A safe haven for now

Ukrainian refugees are waiting for the end of war to go home

May 3, 2023 by Ben Pounds

The Ukraine war, and places like Slavutych and Chernobyl, may seem far away and abstract to many in Anderson County.

But Ukranian refugee Tetiana Alfimova and her daughters Kseniia (Ksyusha) and Miroslava (Mira) will be staying in Oak Ridge for as long as the war rages back home. Tetiana Alfimova shared her thoughts on her life here, her life back at home and the war.

“We were running not from the poor life or bad life; we were running because it was dangerous for our kids,” she said. “And we, all of us, want to go home. Of course, we are missing our lives we left there.”

Alfimova entered the U.S. April 12, 2022. Her job with the Chernobyl Scientific Data Collection Society led to her knowing a contractor in the nuclear industry who helped her get a house. She’s staying with other Ukrainian refugees.

Chernobyl

Alfimova continues her work, which involves management of Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, remotely and without immediate payment.

“I just don’t want to leave them alone,” she said of her coworkers. “Chernobyl is in my heart now.”

An infamous accident caused a fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986, and people evacuated. Her father helped contain the disaster area and died due to health problems from radiation. Alfimova’s work involves managing the site. She has fond memories of riding a train through the now wild power plant area and seeing bears, elk and other animals.

“It was like a safari,” she said.

The War

Alfimova’s father came from Russia, but Alfimova condemned her relatives there.

“I have relatives in Russia, but they are supporting the war, so I haven’t relatives in Russia,” she said.

Alfimova said her husband now works in Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, helping people whose houses the Russian troops destroyed.

“He thought that he also had to do something for other people to keep this kindness flowing,” Alfimova said.

She said back in Ukraine, cafes and restaurants were closed, and electricity and water pumps weren’t working.

Russia invaded Alfimova’s own hometown, Slavutych, but Ukrainian troops later retook it.

“I knew people who died there in our city when the Russian troops came,” she said.

Oak Ridge vs. home

“It is really difficult to start our life from the beginning,” Alfimova said, regarding her and her daughters’ new life in Oak Ridge, compared with Slavutych.

While Oak Ridge’s population is estimated at 31,824, she said Slavutych is even smaller, around 25,000. She described the town as “very compact.”

It’s easy for children to walk to school or extracurricular activities, she said. “It is very calm and safe.”

Medicine and schools were free in Slavoutich. She listed many available free youth sports including trampoline gymnastics, judo, karate, tennis, rhythmic gymnastics, basketball, soccer and even horseback riding.

In spite of missing home, she called East Tennessee a “really good place to live.” She praised Oak Ridge’s schools and people.

“They are cheerful and kind to us, and we made new friends here,” she said.

She added she enjoys having neighbors over for dinner.

“Some things they like; some things not; some things are really weird for them,” she said about her guests’ views on Ukrainian food.

“Sometimes my kids are feeling like they’re in jail here,” she said regarding her children’s isolation in the U.S.

To help with that issue, Alfimova said they’ve now have taken up horseback riding.

One also took up ballet, while the other took up karate.

“Now I can see their happy eyes again,” she said.

She survives on food stamps and help from Oak Ridge churches and residents.

Residents helped her children take karate and ballet, and Bridge Refugee services helped them access the horses.

Still, she can’t walk everywhere like at home.

“Infrastructure is only for driving,” she said of Oak Ridge.

She described East Tennessee’s natural world and mountains as “gorgeous” and “juicy,” and said she appreciates its warmer climate.

She’s visited Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Nashville, but prefers Oak Ridge.

“I don’t want to live in a big city,” she said.