When I added my spare room to the "homes for Ukraine" site I was a bit apprehensive. What would it be like to host a stranger? But not much happened. I wasn't sure where you could find a Ukrainian, and when the Welsh government snapped into gear I figured they might coordinate the process. Coordinating this centrally seemed like the efficient thing to do. So I expected something to happen. Not much did.
When I received a phone call from the county and was inspected I thought things would be speeding up. Maybe they are! But there is no sign of it yet. And in the meantime, I have got more apprehensive. On the one hand I have the strong impression that they only pair people up based on logistics, and on the other hand I am increasingly aware that the way I live my life is not how most people live it. It is all good and well if they find one adult female who it's okay with Bethesda as a place to live, but what if that person wants to spend the evenings watching television while eating fast food out of styrofoam containers? And the thermostat at 28°? That wouldn't combine well. It's not as if I want to force my lifestyle onto guests; I switched the boiler back on when my sister visited so she could have hot showers. But there are limits. It is the best for both host and guest if the combination is good! But how to influence this process?
The council couldn't help. Several online meetings related to hosting Ukrainians didn't help. I found nothing useful on social media. I do follow several pages associated with the issue, and sometimes there are messages from particular people who want to be hosted, but it is never one adult female who wishes to live in the Bethesda area.
At some point I sent an email to a charity the council had pointed out to me. It turns out that they organise drop-in sessions for Ukrainians in Bangor. I was welcome to join! And that might just be the opportunity I need. Once you make a few connections then hopefully word goes around, and if there is someone in the Ukrainian community in North Wales who is waiting to be placed somewhere, and is nervous about being placed in a family were everyone spends the evenings watching television while eating takeaway from styrofoam containers, and doesn't want that, I am sure they would find a way to get in touch.
Unfortunately, the first drop-in session I was unavailable, as I was busy with fieldwork preparations. But there will be another one during the actual fieldwork! During an afternoon on a day when I only have business with the students in the morning. I really hope I can go, and finally make some contacts. And hopefully that would be the beginning of something great!
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