It’s incredible to watch people come together during difficult times.
A woman whose family escaped to Britain to flee a war has closed her seaside hotel to tourists in order to provide accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.
Even during her busiest season in Weston-super-Mare, England, Nitsa Michael is no longer accepting guests at the Seaward Hotel. Instead, she has so far extended a warm welcome to 22 Ukrainians, providing a “home away from home.”
Her family fled from Cyprus to Britain after a Turkish invasion in 1974, and she wanted to do something to help people fleeing Russian aggression in Ukraine this year.
“I felt for them,” the 84-year-old widow and great-grandmother of five stated. ”Lets help in a big way, this is what I want to do.”
Michelle Michael, her daughter, is in charge of running the hotel, which can accommodate 70 refugees.
“Mum always has and still does listen to the news every day and it was really bothering her. She was feeling quite sad about it all, and that’s when she came up with the idea of opening the hotel to refugees.”
The 22 newcomers share meals and spend time together, “basically they heal together,” according to Michelle.
“Seeing all the people staying here and how happy they now are, it’s all due to her.”
Nitsa used to be a seamstress in London, and her husband Axentis was a chef before moving to the South West and taking over the Seaward Hotel.
They made it their family home and raised their four children there.
“We had no way of knowing if my father’s family were dead or alive because there was no connectivity. Everyone fled their homes with nothing to their names,” Nitsa recalled.
Michelle registered their family’s hotel on the Homes For Ukraine website this year to alleviate the same kind of anxiety, and before they knew it, they were welcoming their first refugee.
Michelle registered their family’s hotel on the Homes For Ukraine website this year to alleviate the same kind of anxiety, and before they knew it, they were welcoming their first refugee.
Yuliia, 31, now lives in the hotel with her husband and their dog after fleeing their home in Berdyansk in February when the explosions began. She had to leave her parents behind, and she hadn’t spoken to them in a month before arriving at the Seaward Hotel.
“This life here is very good, and I’m very glad to be in this country,” stated Yuliia. “Here we have a hotel, a room, a shower, a kitchen and many other things – we also have the sea.”
Since arriving in the UK, she has been given a phone to call her family back home, and she is now able to communicate with her parents and brother.
A WhatsApp group has been established for the other families who have arrived at the hotel, and Yuliia assists in translating Michelle’s messages for the other refugees.
Michelle and her team place welcome packs with essentials such as shower gels and deodorants on the beds of the refugees. The local government has provided each refugee with $250 in order for them to mobilize in order to obtain a National Insurance number and open a bank account.
Michelle elaborated Nitsa comes to the hotel once a week to meet each guest and listen to their stories. She enjoys seeing the children in the hotel because it reminds her of raising her own four children there. It has given the hotel new life.
