US organizations ready to receive Ukrainian refugees

Organizations in the US that will help settle Ukrainian refugees into the country say they are prepared to welcome them, but they will need mental health support along with cultural ties to make a smooth transition to their new home.

President Joe Biden announced in March that the US would take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees displaced by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

But the White House hasn't yet revealed details of how it will happen. According to the United Nations, an estimated 3.6 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee from the conflict that began on Feb 24. 

Lydia Zaininger, interim director of the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York, a nonprofit organization that has promoted Ukrainian culture in the US since 1948, said she has heard of a trickle of refugees arriving, many reluctantly.

"They are leaving their homes and everything they know, and we don't think the ones that have come here even really want to come here," Zaininger, a Ukrainian American, told China Daily. "They want to go home in general is the feeling that we're getting from everyone. 

"In the past, people would have seen it as a great opportunity. Finally get to America, which has been elusive. But right now, it's such a different mood, so I think and hope that [seeing their] culture will be important to them to soften the difficult place, psychologically and emotionally where they are," she said.

So far, Poland has taken in 2.1 million people.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Missoula, Montana, believes that it may be a destination for the refugees and is prepared to find them housing, said Eamon Fahey, Missoula IRC's deputy director.

The Ukrainians who arrive in the US will likely be given immigrant and non-immigrant visas through the US Refugee Admissions Program. 

Priority will most likely be given to Ukrainians who already have family living in the US. In some states, people could use the family reunification program. It allows a family member already in the US to petition to bring a relative to the US. A Biden administration official also said that another process called humanitarian parole could be used.

Oleg Pynda is founder and executive director of the Ukrainian Community Center of Washington, a non-profit organization in Seattle that helps Eastern European refugees and immigrants overcome language, cultural, educational and social barriers. 

Pynda told China Daily that he hasn't yet heard of any Ukrainian refugees arriving in his state. But he says that it can take up to two years if family in the US petitions to get relatives admitted. 

"I hope the Biden administration speeds up the process; that's why we're talking to senators to figure out the quickest way, like minimal background checks, so that they could end up in the United States as soon as possible."

Pynda said he believes mental health and community support will be vital.

"They will need psychological and mental health help. That is one of the largest issues that we must address," he said. "It will absolutely be good (for refugees) to have their community close by.

"If you are talking about family members that are here, that's great support, but those who don't have any family in the US, they'll have a large Ukrainian community right here," he said.