After trauma of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian refugees line Brooklyn street for job fair

Before the shelling became unbearable, Krystina Matafonova was a humanitarian worker providing mental health support to her neighbors in war-torn Ukraine.

The work was a welcome distraction from the relentless pounding of Russian bombs in Mariupol, which was beset by misery and suffering.

“When you have something to do, when you are busy, and when you see the result of your work, it’s easier because you don’t have much time to think about something bad or remember,” Matafonova said. “You’re working hard and long hours, so you don’t have time for your own feelings.”

Eventually, the danger forced her to flee, taking her on a perilous journey that landed her in New York City — safe, but in need of work, preferably something like what she was doing back home.

“I want to be involved in something similar here,” Matafonova said. “Not even the same, but to work for the sake of people.”

The 31-year-old was one of hundreds of people waiting in a line that snaked around the block outside the Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst on Wednesday for a job fair organized specifically for Ukrainian refugees.

More than 70 companies and agencies including T-Mobile, TD Bank and NYC Health + Hospitals crowded into the Brooklyn center trying to match the newcomers with new work.

“We wanted to make sure that different industries are represented,” said Alex Budnitsky, CEO and executive director of the community house. “Many Ukrainians have looked for a job and struggled. Only recently have Ukrainians started getting work authorizations.”

“The challenges are multiple — from the legalities, to the translation of your credentials to understanding the U.S. labor market,” said Violetta Shmulenzon, the center’s assistant executive director, who organized the event for which 600 people registered.

Among those looking for work, collecting flyers and folders, was Dmytro Kuchma, 47.

Kuchma was doing double duty, trying to find a job for himself as a driver, and a gig in retail for his wife.

Kuchma arrived in the city in June and came to the Jewish Community House in search of a sponsor to get his family from outside Mariupol. On Dec. 26, his wife and children finally arrived.

“It was pure happiness,” Kuchma said through a translator. “I was worried about them, and I was waiting to reunite with them for so long.”

The family has since settled into a two-bedroom apartment in Bensonhurst.

“America is the land of opportunity and everyone’s dream,” Kuchma said.

Lana Voronovska, 36, was volunteering at the job fair as a translator, but also looking for work in finance. She had been head of an investment department in Ukraine and was living in Bucha, where Russian soldiers ran a brutal “cleansing” operation last year.

“I’ve been here for four months,” Varanovska said. “Our city was destroyed 80%, so we needed to move.”

She had been in Italy before coming to New York after managing to leave as soon as the invasion began.

Varanovska had to return to Ukraine to get all her documents and was saddened to see what had happened to her hometown.

“Many people died,” she noted.

When Matafonova left Ukraine, she had to travel through Russia to find freedom.

“They had a kind of filtration,” she said. “It was not easy, and of course I was scared because after that I didn’t know what to expect.”

She says it was worth the risk.

“The people here are supporting refugees from ... across the world,” she said. “You don’t feel alienated here because there are so many immigrants from any part of the world. Everyone has some accent. Nobody stares at you like you’re a stranger or something.”