Yulia and Alina Hamota don’t understand English and have never been to America before.
Abby Baker
Ukrainian refugees Halyna Hamota and her two young daughters are relieved to be an ocean away from the sounds of sirens and bombing of the Ukraine/Russia war, but their future is unsure for now.
At 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, Hamota and her children, Yulia (12), Alina (10) and Gulfport Garage owner Eric Cudar arrived in Tampa after more than three days of traveling from Istanbul to Mexico to California and, finally, to Tampa.
The family of three stayed in an Airbnb in Poland for more than a month while awaiting approval to travel to the United States to reunite with Cudar’s fiance and Hamota’s sister, Ulyana Fylypovych.
“She’s still in shock, Ukraine shock, from the war,” Fylypovych said, translating Ukrainian into English for her sister.
The girls grandparents also live in Gulfport, near Stetson. The Hamota and her daughters will stay with Fylypovych’s parents, considering Cudar works full time at his busy downtown Gulfport car shop and Fylypovych is an assistant at a dental office.
The Journey
The Ukrainian family left everything, their home, their pets, whatever belongings couldn’t fit on a carry-on in Europe. Hamota’s husband and the girl’s father, Andre, is still stationed in Ukraine.
Andre is a factory worker and volunteer with the Ukraine militia, the bombings temporarily ceased in the area he is stationed but the Internet is spotty. For a few worry-fueled days, they lost contact with him completely.
“Those were panic days,” Fylypovych said.
Finally, the phone rang: Andre was safe.
“We can sleep at night now,” Hamota said.
After over a month of uncertainty in Poland, Ukrainian refugees received word that they can come to the United States on humanitarian grounds and arrive through Mexico. The status only lasts a year, but the Gulfport couple spent no time arranging a plane from the closest exit point, Istanbul, to Mexico City.
Cudar decided to meet them, considering the family understands little English, no Spanish, and had never been on a plane before this.
“The hardest part, I think, was the airports in Mexico,” Cudar said with a frustrated laugh.
Cudar printed out a temporary Mexican visa for each of them and filled it out at home. The first guard insisted they would have to rewrite it themselves, but the Ukrainian family cannot write English.
After much pleading, and Cudar’s form being ripped to pieces by one guard, a second guard agreed to let them in. Hamota and her children watched and listened to the altercation, unsure of what was happening.
Eventually a second guard allowed them in. They breathed a sigh of relief.
“The rules changed depending on who you talk to,” Cudar said.
From Mexico City, they went to Tijuana and then learned that flights out of Tijuana had a four-day wait – and there were no hotels available.
No Ubers, either.
The quartet – Cudar, Hamota, and her daughters – caught a ride to the Mexico/California border and crossed it on foot. They caught another ride to San Diego and then flew to Florida.
“They are so excited to be with family,” Fylypovych said. “They come from snow, so they are happy about the weather. For her (Hamota) it’s a little bit of a shock. She says she doesn’t know why people are always saying hello to her, they don’t know her. That’s just how Americans are.”
Gulfport residents Eric Cudar and Ulyana Fylypovych welcomed their Ukrainian family to Gulfport under humanitarian refugee status last week after the family waited in Poland for more than a month.
Abby Baker
A Year-Long Safety Net
Their humanitarian status only lasts a year, but the family hopes to extend it. Hamota and the girls applied for an United States visa six years ago and got on a nine-year waiting list.
“We’re hoping that it can be accelerated somehow,” Cudar said, “given the circumstances.”
For now, they are settling in.
“We were so focused on getting them here, at this point we don’t know the next steps,” Cudar said.
On Sunday, Hamota’s 10 and 12-year-old daughters laugh and chase each other around the steps of the Gulfport Casino Ballroom after lunch at Dog Pier. They know their lives have changed forever, but they likely don’t know the severity.
The girls may attend Walden Private Middle School, a small Gulfport school that offered free tuition for the girls – and to work with them on their English.
As traumatic as it may have been for the Ukraine family, they are fortunate. Many refugees do not have the money to fly or book rooms.
In the case of Cudar and Fylypovych’s family, Gulfportians donated money toward the flight. At press time, the GoFundMe raised just shy of $9,000. People have stopped by Gulfport Garage to hand deliver money, often emotionally moved by the family’s plight. On April 25 artist Denise Keegan will host a fundraiser to help the family get back on their feet.
“The people of Gulfport are what made this financially possible. I know Gulfport is generous, but seeing it firsthand ,” Cudar said, “this is a community like no other.”
Cudar dropped the amount needed on his GoFundMe from $15,000 to $10,000, but any additional funds will go to setting up Hamota and her young daughters for a new life in Florida.
Gulfport Ukrainian Family Art Raffle Fundraiser Monday, April 25. 5-8 p.m. North End Village, 2901 Beach Blvd. S.
Donate online at GoFundMe.