PARMA, Ohio — One of the first Ukrainian families who fled their home country has made their way into Northeast Ohio, their new home.
They packed all they could in just a matter of hours and left.
“We had one each and then a carry one,” Karina Khamuliak described as she walked through her new home. “Out of this stuff, I think that bag I think we brought.”
The Khamuliak family has a two-bedroom apartment in Parma that's essentially empty.
“We [have] unpacked some of the kitchen and we put some food that people brought,” Karina said.
Three of them, Liudmyla and her two teenage children, Karina and Artur, are trying to make it a home.
“This room is going to be my room and I’m going to share with my mom because there's only two rooms,” Karina explained. “That’s my bed. We don't have bed for my mom yet.”
The new home is one they're grateful for but didn't expect to be their reality.
“It was a big stress for everyone and it was scary and we were afraid and we decided to come back because it was hard,” Liudmyla said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced them back to Northeast Ohio.
The Khamuliak’s lived here for nine years before going to Ukraine to stay with family back in 2020.
“We were in a big rush and there was not a lot of time to do something,” Liudmyla said.
“I was sleeping, and my mom woke me up that morning, on Thursday, and mom said "Wake up. We need to leave,’” Karina said.
After 10 hours at the Ukraine-Poland border and a flight to Toronto, the Khamuliaks settled back in Parma and are trying to make the best of the situation.
“I have a lot of good friends that help with stuff with jobs with everything. Thank God,” Liudmyla said.
Even being back in a familiar place, the memories of who they had to leave behind and why, weighs heavy. “I have three brothers over there,” Liudmyla said. “Men are not allowed to leave the country. They have to stay over there.”
The Good Knights of Lorain County, a non-profit organization that provides beds to children in need, delivered two beds to the family Thursday.
Liudmyla says she is looking for a job and any furniture she can find to help fill the house.
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