New recruit at Camp du Domaine

The administrative center of Camp du Domaine is expanding!
Today we introduce you our latest recruit: Maryna. Coming straight from Urkaine, walcome at Camp du Domaine !

Arrived in France less than a year ago to flee the war in her country, Maryna joined the reception staff at the beginning of February and manages the reservations and emails. As soon as the campsite opens, she will join the reception team and you will surely have the pleasure of meeting her on your next visit.

Although having only a few notions of French when she arrived, our new recruit has adapted very well to her new working environment. She also speaks English, German and of course Ukrainian.

A life before the war
Before the start of the war in Urkaine, Maryna was a fulfilled and happy 32-year-old young woman, surrounded by her mother and her son Ilia, who is now 22 months old. After graduating from Kyiv University of Translation and Interpreting, and Kharkiv University of Data and Information Protection, she worked for 11 years as an English/German and Ukrainian translator in an international company in Kyiv until the start of the war.

QuitTING everything
Maryna did not leave the country at the very start of the war. Thinking that the fighting was not going to last and above all would have little impact on her daily life, she resisted for two months before making the heavy decision to leave. Fear took over. Fear for her son in a city that had become the target of missile strikes, howling sirens, explosions, power cuts… It was not a life for her or for her baby. It took Maryna 3 days of travel by bus and train, passing through many countries before reaching the South of France: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Nice and finally Bormes les Mimosas.

Life in Bormes les Mimosas
Upon arriving in Bormes les Mimosas, the municipality of the commune as well as the community center for social actions provided her with social housing with other refugees in order to allow them to settle in good conditions. Solidarity was organized, and she was able to receive clothes and toys in particular. Several other French families continue to help her on a daily basis with French lessons, support in administrative procedures, or to find work. And it worked! With her sought-after skills, Maryna therefore joined the campsite at the beginning of February.

a new job and a new life
Maryna adapted quickly to her new work environment. At ease with computer tools, she also has managed the right way to integrate into the reception team that trained her. She feels more and more at ease with the French language and with her new missions, and finds her colleagues kind to her. As soon as the campsite opens, Maryna will be at the reception to welcome customers until the end of October.

She found in France, and particularly in Bormes les Mimosas, a calm and peaceful place to take refuge.
She says: “I really like France. It’s an incredible country. The South of France is very beautiful, it’s magnificent. The people are very nice. Between the mountains and the sea, the view is incredible every day, in every place.[…]”
Although well integrated and happy in her daily life, she thinks a lot about her family and her friends who remained in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe. Every day she calls her grandparents back in Kyiv and her friends. Some have already returned to the country, others are still refugees in Germany, Poland, England Ireland and Scotland mainly.

And after THAT ?
As soon as the war is over, Maryna wants to return in Ukraine. She says “France is incredible, but Ukraine is my country, and I love my country. I want to live my life in Ukraine. […] I ask myself, like all Ukrainians, every day the same question : When will the war end? Every day, every morning, every evening, every hour I think about this. I read the news and hope to be able to return to Ukraine soon, to find my life, my job.”.