On February 24, 2022, while the rest of the world was scrolling through shocking visuals of Russian troops invading Ukraine on their phones, New West resident Olena Zaprii was experiencing it first hand in Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine.
It will be exactly one year on April 11 since Zaprii escaped the war in Ukraine and landed in Canada, but she still vividly remembers that cold February morning when she was woken up by the deafening sound of missiles and bombs exploding outside her home.
“We lived on the 16th floor of an apartment building; our windows faced north, which is the general direction of Russia,” she recalled in an email interview.
“Everything was burning and smoking on the horizon. It was really scary — especially scary for my daughter,” she said of her daughter, who is 10.
As reported in the Guardian, Kharkiv bore the brunt of Russian invasion in the first few months of the war, and has now turned into a “missile cemetery” with all the leftover debris from the Russian cruise missiles that targeted its buildings and streets.
Zaprii had no idea that what she was witnessing was only the first signs of a major war that would go on for over a year and leave over 17 million people in urgent humanitarian need (via the UN Refugee Agency).
All she knew was that she should leave Kharkiv immediately.
“In times like these, I’m fast and I do my best automatically. We collected all necessary things in an hour, quickly, had breakfast and drove to the west of Ukraine,” she said.
“We didn’t know where to go, we were just heading west.”
In a little over a month, Zaprii and her family managed to move far west — all the way to Canada.
“We liked Canada at first sight. We immediately felt safe and experienced people’s friendliness… especially the way they supported Ukrainian newcomers in every way.”
New Westminster, new home
Zaprii is among the 190,972 Ukrainian citizens and Canadian permanent residents of Ukrainian origin who arrived in Canada between Jan 1, 2022 and March 19, 2023, as per the Government of Canada website. The number is only a small fraction of the more than 13 million people who have been displaced since the invasion as per the UN Refugee Agency.
Today, Zaprii lives with a “wonderful” family in New Westminster. “This is our 13th apartment since the beginning of the war, by the way.” she said.
“I love New Westminster very much. This is a cozy family town, with many good schools, parks, cafés and restaurants. I really enjoy walking with my family in Queen’s Park and Tipperary Park. And I love visiting small cafés in the town centre and spending time with my friends there,” she added.
Once she had her personal life sorted, Zaprii decided to resume her business — of shooting portraits.
A graduate of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, she transitioned from painting oils and wooden decorative objects, moulding clay and working as a graphic and web designer, to clicking portraits just a few months before the war began.
“Now, I mostly photograph people — portraits, love stories, family and kids, sometimes weddings. I love to communicate and meet new people, give them beautiful emotions and see their happy faces.”
In the summer of 2022, she started posting her work and story on Instagram. “I think that people liked my pictures and they immediately began to write comments and book photo shoots.”
“In the summer and fall (of 2022), I shot a lot in Queen’s Park. There is an amazing rose garden and beautiful tall trees. It feels as if you are in a fairy tale.”
In Kharkiv, Zaprii used to rent studios on an hourly basis for her shoots; she decided to do the same in New West last Christmas.
“I did 17 successful Christmas photo shoots (in a New West studio rental). I counted… it’s a total of 70 happy clients.”
In a year, Zaprii's life has changed from a nightmare to a picture-perfect one. This time last year, she was in the middle of uprooting her family to a strange land; this year, her days are busy meeting new Canadian friends, exploring the outdoors and nurturing her small business.
All of it, she said, “was scary to start at first… in a foreign country, not knowing anyone.”
“And then, everything got better.”
Zaprii is now accepting clients for spring and summer photo shoots. Shoot her a message on Instagram.
