Lesya and her daughters fled war-torn Ukraine to settle in Dijon. In five weeks, they have made their mark and hope to start a new life. Problem: to free up space in their foster home, they are asked to move to Semur-en-Auxois, an hour’s drive away.
After 12 days of travel on the roads of the exodus, Lesya, her two daughters, her ex-husband and her sister arrived on March 11 in Dijon. The family had until now been housed in the Abrioux home, this place which has welcomed many Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the exodus. But this home, Lesya and her daughters had to leave on Tuesday, April 19, to make way for newcomers. The solution we offered them: Semur-en-Auxois, 80 km from Dijon.
Problem: since his arrival on March 11, the small family has begun to integrate into Dijon. Lesya, 40, speech therapist, who lived 10 km from kyiv, is taking French lessons at Greta in Dijon, a continuing education center. “I was offered to be a housekeeper, but I have several diplomas, I finished among the first in my training as a speech therapist.“
“I want to be useful here, get back to my job. For that, I need to continue my French lessons.”
However, in Semur, according to information obtained by Lesya, she will only be able to receive one lesson per week.. “Me, I need to take intensive courses, every day. And in Dijon, I heard that they needed speech therapists. Semur, all I can do there is clean up and pass the time doing nothing.”
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His two daughters have also found their rhythm. They are educated at Lentillères college for the eldest, at the Mansart school for the youngest. “They are in special courses for foreign students, where they learn French intensively“Above all, his children like it.”They got used to their school, they love their teachers, their classmates.“
“My daughters have already suffered a first injury leaving Ukraine. There they will suffer a second if they leave their school, especially in the middle of the school year.”
This Tuesday morning, the ex-husband, the sister and the youngest daughter of Lesya therefore left for the station, direction Semur-en-Auxois. Lesya and her eldest daughter are staying because her daughter needs a medical examination by a specialist in Dijon. Thanks to the network of volunteers, Lesya found an alternative : stay in Dijon with his children from Monday to Friday with private individuals, and live in Semur at the weekend. “That way, the girls can continue to go to school and I can follow my French lessons in Dijon. But it’s not easy, because there are nearly three hours of round trip transport between Dijon and Semur.”
The situation of Lesya and her children does not surprise Paul Garrigues, the co-president of the League of Human Rights in Dijon. “No one expected so many people to arrive.“Since Vladimir Putin declared war on February 20, 4,600,000 have fled Ukraine.
“It is true for all migrants in general: there is rather a policy of distribution throughout the territory, which can be agreed, but poses real problems in the practical life of refugees: access to a certain number of public services, the fact of being able to find each other too, which is important when you have experienced such traumas.
The League of Human Rights would prefer “that we take more account of the needs of exiles, for whom it is easier to be near big cities.” “Isolation does not make things easier“, admits Paul Garrigues. He recognizes that the campaign has, of course, things to offer to the refugees. “But when you’re in such a distressed state, these are nuances that can be hard to hear.”
“The war is not over, so if people have to stay for a long time, how can the welcome be sustained? There has been a great outpouring of generosity, but we need things that last, that’s our concern.”
Since the start of the war, the Côte-d’Or has received 759 Ukrainians, two-thirds of whom are housed through the private network. The remaining third is housed in social accommodation: this is what is offered to Lesya and her family in Semur-en-Auxois. “To date, 168 people are permanently housed in the department in social housing, including 34 in the North Côte-d’Or and this will be the case for this family”, indicates Danyl Afsoud, the director of cabinet of the prefect of Dijon. “We are trying to achieve a fair balance in the distribution of Ukrainian families in the department.”
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The chief of staff says “understand the questions of these families“, but ensures to be “convinced that the conditions of their reception will reassure them“.
“In the smallest municipalities, it is there that the associative fabric is strongly mobilized and the reception, support, integration of families takes place in a completely satisfactory way.”
Lesya, for her part, nevertheless wishes to warmly thank the solidarity of the Dijonnais. “People don’t have to, but they try to help as best they can. They are not indifferent. The social landlord, Coalia, and the prefecture, are also doing their best to help us.“
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