Poland’s Gain, Ukraine’s Loss: A Hot Job Market Welcomes Refugees

The call came at 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, just hours after Russia invaded Ukraine. It threw a lifeline to the Trushchenkov family. “Come, my apartment is yours from the beginning of next month,” said a friend, phoning from 230 miles away in Warsaw to offer a good deal on a sublet. So began the journey that brought 11 Trushchenkovs—six adults and five children—from across Ukraine to a cramped ground floor apartment in the Polish capital. “We only had room for toothbrushes and some gold,” says Olga, a 38-year-old mother of two, recalling her four grueling days of travel.

In Poland, the Trushchenkovs relied on a country’s kindness. Deliveries of secondhand clothing arrived on their doorstep. They collected 500 zloty ($108) per child each month from the government. But their rent was 6,000 zloty, and they’d spent most of their cash during the escape. “All our savings went like water in the first few days as we had to pay for hotels and fuel,” says Zoia, the family’s 67-year-old matriarch. They needed jobs, fast.