War hits home for BR resident

Angst will often pierce the heart of Lisa Namikas as she watches gut-wrenching scenes from Ukraine, where Russia has been staging an invasion for the past month.

Namikas will look into the eyes of those staring back at her through the screen from halfway around the globe, seeking  even a snippet of recognition. For Namikas the war is personal, a family affair involving cousins she has never met but family nonetheless.

Namikas, a board member of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and volunteer for refugees, is an adopted person whose grandmother’s family immigrated to western Canada from Ukraine more than 100 years ago. 

“I have wondered if I’m seeing some of my family  members,” said Namikas, a Canadian native who is an immigrant to the United States and a professor of history in Baton Rouge with an expertise in international affairs. 

“I look into their eyes. Even if they are not I still feel a connection to them,” she added. “They are facing this threat, this uncertainty.”

Namikas said her aunt, also a Canadian native, has been in contact with their Ukrainian family members mostly through the use of social media. She is hoping to eventually bring family members to Canada but has encountered difficulty because of that country’s immigration laws, which are welcoming to immediate family members but appears to exclude more distant relations, such as second and third cousins.

“And the families, I believe, are reluctant to leave because they do live outside of the direct area of fighting,” she said. “So far, they are okay but that could change.”

One of her cousins was attending college in Kyiv but as the war intensified she left and returned to her family home south of the country’s capital, Namikas said. At this point, she said her cousin has not expressed a desire to leave.

Namikas, who admittedly has spent more of her life in the United States than Canada, said she would also like to work to bring her cousins to Baton Rouge, saying to do so would honor the memory of her grandmother. She called her grandmother one of the strongest people she has ever met.

“We are trying to keep in touch with the family and keep the lines of communication open,” said Namikas, who earned advanced degrees from Rutgers University and the University of Southern California.

She said other family members, including her half-siblings, have also become involved in assisting their cousins.

“I know the people, they don’t want to leave,” Namikas said. “But they’re so afraid, for the lives of the children, but I think if you talk to a lot of them, most (who have left) want to go back.

“They just want their life back and doing what they had been doing before the war started. They are a proud  and resilient people and most have worked very hard to get what they had.”

While the war continues to rage, and the court of public opinion appears to land on the side of opposition to the Russian invasion, CCDBR officials continue to monitor directives from the White House regarding Ukraine refugees. Executive director David Aguillard said he believes Ukrainian arrivals will be minimal in Louisiana because of the small  population of Ukrainians in the area, reducing “family-tie” status; and confirming what Namikas said indications are Ukrainians prefer to remain in Europe and the European Union is making arrangements to quickly grant them employment status.

“Like everyone in the world, our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine, especially the children who may very well never be reunited with all their family,” Aguillard said. “We’re getting calls from people asking how they can help, whether we’ll be receiving refugees from Ukraine like we did after the Afghanistan withdrawal.  

“Right now, we don’t know, but it appears if and when we’re asked to welcome Ukrainian refugees it will be different than the situation for Afghans.”

He said the agency is continuing to resettle Afghan refugees and “our capacity is somewhat limited currently.”

As the mother of two sons, ages 13 and 15, Namikas’ heart especially aches for the families with young boys in Ukraine, fearing they might be forced into the conflict.

“I just can’t imagine what the parents are going through,” she said. “I just feel so helpless sometimes. Helping them flee is hard. 

“You don’t know what to do, you don’t know what’s the right thing to do.”

She did say the family’s united effort to reach out to their cousins has strengthened what they are trying to do and has also strengthened their own family.

“It’s been a blessing from that standpoint,” she said.

She occasionally dares to envision a family reunion, an occasion when the two cultures will meet and share that common bond. But it’s a reunion she hopes will not be held in North America but in Ukraine, where the family’s seeds are planted.

“Visiting the place where our family came from, where the farms were, where the people started out, and seeing them successfully return, I think for me that would be the nicest thing,” she said.