Andriy Pereklita cannot believe what he’s hearing.

That President Donald Trump is considering revoking the temporary immigration status of Ukrainian refugees, who fled the war with Russia, gang violence, political and religious persecutions going on in their country following the invasion of the Russian Federation in February of 2022?

At least 200 of these refugees are children he knows.

“I don’t get it. This is not the America I know, that I love,” said Pereklita, whose father was a Ukrainian refugee.

During the week, Pereklita works in Michigan’s film industry but on Saturdays he devotes four hours of his day to teaching children at the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture in Warren.

His wife, Ksenia, is also Ukrainian and teaches at the school that was founded 75 years ago, to retain Ukraine’s language, culture, literature and history being threatened by the rising power of the Soviet Union.

“It is similar to the issues that we have today with Putin,” Pereklita said, of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. “One of the reasons for the war is that Russia says Ukraine doesn’t exist. It never existed. There is no such language. There is no such culture. Under Polish occupation in the19th century people set up private schools.

“The beauty of the United States is that we are allowed to have a school that teaches Ukrainian culture,” said Pereklita, whose son, like it or not, attended the Ukrainian school.

“A lot of these kids don’t love being here all day on a Saturday, but it is a great place to see their Ukrainian friends,” added Ksenia, and while their son did not appreciate the additional studies as a child, he recently thanked his parents for making sure he retained the language of his ancestors. “He was sent to Washington D.C. for Ukrainian Action Day and everyone was so impressed that he spoke Ukrainian. So it pays off; it really does.”

Denys Hluskyi concurred.

“There are a lot of benefits,” said Hluskyi, who immigrated to Michigan before the war. “My daughter was born here and she goes to this school, and at home we speak only Ukrainian.”

However, once she started public school and was speaking only English they enrolled her into the School for Ukrainian Language and Culture. “This is what people have been fighting for,” said Hluskyi.

“I went here from kindergarten right through eleventh grade. It is like a family here. I loved all of the plays and the concerts we do here. There is extra homework and it is a lot of extra work but it is really good,” said Veronika Shevchuk, a former student who now teaches at the school.

She’s not the only one.

“As soon as they get the diploma they are like, ‘Oh, we miss it. Can we help?’” said Olha Novachynska, director of the school and literature teacher, referring to her graduates.

In fact, several graduates who went on to become teachers returned to help out at the school, where the enrollment doubled in a matter of months.

Before the war in Ukraine, the school had 160 students.

“Right now, the school has 398 students,” Novachynska said, and that’s required the school to add more classrooms and more teachers. However, Michigan’s Ukrainian communities rallied to help, not only volunteering at the school but in collecting clothes and items the children would need. Some of the refugees were also teachers who are helping as well.

Wave of refugees

There are an estimated 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the war and came to the U.S.

Most of these refugees were granted temporary humanitarian parole by the previous administration, allowing them to work legally in the country without fear of deportation. Others were granted a Temporary Protected Status, which is given to people who cannot safely return to their countries.

“They applied for and received legal refugee status after undergoing rigorous background checks through U.S. government agencies,” according to Samaritas, a human services agency in Troy that has a history of working to resettle and support newly arrived refugees.

As Samaritas explained, “Upon their arrival they worked with federally funded refugee resettlement agencies like Samaritas for basic needs and have since become self-sufficient, employed, taxpayers, homeowners and active community members.”

Michigan is among the top five states accepting refugees behind California, Texas and New York.

Among those who left their homes in some of the most devastated regions of Ukraine and came to Michigan with at least one parent, many were children.

Michigan has more than 697 children from Ukraine living in communities across the state including:

• 234 in Macomb County

• 144 in Oakland County

Providing some peace in the lives of these young refugees is the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture.

Recovering refugees

Pereklita said that while many of the students at the school, especially those that were too young to understand what was happening before they left Ukraine, are doing better than they were.

Still, the situation in Ukraine remains a dire one and many of the families and teachers left behind family and friends on the front lines, cities such as Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Zaporizhia and Dnipro and the news coming out of of all of these regions has not been good.

“We have two children who lost their father because he was on the front line. That was in August, it is painful,” said Novachynska.

“The school speaking the language gives the children who are refugees a way of feeling that they are closer to home,” said Pereklita.

The school also provides an opportunity for sharing conversations in Ukrainian with Ukrainians, who are or were in similar situations, years ago, or a generation or two ago and that can help those who escaped the violence in Ukraine but are still haunted by their journey.

Among those who are researching and treating trauma-exposed refugees is Dr. Arash Javanbakht, M.D., founding director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) and professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Javanbackht said while it is painful to see the direct impact of the war in Ukraine on human lives and livelihoods, the assault by Putin’s army on the people of Ukraine is also likely to produce less visible psychological wounds that could linger for generations to come.

“Polina came to our bedroom, awakened by the sound of explosions. I didn’t know and still don’t know what to tell her. Her eyes today are full of fear and terror; eyes of all of us.”

This was an Instagram posted by a Ukrainian mother of two, who fled the capital of Kyiv, which is still under siege by Russian forces.

“Her daughter Polina is 7 years old,” said Javanbakht, who shared the mother’s post in his report, “The lasting psychological wounds from the Russian invasion.” . that refugees carry with them, long after their physical wounds have healed.

“Research from our group and others shows that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) affects between a third to one half of adult refugees. In one study I led, more than 40% of adult Syrian refugees resettling in the U.S. experienced high anxiety and nearly half had depression.”

Javanbakht said children are specifically vulnerable.

“Imagine the terror that a child faces in a dark basement watching the faces of their parents praying that the next missile will not hit their building,” said Javanbakht. “Parents can shield their children against trauma to some extent, but they can only do so much.

“In my team’s research on Syrian and Iraqi refugees resettled in Michigan, we found that about half of the children experienced high anxiety. Up to 70% of refugee children that our team surveyed experienced separation anxiety after their arrival in the U.S. These children often are so scared that they cannot leave their parents’ sides even when they are no longer in direct danger.”

Not all who endure trauma will develop PTSD, said Javanbakht.

“Individual genetic differences and environmental support, as well as personal past experiences and proximity and severity of a trauma, all factor into who is most affected,” he said. “Some people do recover, and some come out stronger and more resilient psychologically.”

Staying strong

Another determining factor in the healing process is stability.

Pereklita agreed to talk about the school because he wants to create awareness and support for the refugees, but they are afraid to talk to anyone about their situation.

“They are afraid of what’s going to happen next and whether the school will be raided,” said Pereklita.

The Macomb Daily reached out to the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement with questions regarding the refugees but they did not reply. Samaritas is usually among the first agencies to hear about any changes to the refugees status but even they’re not sure what to tell the refugees.

“It’s a very difficult message to give,” said Mihaela Mitrofan, director of New Americans for Samaritas. “Lots of unknowns, still.”

The Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians was set to expire in April but Biden’s administration extended it to October 2026. So, they are advising clients to change their parole time or expiration time.

“Everyone was advised and most likely everyone filled out the necessary applications. They are hard workers and they don’t procrastinate,” said Mitrofan.

“What we don’t know is are those applications being processed and approved. There are no assurances yet,” added Mitrofan, who applauded the support the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture provides to the refugees. “Such schools have been very supportive and helpful to children looking to make a connection and to have a sense of community.”

Mitrofan said this is a top priority for Samaritas and they will be monitoring the situation.

“I would encourage and remind them of how strong they are. They made the journey to get her and they need to hold onto their faith and keep the hope that things will turn around and that America will continue to welcome them and provide them with a home until they can return.”