Ukrainian and Afghan refugees in Canada are struggling this Valentine’s Day as many are unable to connect in person with loved ones.
In a small apartment in the east side of Regina, thousands of kilometres from their families, Ukrainian couple Denis and Olena plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day by lighting up a candle. It is their first Valentine’s Day without family members being close by.
“I miss my city [Kyiv] and its beautiful environment. I hope one day I can go back and celebrate our festivals there with my loved ones and family members,” Olena told CTVNews.ca. “We prefer to stay at home and celebrate Valentine's Day with a romantic supper.”
When the war intensified in Ukraine, particularly in Kyiv, Denis and Olena left everything behind.
“We’ve lost everything. I used to be a cameraman with a TV station but now I am a security guard with a company. My wife used to be a news editor but she is now working in a restaurant,” Denis told CTVNews.ca. “We are happy, at least we are safe now.”
Denis and Olena say adapting to their new life in Canada has come with its challenges but that they are thankful to be spending Valentine’s Day together.
“I am really tired and exhausted, not only physically but mentally as well,” said Denis. “Life in Canada is not easy. You’ve got to work very hard to feed the family and make money to pay expenses. But I am happy that I have my wife by my side.”
Denis and Olena. (courtesy of Hayatullah Amanat)
Valentine's Day is also not as romantic as previous years for Maryna Dnipro, who is unable to spend the day with her husband after she and her two children were resettled in Regina, Sask. in August last year.
“It’s very hard for me to take care of my children and focus on other things as well. I had a very good life in my country but everything was gone in a blink of an eye,” Dnipro told CTVNews.ca. “My focus is now on my children and they mean everything to me.”
Maryna Dnipro. (Hayatullah Amanat)
A local community organization in Regina is helping refugees, who may be without loved ones, connect with one another by hosting a Valentine’s Day party.
“We had 210 name tags and they were all used up. I’ve been doing it for 12 years,” organizer Harold Lutzer told CTVNews.ca. “It’s to encourage the newcomers and to help them in any way possible make the transition to a new country much smoother.”
, more than 150,000 Ukrainian citizens and returning permanent residents arrived in Canada by land or air between Jan. 1, 2022, and Feb. 5.
For Shakiba Teimori, an Afghan singer who fled to Canada after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, this Valentine’s Day is a special moment.
She plans to surprise her new fiancé Azizullah Roshangar after the couple got engaged in Calgary in June of last year.
“We are going to have a romantic dinner at home and give each other a gift.” Shakiba told CTVNews.ca. “We are so blessed that we have ourselves on this beautiful day, which is a special day for lovers, and we are so endlessly in love with each other.”
Shakiba Teimori and her fiancé Azizullah Roshangar. (Supplied)
Although Teimori is happy that she met her partner in Canada, where she admits to not knowing many people and is still adjusting to the culture, she said her home still feels empty while the rest of her family remain in Afghanistan.
“I can feel the empty place of my family in my entire life, in every and each second, with my whole heart. Parents are the first love of everyone.” said Temori.
Since the Taliban's takeover, Canada has welcomed more than 28,000 Afghan refugees, , but advocates and families of Afghan nationals continue to apply pressure in attempts to be reunited with families.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
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