One Immigrant's Story
The journeys and dreams of those who come to America are as varied as the individuals themselves.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Frequenters of Brock’s Riverside Grill may know Mike.
“When I bring food and drinks, I perform,” he told the Advance. He enjoys bringing “some joy, celebration to the people at the restaurant.”
Behind the performance, however, is the face of the struggles that Ukrainians have faced since the Russians invaded.
Mykhailo Yaremenko, which is Mike’s full name, and his wife were in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, the day that Russian tanks began flowing into the country. “We didn’t know what to expect, or do,” he said. “Everyone hoped it would end fairly soon. No one thought it would go on this long.”
Mykhailo and his wife spent five days at home, sleeping on the hallway in their apartment building. “We were just 15 miles from the front,” he said.
As the seriousness of the situation sank in, Mykhailo knew that they would have to evacuate. So on March 1, 2022, he and his wife went to the railroad station where thousands of people filled the 14 platforms, waiting for trains for which there were no schedules.
“We were there for almost 24 hours,” Mykhailo recalled.
The train they caught was headed to Lviv, in the western part of the county. “We were lucky to catch the train the next day at 5 pm,” he said. “Lviv had hundreds of shelters. Organized all that in just a few days.”
His wife’s parents also lived in Lviv. A bit of good fortune played into their fleeing Kyiv. How Yeremenko and his wife found their way from Lviv to Fredericksburg, however, was more “a chain of coincidences.”
‘We Wanted to Help’
Once in Lviv, the question for Mykhailo was simple — “What now?”
“What united us all,” Mykhailo said, “was how to help. No one had a job, and we didn’t know for how long we’d be without a job. So how can we be useful and help?”
He briefly got involved with Red Cross International, and then spent seven months working with Team Rubicon. According to its website, Team Rubicon is “a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. Our vision is to support humanity and build resiliency for vulnerable communities across the world.”
As Team Rubicon’s mission in Ukraine wound down, Mykhailo began looking for his next move. He has a heart condition that precluded his serving in the military, so unlike most men in Ukraine, he was free to travel outside the country.
His first concern was landing a job. Thanks to a connection he made through Team Rubicon who had connections to Fredericksburg, he received an invitation to come to America.
Taking advantage of the offer, Mykhailo left Ukraine on November 11, 2022, and landed at JFK airport in New York on December 17, 2022. Between those two dates, he spent five weeks in Europe in 11 countries. He was in Germany and Poland four times each, twice in the Netherlands, and eight addition countries.
His wife, however, was still back home in Lviv. She finally was able to join him on May 11, 2023. The two had spent precisely six months apart.
They stayed with friends in the Fredericksburg area until September 2023, when they settled into an apartment downtown.
Appreciation
Though Mykhailo has a driver’s license, he and his wife and their young daughter — Anastasia — do not have a car. So, they walk everywhere.
“We have walked all our lives,” he told the Advance, “so it’s not a big deal to walk and get groceries. We walk downtown. Our pediatrician is in the area of Mary Washington Hospital. And because I have a heart issue, I have to walk to CVS for medicine.”
Mykhailo also takes his daughter for regular strolls.
And as he walked around downtown pushing her stroller, he began to notice the large number of Ukrainian flags and bumper stickers expressing support for his homeland.
Moved both by a desire to say thank you to those in Fredericksburg who showed their support for those fighting for freedom in his home country, and by the customers at Brock’s who wanted to know more about his story, Mykhailo decided just before Christmas to write a letter that tells his family’s story and drop it off at the houses flying Ukrainian flags.
“It’s impressive to see the level of support,” he told the Advance.
Adjusting
For now, Mike, his wife, and their daughter are caught between two worlds.
Much in America remains strange. “Everything here works completely different from how it worked in Ukraine,” he said. “Transportation, medical, behind the scenes at the restaurant.”
And while Mike’s adapting, dealing with the financial side of life in the states is challenging.
“This year, we’re affected by all the American ways of doing things – medical bills are expensive. Dental emergencies are extremely expensive. I didn’t understand in-network and out-of-network.”
Staying in the U.S. is also proving expensive. “When you come to the U.S. for first time,” he said, “your documents are free. Extensions are not free anymore. It’s $1100 per person.”
At the same time, their desire to help friends and family in Ukraine, as well as those fighting for the country’s freedom, pulls at them.
“I still strive to take a chance to strive to help with the Ukranian situation. I know their needs,” he said. “There are announcements everyday about people who need something. They need tourniquets, bandages, equipment, etc. Especially when the person is going to the front lines for the first time (Helmets, bullet proof clothes, etc.) That’s why when we have an opportunity to donate, we do it.”
His wife, understandably, wants to return home. But it’s difficult to know when, or if, that will be possible.
“From the point of view of safety, we can’t predict anything now, Mykhailo said. “It was easier to predict two years ago what was happening than it is now. Right now it’s a catastrophe for the Ukrainians.
And, all of their personal possessions are back in Ukraine.
To add to their concerns, Mykhailo will have surgery in April for his heart condition.
But for now, Mike just keeps moving.
“I don’t have time to think about our family’s future because I’m so busy. … I just work and try to support my family.”
Fortunately, they don’t have to do it all on their own.
Mykhailo says that his personal network is growing, thanks in no small part to the people he waits on at Brock’s.
“They are becoming our friends,” he said, and they are there to help with “holiday gifts, giving us a ride, etc.”
The future may not be clear, but for Mike, the friends he’s making and the souvenirs from home that his family sends along, are helping.
“We’re just so appreciative,” he said. “The people are amazing here. I love it!”
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