From Kyiv to Brainville: Former journalist finds new life in Quebec

In November 2021, Ukrainian TV journalist Maria Savchuk interviewed expert after expert, trying to explain how the situation could develop.

"Half of the experts said they did not believe war would break out, while the other half said the risk was very high and that (Russian President Vladimir ) Putin said he wanted this war,” she recalled recently, weeks before the 24 February six-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. rice field. Her story for her 24/7 channel, based in Kyiv, was a producer in the international news department where she was responsible for her team of four. 35}

"Psychologically, you try to push thoughts away and avoid living in constant fear of possible tragedy." I can no longer push my thoughts away.

By her January of this year, she received frequent phone calls from her Italian friends, urging her to leave her Ukraine and be with her. I was. It was a difficult month: there was a worrying military buildup — and she was at a professional crossroads. I felt like I did everything I could," she said.

"I wasn't making progress in my profession. How can I evolve, what's best for my career?" I decided and immediately left Ukraine. Within two days, she had bought a plane ticket, took a shot of her COVID-19 booster, and said goodbye to her friends, most of whom had since left and her mother. I tried to persuade him to accompany me, but it didn't work. On her February 21st, three days before Russia invaded Ukraine, she locked her lock on the door of her Kyiv apartment behind her, carrying only her suitcase and backpack. I took it with me to Italy.

"I was fully aware that I was leaving my life behind - my hopes, my plans," she said. . "I knew I was leaving my country for a long time."

We couldn't be together, we had to work. Canada beckoned. Through her social media, she announced that new federal programs were providing Ukrainians with her three-year work permits,emergency travel permits for Canada and UkraineI learned

. She went to Bucharest for an iris scan and fingerprints (a biometric required as part of her visa application), after which she returned to Sicily and was granted permission to enter Canada by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I waited for a letter from Meanwhile, she sent her resume after resume.

She had applied for entry-level positions, even though she had her qualifications. "I needed money to rent an apartment and buy food," she said.

She posted a message to her Facebook group named Canada-Host Ukrainians /Hébergeonsles Ukrainiens,looking for her job and location. I told him I was there. she stays

Her senior director of human resources and communications at her Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group, based in Brainville, Caroline Guerru, said one evening in April while scrolling online: On she came across the Facebook group. She saw her Savchuk post,checked her LinkedIn profile,and was impressed.

Originally from Kyiv, he holds a master's degree in economics and speaks Ukrainian and Russian, as well as English, French and Italian. Early in her career, she worked as an interpreter for an agency that assisted foreign couples in adopting children in Ukraine, and worked as a translator, copywriter, and social media marketing before entering journalism full-time in 2012. I worked as a freelancer as a manager.

Duchesnay donated medicines and prescription vitamins intended to help her 22,000 pregnant and new mothers in Ukraine.

Guerru reached out to her Savchuk through her Facebook group and made two video calls. After his first match, Savchuk felt his performance was not good. “I felt more like a refugee than a professional looking for work,” she recalls.

"Living with that uncertainty, I don't know how to describe myself."

Still, Guerru offered her a managerial position. . Savchuk likes that the company wants to help Ukraine. "I was relieved and said, 'Why don't you start your life over here in Montreal with a new specialty?'"

I received a letter from the Refugee Agency. She was picked up at the airport by a host family in Saint Laurent who contacted her through her Facebook group. She and Guell met in person the next day. Guell said it was "very emotional".

On June 6, Savchuk began working as her office clerk in her Duchesnay, "her skills were shown immediately," says her Guerru. Soon after, she was appointed her advisor to Senior Communications.

Since her arrival, Ms. Savchuk has met "caring, kind and friendly people" who have given her confidence. Her hosts and her family are "genuinely friendly, helpful and caring." Her work colleagues welcomed her warmly. She has started looking for an apartment and in September she hopes to move.

Can you imagine her going back to Ukraine?

"As of January, she had no idea she would start living in Canada," she said. "So far, my experience here has been really positive, and I feel reassured that I'm in a safe place, but I can't make any long-term plans."

sschwartz@postmedia. com

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