Thanks to the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) Ukrainians and their family members are granted free, extended temporary status which allows them to work, study and stay in Canada until it is safe for them to return home.
Some of those Ukrainians have made their temporary homes here in Jasper. In collaboration with freelance journalist Oksana Polivchak, The Jasper Local is debuting a series of profiles with members of the Ukrainian diaspora in our community, starting with husband and wife, Svyatoslav and Nina Rud. They are working at the Athabasca Hotel and Nesters’ Market.
Oksana Polivchak: Congratulations. You are one of the first to come to Jasper, and you’ve now been here for four months. How did you come to live in this small community in the Canadian Rockies?
Svyatoslav Rud: We did not plan to come to Jasper, but fortunately for us, we found a post from [Jasperite] Nancy Addison, who was inviting Ukrainians to Jasper with offers of jobs and housing. This was a great fortune for us and, I think, for many other Ukrainians.
OP: What did you know about Jasper before you arrived? What are your impressions now?
SR: When we were looking for information on Jasper, Wikipedia said it was a small town of 5,000 people in the mountains, in a national park. It struck us that there could not be enough work in such a small town. But we were wrong.
Our path to Jasper took us to the Georgian city of Batumi, through Istanbul, London, Calgary and Edmonton. Finally on the fourth night of our travels we arrived in Jasper.
OP: Describe the moment when you took in your new surroundings.
SR: The next morning, when we woke and looked around, we had the thought “apparently we died” (laughs). We had never seen such beauty around. That thought stayed with us almost a whole month. We could not believe we were finally here, despite the war and all the complexities and obstacles that we encountered.
OP: On the surface, from what you’ve learned so far, how would you compare Canadians and Ukrainians?
SR: I think Ukrainians and Canadians are very similar. It’s no wonder that in Ukraine, we call Canada our second homeland. The culture and mentality of Canadians is similar to ours, I think. We share a zeal for work, community and love for our neighbour. We feel at home here.
OP: What did you do before the war? For work and in your spare time?
SR: Before the start of the full -scale war of Russia against Ukraine, I was engaged in the religious sphere of our country, namely: establishing church relations and pilgrimages. I graduated from the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy in Kiev with a Master’s degree in Theology, and before that, graduated from Aristotle University in the city of Tessaloniki with a Bachelor’s degree in Theology. Nina has a chef’s education and a second education of elementary school teacher. For five years we lived, worked and travelled between Ukraine, Greece, Turkey and Israel, to get acquainted with countries and their cultures, cuisine and traditions. Now we have the opportunity to get acquainted with Canada.
OP: What would you like to say to your newly adopted community?
SR: I would like to thank Jasper and its hospitable residents, as well as Canada and Canadians for their care and help. We believe that we are very lucky that we are safe now and have opportunities for work and life.
Oksana Polivchuk // info@thejasperlocal.com
