A British man who has turned his Polish castle into a makeshift hotel for Ukrainian refugees has accused the UK government of “showing no humanity” for not allowing a teenager with severe autism to come to live with an approved reception in Lancashire.
Requests for compassion are shown to 16-year-old Timothy Tymoshenko, who fled the war in Ukraine without her parents. He lives with his 17-year-old brother, Yurii, in what was once a private palace of the Prince-Bishop of Wroclaw in Piotrowice Nyskie, a small Polish village near the Czech border.
Jim Parton, a former London stockbroker and writer, lives there with his Polish wife, Anna, and their six children, ages seven to 17.
When the Russian invasion began in February, they decided to turn what used to be a guest house and a wedding venue into an open day for Ukrainians seeking refuge abroad.
They are currently hosting 17 people at the 700-year-old mansion, after four left for Canada on Monday. Among those left are Timothy, who is severely autistic, nonverbal, and needs prescription drugs to control his mood swings.
Experienced childcare workers in Lancashire have gone to visit the boys in Poland and are willing to take in siblings, but they are increasingly frustrated that the UK government has not yet granted them visas to enter the country.
Julie Elliot, 61, and her husband, Roger, 66, now have 14 children together, four biological and 10 adopted. They both worked as nurses before becoming full-time caregivers for their adoptive family and became MBEs in 2016 for child services.
Their adopted children, aged between nine and 40, all have a disability and eight of them still live in the couple’s home in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.
They and Parton ask the Home Office to let Timothy come to the UK with her brother. They do not qualify for the Homes for Ukraine program as unaccompanied under-18s.
The issue is being challenged and dozens of UK foster carers are eagerly awaiting approval if children waiting to be cared for are taken to the UK.
Parton is increasingly frustrated with the visa situation. “It is an absolute shame that it is taking so long. There is no humanity in the government to recognize that this is a special case,” he said.
“What makes me most angry is the safeguard reason for delaying visas for these children,” said Julie Elliot, who recently traveled to Poland to meet Timothy and Yurii and help care for Timothy for a week.
When he arrived, he found that he was hungry, unwashed and dehydrated. “Tim needs someone to take care of him to make sure he eats and drinks regularly,” he said.
The children’s mother, Anna, sent the two brothers to the border because Timothy could not cope with the interruption of his routine by having to rush to the underground air raid shelters and was very distressed by the sound of the constant warning sirens.
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“Tim is in a very insecure situation,” Elliot said. “We’ve gone through 10 adoption assessments and they’re the scariest thing in God’s land, but they don’t compare to this process of trying to get a visa for Tim. There doesn’t seem to be any system. I was told that we should hear something about the legal case in 14 days, but this is a long time when you are a child and no one cares … All I ask for these children like Tim who are waiting to be welcomed is just Give them a visa, they won’t be a problem for anyone. “
Anna is also frustrated by the delays in granting visas: “When the generous people of Britain extended a hand to my family we can’t take it because the documents will not be issued. As a mother I am subject to a lot of stress and I want to breathe a sigh of relief because my kids are not under bombardment and are under the supervision of responsible and kind people, ”he said.
A government spokesman said: “It is tragic that children have been caught up in Putin’s war. The safety and well-being of children is paramount and it is vital that we have strong safeguards in place. For this reason, only “Men under the age of 18 who meet with a parent or legal guardian in the UK are currently eligible for Homes for Ukraine. We maintain eligibility for all programs under review.”