WITH many of his fellow countrymen and women arriving in Clare, 24-year-old Demyd Yatsenko now spends much of his time helping translate their requests.
Originally from Chernigov in the north of Ukraine, Demyd moved here with his family 17 years ago.
Demyd’s family home is in Ballynacally, while he now lives in Ennis. He holds an accounting degree and works for Pepper in Shannon and has been pleased to be able to help the arriving refugees.
“When they started to come over I was probably one of the few people in the area that can speak the language, so I just starting putting up messages saying I’d help if I could.
“People have been sending me lists of medicines they need, for instance, people write down lists and they get sent to me to explain what they are.
“One woman was looking for blood thinners but she had no clue how to explain that to anyone. I was down in Shannon speaking to them and explaining things to them.
“On Saturday there was a meeting and we showed them around Shannon, I helped them out translating stuff.”
Demyd says that while some of the younger arrivals have some English, many of the older ones wouldn’t have a word of the language.
He says they are very pleased to be able to talk to someone in their own tongue.
“A lot of them say they didn’t expect there’d be someone to talk to from their own country, they say the local people have offered them great support but it’s great to be able to talk to someone in their own language too.”
Demyd’s home town has been hit very hard since the outbreak of hostilities.
“Lately the bombings have got very heavy. Electricity would be going, phone lines are down, you’re calling but you’re not getting through, you’re worrying are they still alive, is it just that electricity is out?
“Food shortages have become a big thing. What they’ve told us is that the Russian soldiers are on self sufficiency orders, they’re looting shops and taking food.”
His grandfather is 76 years of age, but with his wife drove a huge distance to get out of harm’s way.
“My grandparents managed to get over to Italy, they’re getting a flight on Friday and they’ll be here on Saturday.
“I have aunts, uncles, cousins, Godparents who weren’t as lucky, they’re still stuck in the thick of it.”
Cousins of his are part of the fight against the Russian invaders.
“These are lads who had never picked up a gun, never seen war, never held a weapon in their lives, they’re out fighting.
“You wouldn’t think something like this could happen in the 21st Century, especially countries that used to be so close.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.