I returned to Krakow at the beginning of April just in time for both regular Easter and Orthodox Easter. Ever changing is the refugee situation in Poland, but Duchacka has mostly stayed the same. Some women returned to Ukraine and there were some new family groups in their place. I learned Krzysztof took a frenzied weekend and put up some quick walls dividing up the bigger rooms so now families could have some privacy and be together, and allowing smaller groups to share the same living space. And, as always, and maybe most importantly- Krzysztof’s Fundacja Nidaros (Nidaros Foundation) continues to be free which is an important distinction now.
When I returned in April, it had been one year, one month, one week and a few days since Russia escalated the war in Ukraine. Around the world, people and governments are growing tired of this war. What this means in Poland is that state wide incentives for Ukrainians are beginning to be withdrawn. Poland is still a poor country and was met with a population surge in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions- almost overnight. There are countries that continue to offer incentives for Ukrainians, but most don’t want to leave Poland because of the proximity and similarities in language and lifestyle. That desire to stay in Poland, to stay close, is one thing that remains unchanged. So, while state run refugee centers are dwindling at a rapid rate, Nidaros Foundation continues to provide a haven for refugees, for as long as they need to move on or move back, or even stay. A couple of women whom I met last year decided to return to Ukraine while I was there, tired of waiting, unable to find solid work in Krakow, or work that pays a decent wage. I asked if they’d be able to find work once they return. Both groups of women were going back to Eastern Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih (birth town of Zelenskyy) and Nikopol. I was told, yes, they’ll find jobs somewhere, somehow but inflation and lack of goods was the biggest issue. A bag of salt could cost 3x what it costs in Poland- where prices are already lower than the US- but 3x more than Poland in a country that used to have prices even lower than Poland’s, is significant.
The one thing I’ve heard from many women when I sheepishly ask - and sheepishly, because what kind of question is this?- about their plans and their next steps is still shock. Mila said the future had always been clear to her, as were the actions she needed to take to get to the next steps. She believed she’d be able to find a job quickly once she came to Krakow, find an apartment for herself and her children, but that didn’t happen, adding massive amounts of uncertainty to their displacement.
Mila and Tatiana share a quiet moment outside in front of the Foundation, now with a new anti Putin sticker on the door.
These two women - Tatiana and Julia were getting ready to return to Ukraine the following week. Struggles with finding work that pays well in Krakow and feeling like they had been away from home for too long pushed them to return. Both of these women were here in October 2022 when I visited and Tatiana, on the left, was at the Foundation when it was at its first location at the start of the war. About nine months of living an in between life was long enough for them. In Ukraine, life is uncertain too, but it’s not in between.
This gentleman was new at the Foundation. The Foundation hosts mostly women and children but when I went this last time there were a few older men, most with families that were also there.
Valentyna and her daughter, also new to the Foundation. Valentyna has family in Russia but grew up in Ukraine and described that she got some push back when trying to come to Poland- I’m unclear if it was from the Ukrainians or Poles- to go back to Russia and her family, though the family she has there is distant and not anyone she maintains contact with. Her father was Ukrainian and she and he moved from Russia when she was young, so she considers herself Ukrainian. He is no longer alive and she has no family except for her daughter.
This room is different from the way it was when I was there in October. Previously one large room with about 15-20 beds, a wall was put up by Krzysztof and transformed into two rooms, allowing for smaller groups and a little more privacy.
A new family at the Foundation. This man is here with his wife, daughter and his 4 granddaughters. Another room that has been divided so the family can have their own room.
Most everyone pitches in to help load up a van that is going into Ukraine to deliver supplies. Many supplies have been donated.
The current location of Fundacja Nidaros is in an old Catholic nursery school.
When I was at the Foundation in October 2022, they had just moved in to the space a couple of months before. The rooms were the original classrooms and offices- classrooms were large, fitting 15-20 or more beds per room with little privacy. When I returned in the Spring, Krzysztof had taken a weekend to put up more walls, dividing rooms into smaller spaces so rooms now comprised of family units or smaller groups. Many of the common areas were turned into sleeping/private areas, so the once open spaces for kids to play had been eliminated. Children now gathered on landings and hallways to play.
