At least two Ukrainian families now call Durango home after upending their lives to escape the Russian invasion ravaging their homeland. They left behind family and friends, jobs and schools. And they left the known of home for the wide-open unknown of the United States – in the hope of a better life.
“First of all, we are doing (this) for our children,” said Tetiana Sydorenko, whose English is a work in progress. “I don’t want my children to see all these horrors which are in our country right now.”
Tetiana and her husband, Volodymyr, left their hometown of Myrhorod in central Ukraine, with their 6-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, first for neighboring Poland, and then for Durango.
Ivan Portnyi and his pregnant wife, Nataliia, and their 8-year-old daughter were already in Poland, having left their home in Dnipro, also in central Ukraine, a month before the invasion. And then, along with the Sydorenko family, they left for Durango.
“It was very hard to make money in Poland,” Ivan said with the assistance of a translation app on his cellphone. “And many people say after Ukraine, Putin and Russia will go into Poland. And my wife is pregnant and I don’t want (my family) to suffer. I start (to) read about this program and find sponsor was first step. Then I find sponsor in Colorado, from Durango. Chip Keller.”
Keller, who works as a doctor on the Southern Ute Reservation, had tried to sponsor Afghan refugees in the past but didn’t because the process was too complex, with tons of paperwork, red tape and no end in sight.
“But anyway, I saw how easy this was and thought that’s amazing,” he said. “It’s pretty cool because the webpages where you go to find folks are just people posting their own story, and so you connect to someone immediately and start chatting.”
Keller and his family have traveled extensively and been the recipients of people’s generosity, been invited into homes to be fed and looked after, he said. So paying it forward only felt natural. He connected with Ivan first. And immediately agreed to sponsor his family.
“It’s pretty hard not to when you’re like dude, this is a regular family that had a normal life and now it’s destroyed and they’re just looking for a place, especially in the case of a lot of these people, just to have a safe space for their kids to grow up,” he said.
The Portnyis were approved for immigration to the U.S. in less than two weeks, which made Keller wonder why there aren’t more families from Ukraine already here. If he owned an apartment complex, he said he would fill it with families. But without help, there’s a limit to how many he can sponsor. So he reached out to a friend, DJ Jergensen, who also happens to be the pastor at Durango Vineyard Church.
“He said, ‘That’s great, let’s get a little group together,’” Keller said. “So we got the ball rolling with a small network of people who were willing to help. And that’s when (the Vineyard’s) Jeff Sutherland jumped in to be the point person for Volodymyr and Tetiana.”
Sponsors help with the cost of finding and securing housing, getting families connected to social services, driving them to appointments and helping with paperwork, along with myriad other details. It’s not easy and it’s not cheap, especially because the sponsorship program requires Ukrainians not work until they receive work permits, and permits take two to five months to arrive. The Durango families are still waiting.
“And that’s weird because it’s all automatic, nobody gets denied,” Keller said. “So it’s just a red tape kind of thing.”
The families arrived in the United States on Sept. 22. Sponsors arranged for both families to fly on the same plane direct from Germany to Phoenix, but it was up to the families to make arrangements between there and Durango. Ivan jumped online and connected with “a good guy” who offered to drive the families to Durango.
“He loves Ukraine and he say I help you and my company help,” Ivan said. “He rent hotel in Phoenix for one night. And he rent car. He buy fruits and vegetables for trip to Durango.”
The man works at General Electric in Phoenix and was connected on Facebook to groups connected with the sponsorship program. The company paid for a rental van, fuel, hotel and the employee’s time as he shuttled both families on two consecutive days to Durango.
“Durango is beautiful,” Ivan said from the living room of their temporary home on the banks of the Animas River. “We have beautiful house. Good people help us here. Many good people. When we (arrived) in Durango, I know one person, now I know many people. They help with papers, with cars, with home and in house.”
While he spoke, news of new drone strikes in Ukraine were being reported from a Ukrainian news team on the big-screen television across the room. He and his wife talk with family in Ukraine daily. Everyone is fine, but it’s hard not to worry when they hear explosions in the background.
“Every day alarm signals,” he said. “Every day bombs. Now Iran drones.”
The family chose the United States instead of Europe to emigrate because they believe it is easier to start with nothing in the U.S. than Europe, where it is difficult if you don’t have money, Ivan said.
“And my dream in the United States,” he said. “I think it’s better. I think it’s most free. We feel more freedom here.”
The Sydorenkos also speak with their families in Ukraine almost daily. They too worry, and like the Portnyis, say the hardest part was leaving their families. But so far everyone is OK.
Like Ivan, Tetiana expressed how different everything is in the United States. Although pointing to particular differences proved difficult because of the language barrier.
“First of all, the people,” she said. “It is very big difference from Ukraine people. We just meet very good people who help us to get here to Durango. I don’t know, just everything is different.”
The program allows for Ukrainian immigrants to stay in the U.S. for only two years. Other avenues for staying longer may become available in the future, but for now, no one knows.
“Nobody knows what will be next in these two years,” Tetiana said. “So we can’t say (for) sure what we will be doing in two years. Right now, we see our children’s smiles and know they are happy here.”
Keller said the children have been excited about the schools, and the families are adjusting to their new lives, but he knows it’s not as easy for them to be away from their homeland as they let on.
“It’s easy to talk with them and think they are totally OK, they just flipped a switch and they’re living in America,” he said. “But the trauma, I think, is a little bit below the surface because occasionally if we’re talking and the Russian people or Putin or any of that stuff comes up, they’ll tear up and we’ll change the subject.”
A third Ukraine family is due to arrive in Durango on Nov. 13.
Keller praised the support from local community members who have offered everything from cash and gift cards, to housing, which is the hardest part of the equation.
The Biden administration launched Uniting for Ukraine in April. The program offers Ukrainians a fast-track pathway to the U.S. if they have a sponsor. Since its inception, more than 38,000 Ukrainians have entered the country through this pathway, and 75,000 more are approved and awaiting travel. Backing those Ukrainians are more than 109,000 U.S. sponsors from all 50 states.
To help with sponsorship or anything else, call (970) 300-5205 or email jeff@durangovineyard.com. Or visit www.uscis.gov/ukraine.
gjaros@durangoherald.com
