When Yuliia Kuzma first heard Russia had begun its invasion of the Ukraine, she went into shock, desperately trying to find a way that she would be able to bring her adopted son from the city of Kharkiv to live with her in Proserpine.
“The first thing I did was cry; I could not believe it or imagine it - they are attacking the whole country and it has been so horrible watching what is going on,” she said.
Yuliia is a Ukrainian citizen who arrived in Australia seven years ago.
She is also a single mother working two jobs - one at Proserpine Pies and Pastries, the other in Woolworths.
Four of her last six years in this country have been spent trying to adopt her sister’s son, Max, and bring him here.
This led to a long battle to, not only have Max be declared Yuliia’s son, but also bring him to Australia to live with her.
When war broke out, those hopes of bringing the 12-year-old here for a better life changed drastically.
He had been living in Kharkiv with a family friend before the city was captured by the Russian Army, and Yuliia said they had since moved to a safer city after Kharkiv had been “smashed.”
She had hoped to already be in Poland last week, where she is going to coordinate Max’s safe arrival across the border before bringing him back to Australia to live.
She now plans to leave as soon as possible.
Whether that be through crossing the border herself to bring him back or having a friend do so, she cannot say.
“Legally, you are not allowed to go,” Yuliia said.
“What I am doing is not special, everyone can do it; if you would be in the same spot as I am, if you had a sister or a brother there, you would do the same thing.”
Max will come to Australia on a three-month tourist visa and hopefully extend to six, as currently Ukrainian citizens do not qualify as refugees.
Whether he will be allowed to attend school is also unknown.
She said that the outpouring of support from the Whitsunday community was the most astounding thing about her situation and she looks forward to hopefully bringing some good news about Max’s safe arrival in Australia soon.
Yuliia Kuzma will travel to the Ukrainian border to bring her twelve-year-old son back home to Proserpine
Yuliia’s adopted son, Max
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