A Northumberland mum has slammed the 'humiliating' refugee system which she claims saw her Ukrainian family 'treated like criminals' as they fled for their lives.
For mum-of-two Alina Gallacher-Gazhur, watching the Russian invasion unfold from her home in Berwick has been terrifying, as she feared for the lives of her loved ones in her Ukrainian hometown. All she wanted was to bring her family to safety - but she claims the UK visa system made it difficult.
Alina's mum Anna, 60, niece Alexandra, nine, and her daughter-in-law Olga, 24, along with her aunt Valentina, 62, Valentina's daughter-in-law Tatiana and her daughter Sophia, three, all fled their homes in Ukraine to seek safety with Alina under the government's Ukrainian Family Scheme.
Read more: Dippers take the plunge in the North Sea to raise money for Ukraine
They crossed the border into Poland on March 13 and two days later travelled to Warsaw, where a centre has been set up to help people submit their applications. Whilst staff there were helpful, Alina said she was shocked by how much information the UK government demanded from refugees, and at the length of the wait they faced.
The visas were finally approved on March 24 and all six flew to the North East with Alina on March 25. Though they're now safe, Alina said more must be done to get other Ukrainian nationals safely and quickly to the UK.
She said: "The government says it has made it easier to apply for a visa for this country but it is not easy. My family were lucky because I could stay with them and we could pay for a hotel, but there are people sleeping outside while they wait for visas.
"People have fled their homes and left everything behind - my mum needs medication but she couldn't bring it. All she had were her documents.
"The government needs to make things easier. I just wanted my family safe and I don't understand why you have to wait for so long. I think the government doesn't care about people who have run from their homes.
"You have to send all these documents, not just passport or ID, they ask for things like birth certificates. We were lucky because our family took these documents, but many people don't, what if you've fled because your home has been destroyed?"
Even when they were finally on the plane, the traumatised family's bureaucratic ordeal wasn't over. Flying into Glasgow Airport, Alina said immigration staff didn't seem to have been told what to do with the new forms, and the family were left waiting in the airport, fearing that something had gone wrong.
"My family started to cry because of how long we were waiting. It was humiliating to sit like criminals and wait an hour for them to figure out what to do with us," she added.
Finally safe in Berwick, the family are starting to settle in. But with loved ones fighting on the front line in Ukraine,
Alina said: "They came here with nothing, they didn't have any clothes, and my neighbours have helped us to get them some. It's very nice that people want to help my family, although my aunty cries, because she says she wants to come here bringing presents, not asking for help.
"My family understand that they are safe here, but it's very hard. My brother, cousin and uncle have all stayed in the war on the front line, every single morning we wait for messages from them.
"It's so difficult for me because I want to go and help people in Ukraine, but I stay here for my children. I love my country and now when my country needs my help I can't go."
Although she's been able to bring her family to the UK, Alina said it shouldn't only be those with British relatives, or those who can find sponsors, who are offered safety. She called on Britain to follow the example of EU countries who've waived all visa requirements for those fleeing the war-torn country.
She said: "When you go to Poland what you see is terrible, people are sleeping outside, on the floor in train stations. People were asking me if I knew where they could shower, if I could give them any water.
"I think people don't understand what it's like to lose everything that you have, your home, your family, your documents. The government needs to do more to help."
A Government spokesperson said: “We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing horrific persecution in Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine.
“We have streamlined the process so valid passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out.
“We continue to speed up visa processing across both schemes, with more than 21,000 issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme”
