“The night after we spoke I spent the night wondering what I’d let myself in for, on every level – practical, emotional, financial,” he tells me. “But when Beate said she had a group of five, I cut out all other thoughts and said yes. Then I had a video call with the mums, who were understandably very worried about who I might be, during which I showed them around my flat.” Beate had already vouched for him, and so they all agreed.
They arrived at the station with a small placard with his name on it. “I would have welcomed them with a hug,” says Christian, “but we all shook hands. I took them home, showed them around and we stayed up talking until 1am. There was a double bed for the kids to sleep in together and a mattress on the floor, in a separate room, for the mums.”
The day after his “guests” arrived, they were down at the town hall to register, and to sign up for social security and access to medical facilities. They are effectively treated like EU citizens, formalised through simple documentation. And then for a payment of a single euro, each adult has access to a special supermarket where they can help themselves to enough no-frills essentials to last them for a week.
Olena and Larysa talk to me on Zoom, using Christian’s spare computer. They are pale and serious but full of gratitude and awe at the kindness and generosity they have received. “We can’t believe how lucky we are,” they both say. Christian uses the same word about them: “I feel hugely lucky with this wonderful family.”
This is not yet a happy ending. The girls were all set up for online school with their Ukrainian classmates on Monday, but it wasn’t safe for the children still in their home town to attend so classes were cancelled. Olena and Larysa want to arrange language classes for the girls in Uetersen so they will be able to pick up German quickly and attend school.
At the moment they are able to keep in touch with their families back home, but they are desperate to get them out – and for peace. They have to believe it will come, they tell me, and try to stay positive. They might not be sleeping, but at least the children are relaxed, and enjoying their adventure.
Logging on to register my interest as the Homes for Ukraine website goes live, at last, I am hoping that Larysa and Olena will be able to get other members of their family over the border and give me their names to sponsor. I am hopeful, too, that my own story will be as positive as the one I’ve been able to tell here – but I am aware there are no guarantees.
Can I take in a refugee?
Most likely yes. Register your interest via homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk. The commitment is not insubstantial – offering to put up a person, or multiple people, for at least six months.
How does it work?
Anyone hoping to sponsor a refugee will have to specifically name the Ukrainian, or Ukrainians, they are hoping to take in, who must have been resident in Ukraine when the war began. The Home Office will then carry out security checks before issuing an electronic ‘permit to travel’ that will allow the holder to stay in the UK for three years.
Is the Government providing help?
Yes – a £350-a-month ‘thank you’, designed to help cover increased food and energy bills. The money is linked to your address, rather than the number of individuals taken in, and will only last for one year under the current plans.
What if it doesn’t work out?
A Government source said the state would step in if a refugee needs to find other accommodation – potentially taxpayer-funded – before the six months are up.
