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Ukrainians in Germany Weigh Wrenching Choice: Stay or Go Home Ukrainians in Germany Weigh Wrenching Choice: Stay or Go Home
(1 day later)
Since fleeing Ukraine with her daughter, Iryna Khomich has made a home of a tiny space in a village of prefabricated units in southwestern Germany. A full tour of its single room takes only a few moments: an iron bunk bed and a wardrobe, shoes scattered near the door, clothes drying on radiators. On one recent afternoon, her cat, Dimka, walked in and out, while her daughter, Sofiia, 8, read a German textbook at a desk.Since fleeing Ukraine with her daughter, Iryna Khomich has made a home of a tiny space in a village of prefabricated units in southwestern Germany. A full tour of its single room takes only a few moments: an iron bunk bed and a wardrobe, shoes scattered near the door, clothes drying on radiators. On one recent afternoon, her cat, Dimka, walked in and out, while her daughter, Sofiia, 8, read a German textbook at a desk.
But like other displaced Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia, Ms. Khomich, 37, lives each day wrestling with an agonizing choice: Should she return home to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or put down roots in Germany, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting?But like other displaced Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia, Ms. Khomich, 37, lives each day wrestling with an agonizing choice: Should she return home to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or put down roots in Germany, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting?
It is a cruel dilemma faced by countless Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe as the war nears the end of its second year, one that pits a longing for family and a sense of shared duty to rebuild their shattered country against the realization that the death and destruction are unlikely to end anytime soon. And they are debating it in places like Freiburg, a city nestled on the edge of the Black Forest close to the French border that has offered open arms, an extensive social safety net and the attractive promise of a life without war.It is a cruel dilemma faced by countless Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe as the war nears the end of its second year, one that pits a longing for family and a sense of shared duty to rebuild their shattered country against the realization that the death and destruction are unlikely to end anytime soon. And they are debating it in places like Freiburg, a city nestled on the edge of the Black Forest close to the French border that has offered open arms, an extensive social safety net and the attractive promise of a life without war.
“The heart says go back,” Ms. Khomich said. “But I want the best future for my daughter.”“The heart says go back,” Ms. Khomich said. “But I want the best future for my daughter.”
Germany has been welcoming in its embrace of displaced Ukrainians, hosting 1.2 million currently — along with Poland, the most of any European country. Under a law agreed to by European Union countries in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, those Ukrainians have the right to work and live anywhere in the country, and have access to the generous education, health care and social benefits available to ordinary Germans.
Though recently there has been some souring of public opinion toward increased immigration, and all political parties support tightening Germany’s borders, the taking-in of Ukrainians is considered a success. Recently, German leaders have even signaled a desire to offer the refugees a longer-term future in the country.