Four generations of Ukrainian women can't flee to Australia due to one piece of paper

Speaking to Tetiana as she sits in Kharkiv means hearing the explosions on the other end of the line. She is with her elderly mother, who is ill and injured after falling trying to get to a bomb shelter last week.

Tetiana and her mother, daughter and granddaughter would normally be able to flee to Australia on a tourist visa, where Tetiana holds citizenship. However, one thing stops the women from getting into Australia: a piece of paper signed by the daughter's ex-husband.

While the man hasn't seen his child since well-before Christmas, he's refusing to give authorization for her to be taken to Australia for three months for safety. The theory behind the rule is to prevent divorced parents from kidnapping their children from the other parent. The family was hoping they could get an allowance on the tourist visa because of the war, but Australia won't budge.

If the family all moved across Ukraine and declared themselves refugees, there wouldn't be a problem, no paperwork would be required. No letter would need to be signed. But Tetiana doesn't want to be a burden on anyone when she could just take her family back to Australia and take care of them herself.

After this weekend, 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the BBC reported. In the UK, for example, they've taken 3,000 refugees, and families can house the refugee for at least six months.

While Australia would let Tetiana return, there's no guarantee that if she got out of Ukraine to a neighboring country like Poland that she could bring her family with her back to Australia. So if she heads to a neighboring country, all the way across Ukraine, it means that she will be in an area where they might not have a place for all of them to stay together. There's also a fear they would be moved around a lot. While that might be fine for the younger family members, Tetiana's mother is in no shape to be bouncing from place to place.

If Tetiana could get permission to fly them to Australia, however, there would be no need for them to deal with the refugee bureaucracy or take services from those who need them more. She said she'd handle all of the costs necessary.

So, it means Tetiana is staying with her mother while Russia moves into Kharkiv. Luckily, her daughter and granddaughter are about 400 km away, where Russia hasn't yet arrived.

"It is my home and I was hoping it could help my family, or at least kids," Tetiana told Raw Story via Facebook messenger. While she is willing to say that she is somewhere in Kharkiv, which is mere miles from the Russian border, she's afraid to reveal where her daughter and granddaughter are. "I'm not asking for a refugee visa. I'm just asking for a tourist visa for three months, and it was all on my cost. And they won't give me any support."

"They won't even tell me why," she continued. "They just called my daughter and told her that without permission of the father they are not giving [a] visa to her. And it's war. It's dangerous. And just one piece of paper makes a huge decision about my grandchild. I don't understand. My whole family. I'm very upset and I don't know what to do."

The Australian Embassy has been calling in typically every three days to ask how she's doing, if she has food and shelter and if she's somewhere safe. What Tetiana needs is help to save her family from Russia's bombs. Monday was the day that the embassy typically calls her, but today they didn't.

"I think they forgot completely about me," she said.

Russian troops have moved to the eastern part of Kharkiv, which is a mere 24 miles from the Russian border. The Institute for the Study of War updates a map each day showing the troop movement and the extent to which Russians are coming into nearby towns.

"Today, the whole day, is like — windows shaking," Tetiana continued through tears. "And there are bombs not far away. It's horrible."

"My thought was, the government is bigger than just one man," Tetiana said. "You know, one man is one small decision. The government is like the authority which can make some changes or try to protect. But no. Rules No. 1, that's it. Even in a time of war."

Tetiana's husband died several years ago. He was a Vietnam veteran in the United States but moved to Australia and became an Australian citizen after he married Tetiana. Her sister-in-law spent the morning at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to beg for help, but it's Canberra Day and Labour Day in Victoria. They said that's likely why Tetiana hasn't heard from them. All the embassy would do is give out the refugee hotline.

They also said Tetiana would have to fill out a form, which asks for an Australian phone number where she can be reached. She's been working on that form, but that too has been difficult. She doesn't have a computer, and the internet is spotty. So far, Tetiana has asked friends in other cities to fill out the online forms for her, responding to questions on Facebook messenger.

Raw Story has reached out to the Office of the Australian Ambassador for Ukraine and Moldova as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon, Marise Payne, but has not yet received a reply.

Minister Payne and Ambassador Bruce Edwards do tweet daily. The ambassador talks about the love he has for the Ukrainian people and highlights the "admiration and respect" he has for the aid workers on the ground.

"They [have] called me maybe four or five times and told me to go to Poland, but they didn't give me any guarantee," Tetiana explained. "Yes, I can go to Poland enough to be stuck? But they did not give me any guarantees that I will have this visa for my family."

She explained that due to her mother's advanced age, she was asking for a visa for her mother because she doesn't want to abandon her at a refugee camp. There wouldn't be anyone to care for her. "She's not able to move from one camp to another camp, to another camp."

Tetiana said that people will stand in lines for hours at humanitarian aid sites. While it's hit or miss, she described some days as many as 500 people trying to get food and medical supplies. A few days ago she said it was 1 degree Fahrenheit, which is -17 C, but people still stood outside for hours, not knowing if they'll get help.

"And, of course, there are so many sick people, like everyone else," she said.

The message she wants to be relayed is that she's a mother who simply wants to protect children.

"I think every child should be protected no matter what. Without bureaucracy. Without a piece of paper," Tetiana said, crying. "Every child. A chance for protection. It would be so good to have a world without any weapons. It doesn't matter what country, just stop the war. If they don't have weapons they won't kill. I don't know how to describe this, I just feel it. It is the biggest evil, what we have. It doesn't matter if it's people from Iraq or Afghanistan or Czechia. It doesn't matter. It's our land and our land tries to give us what she can give us. But our mission is to protect our land and people."

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