Online Exhibition

Thoughts about the future 

The humanitarian program was a good initiative of the Australian Government, but it ended in July 2022. There are still many people in Ukraine living in great danger, with families remaining separated (see The Conversation piece “Australia’s special visa program for Ukrainians to end, despite war raging on”), and those on temporary visas do not know what their future holds. This brings about a lot of uncertainty and self-doubt, and makes DPs feel vulnerable, lost, and confused.  

Highly qualified people such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, IT professionals, and engineers, find it hard to get a job because of low English proficiency or lack of local experience. Learning a new language is one of the key challenges and it takes time. It also takes time to build confidence. The challenge is multidimensional:t is very difficult for us both physically and psychologically… We have to solve problems we didn’t have before.” These include leaving everything behind, facing the new reality, starting “from zero”, working hard to survive, and feeling very homesick. The path to restoration is long and convoluted.

As one of the service providers put it:“Ukrainian DPs need to feel independent and welcome. Their homeland has been destroyed and the people need at least a temporary place where they can belong, contribute, and operate independently.”