Враження та відгуки

Dear Ukraine Photovoice Project team,

I would like to thank all the contributors and organisers for this moving and accessible project which takes us through snippets of displaced people’s journeys in Australia.

I go on library dates with my husband and I was first struck by the exhibition displayed by the entrance of the City of Armadale library in late 2023.

These were photos of places I know personally, but the captions offer fascinating and moving insights into the experiences of the contributors. Many are mourning the loss of their home / displacement and discovering WA.

In early 2024,  I came across this link https://www.ukraine.photovoiceproject.com.au/ , perhaps via the Staff Portal/Staff News at work.
I was delighted to find more photos online, all thematically organised.

2 pictures stood out for me:

• One of a boy and girl in Aussie school uniform and the caption mentioned them having to start school in Australian winters which is Ukraine summer holidays so they didn’t look too pleased. As a former school teacher I can completely relate to these sentiments.

• Another which showed the bag that a woman evacuated with, and the belongings inside. As it was bushfire season and we had an unusually dry summer in 2024 –- with five fires and 1 casualty in my hilly suburb – we had been sleeping next to our evacuation bag and boots, ready to run in the event of an emergency. When I take our only car to work, I lock the bags in the car and leave my husband at home with the 2 cats. If a fire breaks out while I am at work, his job is to evacuate on foot with the furbabies and hopefully hitch a ride with one of our neighbours. My job is to look after our bags and drive out to find my husband and furchildren, hopefully safe and sound at an evacuation centre.
  
  It’s hard to put into words how I feel having to be so vigilant 24/7 and to organise my life that way.
  It makes me wonder about the people in Ukraine who are on even more heightened levels of alert, and my thoughts go out to anyone who has had to flee for their lives.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to help me connect with the Ukraine displaced community in WA. I am very sad that so much has happened in their homeland and am glad that they have found ways to survive and make a new life in Australia. I sincerely hope they reconnect with their loved ones overseas and pray that they are feeling safe in Australia and getting the support they need.

If there is anything I can do to assist, or anyway I can help to share important messages, please feel free to let me know. I have already shared the photovoice project on the Curtin social media and my People & Culture team channels.

Thank you
Ariel