Three years since fleeing the war in Ukraine: Hope on Marija's horizon

It seems like an average day of an average family.

However, Marija's story is a little bit different. Three years ago, her routine was the same, only hundreds of kilometers away from Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina - in her homeland, Ukraine.

In February 2022, when the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, everything changed in Marija's life. Saving her bare life, she fled with her two sons (aged 12 and 6) in what the media called the biggest wave of refugees since World War II. The war brought them to Bosnia and Herzegovina in early March of that year. There, they settled with hundreds of other refugees in a hotel where makeshift refugee accommodation had been set up. They felt helpless and saw no bright future ahead of them.

"We were longing for a normal life," remembers Marija.

In May 2023, she applied for asylum in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Understanding the stress caused by the uncertainty of that process, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provided her with the support of psychologists, social workers, and lawyers during that period through its partners the BH Women's Initiative Foundation (BHWI) and the Association Vaša prava BiH (VP BiH). Finally, in October of the same year, she, like her children, received subsidiary protection status in BiH.

After they were granted international protection, Marija received support for socio-economic integration through a project funded by UNHCR and implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

“That’s when a positive change began in my life,” she says.

With the help of UNHCR and CRS, Marija had her diploma in pedagogy certified, learned Bosnian language, and got a job in a kindergarten. Shortly after, she moved out of the refugee site. She recently bought a car and hopes to take her sons to the seaside this summer. Life is stable now, she says, and she can finally relax a little, knowing that she and her children have integrated well into Bosnian society.

"Recently, my younger son was the only one in the class to get an A in the Bosnian language test. The only one in his class – a Ukrainian!", she laughs.

Marija has embraced every obstacle on her path as a new life lesson and has learned to survive one challenge at a time, constantly moving forward. She says that for now, she is not thinking about returning to Ukraine.

“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I am fine now, I am focusing my energy on what I need and can do at this moment. I would not be here without the support of CRS – they have enabled me to earn a salary, and step by step, I am finally seeing the light at the end of a tunnel.”

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Marija received support through the project “Ensuring Basic Needs and Access to Public Services for the Socio-Economic Integration of the Refugee Population in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, which is financed by UNHCR and implemented by CRS in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH and the organizations Vaša Prava BiH and BHWI.

*The user's name has been changed at her request.