Ukrainian Family Stranded in Hawaii Given Home to Live in Rent Free

A Ukrainian family stranded in Hawaii after their vacation, scheduled from the middle of February to early March, was disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now been offered a home to use without having to pay rent.

Friends and other connections made within the community have led to an outpouring of support for the Prishchak family, including from a homeowner who is allowing the family to stay in their home for no charge as long as they need, according to the Associated Press.

Vasyl and Marina Prishchak and their three daughters, ages 5, 10 and 16, told the AP they do not know if or when they will be able to return to Ukraine, and they have no idea whether their home near Kyiv has been damaged by weeks of Russian attacks.

The Prishchak family is one example of Ukrainians whose homes have been impacted by the ongoing military conflict, including millions who are estimated to have been displaced within the country. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the use of the Temporary Protected Status program for Ukrainians for the next 18 months.

The program, designed to help refugees who cannot return to their home countries because they are suffering from conflict or a natural disaster, provides people from other countries who are in the U.S. with an extension of the time they are allowed to stay.

"This vacation changed our life," Vasyl Prishchak told the AP. "We don't know how we return to Ukraine and what we will do, we will begin from zero, from scratch."

The family told the AP that they have been to Hawaii before to visit longtime friends Borys and Beata Markin, who had moved to the state. Until last week, the family was staying in a home in Kailua, a small beach town on the island of Oahu, but the AP reported that recently the Markins had helped them find a home in Kaneohe, where the owner is allowing them to stay.

"They have nowhere to go," Beata Markin told the AP. "I think it's our responsibility to make sure they are OK here."

Markin told the AP she is from Hungary and has lived with her Ukrainian husband in Hawaii for the last several years, and they know the Prishchaks because Borys Markin and Vasyl Prishchak have been friends for decades.

The Markins and others in the community have helped the Prishchaks with issues ranging from financial problems, as the family cannot access their money in Ukraine, to helping the children with schooling, the AP reported.

The family said it is difficult being so far from home in a time of conflict, especially because Vasyl Prishchak is within the age range of Ukrainian men who have taken up arms to fight the Russian invasion.

"It's a really terrible feeling that eats away at you from inside when you understand that all your close relatives are now in a very complicated situation," Vasyl Prishchak told the AP. "And there's no way you can help them stop this absolute insanity. It's a feeling that simply eats you up inside, you could say. A horrible sensation, an inner guilt that I'm here and not there."

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Update 3/30/22, 5:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.