Legal aid in Soroca for refugees from Ukraine

Galina, refugee from Ukraine: “Time passes faster if you have a job and don’t wait.”

“I had a good job. I used to go to the gym, to the pool. Until one morning I woke up to the sound of explosions. I couldn’t believe it was really happening. I took what I managed to grab, only a few things. It’s sad. My parents worked their entire lives to buy an apartment, and now…”

Meet Galina, who fled Ukraine with her family in the first days of the war. They found shelter in Soroca city, in the Republic of Moldova, where they have now been offered a temporary home, along with food, hygiene kits and medicines.

With the help of a DACIA Youth Resource Center in Soroca, Galina obtained employment documents and was hired at a local garment factory.

“I worked as an accountant for seven years. Now I have to earn a living and do something else. And time passes faster if you have a job and don’t wait. My new colleagues are compassionate, helped me, explained and showed me what to do,” tells Galina.

Nicolae, refugee from Ukraine: “The children convinced us to leave.”

Nicolae and his wife found temporary shelter in Moldova. Soon they hope to travel abroad to their children. They took this decision after they had lived for three weeks in the basement of their apartment building to shelter from the bombing around them. Nicolae remembers very well how he felt on the morning of 24 February:

“The explosions were so powerful that the building was moving and you could not stand still. Not only the windows, the whole building shook. Many buildings were destroyed. I have never thought that at my age of 72, I would need to abandon my hometown, where I have lived all my life.”

As his passport was expired, he has benefited from legal aid provided by the DACIA Youth Resource Center in Soroca to get an official travel document.

DACIA Youth Resource Center is member of the the Regional Dialogue Platform for Access to Justice, supported by UNDP Moldova and with financial support of Sweden.

“I visit the two accredited temporary shelters from Soroca district each day. Legal advice is being offered on people’s refugee status, asylum, passports for pets, and vaccination documents,” notes Tatiana Vicol, lawyer.

In total, four refugees will be employed by the regional dialogue platforms: a psychologist and social worker in Soroca and a psychologist and lawyer in Criuleni.

“We hope to find two people for Soroca district who will provide psychological counselling in Ukrainian to refugees, including a teacher who will work with children and young people,” notes Stela Babici, director, DACIA Youth Resource Center, Soroca.