TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A deli and grocery in midtown Tucson has become a center for the Ukrainian community, and a place gathering help for Ukrainian refugees here, and back in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian family has operated the European Market for about 20 years. It’s on Speedway between Swan and Columbus.
Now, besides being a place to find Ukrainian and other Eastern European food, it’s become a place for Ukrainians to find help with the wide range of problems refugees can encounter when they can only grab a few belongings and escape their home country.
Irina Chausovskaya’s mother Olga runs the market. Of the refugees she says, “A lot of them don't even know the language. They only speak Russian or Ukrainian. So they need help with medicine. Some of them have been wounded. They need dentists. They need to look for a job. A lot of them come here and they have very strong professions over there. You know, whether they're physicists or engineers, and they want to continue working here but they need help finding jobs, finding a living.”
The Market has become a gathering point for donations of all sorts that refugees here can use or that the market can gather to send to Ukraine to help refugees there.
Related article: Ukrainian in Tucson: “I could not accept for a long time that I'm not there.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
