Good Evening, We Are From Ukraine

A project documenting Ukrainian refugees living in rural England under the 'Homes for Ukraine' as public attitude towards migration shifts.

In April 2022, I met Valentyna Romanchuk. She had just escaped from Kharkiv, Ukraine, as Russian forces encircled her city. She had arrived in Moorhaven, a village on the edge of the wild, rugged moorland of Dartmoor, Devon, UK, which had recently become home for dozens of Ukrainians.

Since Russia’s invasion, 148,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. It’s the first time since World War II that the British public have welcomed refugees into their homes en masse.

During the making of this project, the illegal migration bill was passed under Rishi Sunak’s government meaning that refugees who arrive here via irregular routes can be instantly detained and deported. Currently, the government is trying to overrule the European Court of Human Rights to deport refugees to Rwanda and using desolate barges and hotels that have been proved to be unfit for human life to house people who have fled their home. 

Against the backdrop of this ever more hostile environment, we have also proved that both sides benefit when we are open ourselves to human difference.

These past two years, I have watched sponsors and Ukrainians form relationships based on something far deeper than similarity. Sharing a home together and uniting over simple everyday rituals, in spite of both sides wildly different histories, connects people to a purpose much bigger than themselves. It reveals what is universal about our human experience and how we are united in our need for community, a home, and purpose.  

88% of sponsors said they were glad they had hosted. Another 70% said they would do so again and be open to receiving someone from Ukraine or Afghanistan. One sponsor I met told me: “I would have liked to have helped people from other countries, but the British government never did this before.” The success of the scheme rewrites the resounding anti-immigrant narrative that has been coming out of both Britain over the last decade and has real potential for refugee policy going forward. When people are given the opportunity to help, they will open their doors.

The title, “Good Evening, We Are From Ukraine” is taken from a song that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since the invasion. Politicians, soldiers and journalists use those words as a greeting. They were printed on a boy’s T-shirt for his sixth birthday in Devon. They are also a testament to the imprint this small community has left on an otherwise quiet, remote place: Ukrainian can be heard from playgrounds, blue and yellow flags hang from homes, and Ukrainian Independence Day is celebrated by all.