On Tuesday afternoon, 170 weary but happy Ukrainian faces were greeted with applause when Flight TVS4312 touched down at the Greater Moncton Roméo J. LeBlanc International Airport.
Friends, family, dignitaries and the small army of volunteers and community groups who helped make it happen welcomed the newest Ukrainian-New Brunswickers as they disembarked, luggage in hand, after traveling more than 6,500 kilometres from their war-torn homeland to Moncton.
Olha Oliinyk, after running the gauntlet of welcomes in the packed airport lobby with her husband and three-year-old daughter, expressed gratitude to Canada and Moncton for those warm welcomes.
“It was a long, hard flight to get here, to Canada. We are happy,” said Oliinyk, who told reporters she plans to settle in Moncton.
Oliinyk said she and her family are “sore hearts” after leaving their home in Western Ukraine, remembering what brought them to the point of needing to leave, and were a little nervous upon landing.
That, however, was eclipsed by how impressed she was by the warmth of the welcome that awaited them.
“We’re very happy to be here in Canada. Thank you very much,” she said.
Olena Panchenko, another one of the few passengers that still had the energy to talk to reporters after her journey, said stepping onto solid ground in Moncton was a moment she’d waited for, for a long time.
“We were shocked because there are so many people to meet us here,” said Panchenko, an Odessa native.
“So, it’s incredible. We didn’t expect such crowds and such support. We had so many presents given in only two minutes we don’t have enough hands for all these presents.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Sam Macdonald)
Panchenko told media she’s bound for Saint John, adding that she’s heard plenty of praise for the city and is excited about the city’s Ukrainian community.
“We decided to choose Saint John, and maybe we’ll change our mind, but that’s the first place to stay, trying out our new life here.”
Panchenko stressed how grateful she and her family are, for all the support they received.
“I didn’t expect such help, and such an opportunity to come here for free,” she said.
“It’s something incredible. From our hearts, thank you.”
Dominic Cardy, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, said it was incredibly satisfying to greet the Ukrainians who touched down in Moncton on Tuesday afternoon, saying he and his partner met in Ukraine on an election monitoring mission.
“We’re happy for these folks that we’re able to welcome them, knowing there are millions of others who aren’t, knowing that this is a tiny contribution to a worldwide fight against a fascist government in Russia, and all we can do is offer safe haven to a tiny number of people,” said Cardy.
Cardy noted that the triumph of the day was laced with heartbreak, knowing the newcomers landing in Moncton had to abandon their old lives.
(Photo: Courtesy of Sam Macdonald)
Cardy stressed that his department would do everything in its power to integrate their children into the education system, from getting them into schools as quickly as possible to finding Ukrainian speakers to help them gain the language skills they’ll need in New Brunswick.
“This is the very least we can do. Now we’ve got to offer jobs, and find ways to get people opportunities here and let them hopefully not forget what’s happening at home, but at least have a place o security where they can reestablish a life that was just taken away from them.”
Cardy said there were 40 Ukrainians hoping to be on the flight that landed in Moncton on Tuesday, and hundreds more who have expressed an interest in coming to New Brunswick, adding, “My hope is that we can continue to welcome people as long as there’s a need for them to be offered a safe haven.”
Sam Macdonald is a reporter for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
