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WATERTOWN, S.D. (KELO) A family from Mariupol, Ukraine has called Watertown home for the past two years and recently was told they need to leave the country in under a month.
Right now, Ilona and Valerii Biliaze and their three children live a quiet life, but that wasn’t the case a few years ago as war started in Ukraine.
“After the war, we had to move because it was not safe,” Ilona and Valerii’s daughter, Dominika Biliaze said.
After multiple moves, the family made it to Watertown thanks to the United for Ukraine program.
“The United for Ukraine program allows them to live in the United States for a two-year humanitarian parole,” the Biliaze’s sponsor, Susan Buhler, said.
Buhler and her husband took in the Biliazes until they were able to rent their own home. During their stay in Watertown, Valerii has worked in construction, and Ilona has given birth to a baby boy.
“I’ve never seen a family love their kids as much as this family. They give them everything,” Buhler said.
“This is good For my kids. A good school, good people,” Ilona Biliaze said.
But the family needs to leave by August 17 and multiple attempts to apply for asylum have been denied.
“To be granted asylum, a lot of people don’t understand all the legalities of it. You have to fear persecution of your own country, and in this case, they do not fear Ukraine. They fear Russia, obviously,” Buhler said.
And they also fear they don’t have a place to return to.
“Where their home was, a fourth of Ukraine is now occupied by Russia. They have no home to go home to,” Buhler said.
Another reason why the family wants to stay in Watertown is because they say the community has been with them every step of the way.
“We want to stay here and live our life we like here,” Valerii Biliaze said.
But as of right now, the family does not have a plan if they are unable to stay here, and they have less than a month to figure one out.
The family is hoping to spread their story and is looking for advice on possible next steps. For more information on how you can help the family, click here.
