilde Hernes, who leads the research project on the integration of Ukrainian refugees in the Nordic region.
Fleeing for their lives
Back at the Yemelianenko family home, the car was packed with the essentials. The daughter was placed in the back seat, Dmytro behind the wheel, and Valentyna next to him in the passenger seat.
There were two possible routes to Europe. Either through Ukraine and the war zone or via the occupied Crimean peninsula into Russia. They chose the latter.
It was evening when the Yemelianenko family arrived in Crimea.
All cars were detained and Russian soldiers pulled Dmytro out of the car. Valentyna stayed in the car with her daughter and waited for news about her husband.
”I talked to the women in the other cars. Where were the men going?”
Meanwhile, Dmitry had his mobile phone confiscated by Russian soldiers before he was questioned.
”It was like an interview. I was asked questions like what I did before the war, what I thought about the war, and if I worked for the police.”
After a series of questions, Dmytro was released, and the family was able to drive out of Crimea and into Russia.
”It was strange for us. When we drove through Russia, we weren’t stopped or detained because it was at the beginning of the war and Russian civilians didn’t want to get involved in the war. They were neutral, so they didn’t talk to us or do anything.”
Although their hearts were in their throats as they drove through Russia, on 23 April they crossed the Virolahti border crossing into Finland. From here, the journey continued through Sweden to Norway.
The dilemmas line up
Norway is the Nordic country that has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees. Of the 90,000 refugees who have arrived in Norway, the majority are women and children. At the start of the war, it was 80 per cent, but now the proportion of boys and men has increased. Ukrainian refugees generally have a higher level of education than many other refugee groups from Africa and the Middle East. Some are fluent in English, but only one in three.
”We are dealing with the largest refugee group in Norway. What’s a bit special is the temporary perspective, which poses dilemmas for individuals, local communities and authorities, not least Ukraine,” says Vilde Hernes.
”Initially, the attitude towards Ukrainian refugees was very united and in solidarity, but this is starting to fracture more and more. The debate has become more polarised, and now that there’s talk of a potential peace agreement, we’re starting to discuss what should happen to Ukrainian refugees in the long term. We need their labour, but so does Ukraine when it comes to rebuilding the country,” she says.
Home is Sarpsborg
Today, three years after fleeing, the Yemelianenko family lives in an apartment in Sarpsborg.
On the bookshelf, Ukrainian and Russian books lean close together alongside titles by Victor Hugo and Paulo Coelho.
The living room is richly decorated with Christian Orthodox icons and a picture of St Olav, which they brought from their home in Ukraine. On the table there is also a photo album with family photos from their entire life before they came to Norway three years ago.
Valentyna and Dmitry have found work, and their daughter attends a Norwegian school. But life in Norway is not always easy, and it’s difficult for the family to establish themselves when they only have temporary residence and don’t know if they will be allowed to stay.
When asked if they want to move back to Ukraine, the answer is clear.
”We believe the Norwegian government must distinguish between those of us who come from occupied territory and have lost our homes, our jobs and our entire old lives, and people from non-occupied territories in Ukraine who can maintain their former life and work and can travel back. For those of us who come from an occupied territory, there is no home to return to. It’s simply too dangerous and we are afraid of what might happen. Whether the war ends or not, Putin has no intention of giving the occupied territories back to Ukraine,” says Valentyna.
“If Norway sends us home, we will become refugees again,” adds Dmytro.
