Vancouver restaurant owner welcomes sister and nephew who fled Ukraine
At Kozak Ukrainian Restaurant in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood, co-owner Iryna Karpenko is training her newest employee: her sister Tetiana Rozlach.
“They came last Monday. Of course it feels good, I am happy to see them smiling,” said Karpenko of her sister and 11-year-old nephew, who fled Kyiv a month ago as the Ukrainian capital came under attack.
As Rozlach learned the ropes at Kozak, she recounted the horror of realizing the war had started.
“It was terrifying, because we woke up on the 24th, it was an explosion near our house, and near our son Mykyta’s school,” said Rozlach.
She knew she needed to get her son to safety, and that his father would have to stay behind in Kyiv.
“I just promised my husband to rescue our son,” said Rozlach.
The two crossed the border into Poland, where a family friend helped them get flights to Germany. They stayed there for two weeks while Karpenko arranged for visas for her sister and nephew to come to Canada.
When mother and son landed in Vancouver on March 28, Karpenko was overcome with emotion.
“There was lots of crying. I was counting the hours,” she said.
Rozlach teared up as she remembered that moment, saying: “It was a dream. It was just happiness and tears.”
Now that she’s in Vancouver, Rozlach is eager to work at the three Ukrainian eateries owned by her sister and brother-in-law.
“I want to be useful for my family, for my sister’s family, and also for this wonderful country,” said Rozlach.
And she won’t be the only newcomer working there. Karpenko has already hired five other Ukrainians who recently arrived in B.C.
“Most of the newcomers are mothers with kids. If you go that far with nobody, all you can count on is help from locals,” Karpenko said. “We try to post and spread the word. Whoever needs help, we are here.”
She’s also helping her sister enrol Mykyta in school here. And her son is helping his 11-year-old cousin with his English.
“My son was dreaming to have a brother or sister, he was bugging me for many years. And now his dream came true, an older brother. He calls him a brother,” said Karpenko.
Both Mykyta and his mother have quickly fallen in love with Vancouver, but they plan to return to Kyiv after the war.
“Our home is Ukraine, of course,” said Rozlach. “But I don’t know if we still have our home there, you know? So I hope.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Tornadoes collapse buildings and level homes in Nebraska and Iowa
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
From pop to politics, what to know as Sweden prepares for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest
Taking place in May in Malmo, Sweden, the 68th annual competition will see acts from 37 countries vie for the continent’s pop crown in a feelgood extravaganza that strives — not always successfully – to banish international strife and division. And you don’t have to be in Europe to watch, or to help pick the winner.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.