Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2756
April 14, 2022 - April 20, 2022
From Ukraine to Gulfport Ukrainian refugees Halyna Hamota and her two young daughters are relieved to be an ocean away from the sounds of sirens and bombing of the Ukraine/Russia war, but their future is unsure for now. At 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, Hamota and her children, Yulia (12), Alina (10) and Gulfport Garage owner Eric Cudar arrived in Tampa after more than three days of traveling from Istanbul to Mexico to California and, finally, to Tampa. The family of three stayed in an Airbnb in Poland for more than a month while awaiting approval to travel to the United States to reunite with Cudar’s fiance and Hamota’s sister, Ulyana Fylypovych. “She’s still in shock, Ukraine shock, from the war,” Fylypovych said, translating Ukrainian into English for her sister. The girls grandparents also live in Gulfport, near Stetson. Hamota and her daughters will stay with Fylypovych’s parents, considering Cudar works full time at his busy downtown Gulfport car shop and Fylypovych is an assistant at a dental office.
ABBY BAKER
By Abby Baker
Yulia and Alina Hamota don’t understand English and have never been to America before.
The Journey The Ukrainian family left everything: their home, their pets, and whatever belongings couldn’t fit in a carry-on. Hamota’s husband and the girl’s father, Andre, is still stationed in Ukraine. Andre is a factory worker and vol-
unteer with the Ukraine militia, the bombings temporarily ceased in the area he is stationed but the Internet is spotty. For a few worry-fueled days, they lost contact with him completely. “Those were panic days,” Fylypovych said.
Refugees continued on page 8
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