From Ukraine to Belgium: A tale of solidarity and journalism

By Benjamin Mason  

“Actually, yesterday I defended my thesis,” says Sofiia Nazarenko, with the unmistakable relief a student whose summer has just begun. “It's like a new stage of my life.”

This new stage is one that sees Sofiia embark on her career as a journalist in Brussels, with the support of locals and Ukrainians.

The February 2022 invasion of Ukraine meant that Sofiia was forced to flee to find safety and somewhere to continue her studies, forge her career and build a new life far from home.

Meanwhile in Brussels, on-line media network EURACTIV’s founder Christophe Leclercq and his family were looking for a way to help refugees.

“We thought we should try to help somebody not just logistically, but also career-wise,” recalls Christophe, a veteran of the Brussels media scene.

All it took was a mutual friend – Natalia Richardson, a former Ukrainian journalist in Brussels put Sofiia and Christophe in touch. Before long, Christophe and his wife were preparing their spare room in their house in Brussels to welcome Sofia. This wasn’t the first time Christophe and his family opened their home to people forced to flee, having hosted refugees from Afghanistan and Mauritania in their Paris apartment in 2015. And Christophe’s support for refugees has expanded beyond his home.

As a seasoned media professional, he’s also keenly aware of the need and challenges for dedicated, accurate and inclusive reporting on global forced displacement:

“The issue is not so much in my view how to cover refugee issues, but to get them covered at all.”

His solution? Europe’s Media Lab, which, amongst many goals, seeks to ensure increased and better reporting on humanitarian emergencies and bolster a more representative media landscape in Brussels. In parallel to and in support of the Media Lab project, Christophe also plans to transform his home into a ‘Maison du Media Lab’ to host new correspondents from Eastern Europe.

“There are bright people who study journalism, [including] refugees coming from countries at war,” says Christophe. “For example, there are only six Ukrainian correspondents in Brussels right now. And number seven will be Sofiia!”

Settled in her new, safe home and surrounded by media inspiration, Sofia has now completed her political science studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and is looking to the future.

“At school, I was interested in not only journalism but also history and politics. So probably that's why now I'm focusing on political journalism. I really hope to be a correspondent here for Ukrainian TV channel or other medias.”

Alongside the warm welcome and the academic and career support she has received from the Leclercq family, Sofiia also found a vibrant community of locals and Ukrainians working together in Brussels to welcome refugees from Ukraine and ensure their needs are met:

“The Belgian authorities helped me to integrate – a lot of Ukrainians are receiving support from Belgium. So it was very helpful for me. But also, civil society in Belgium, in Brussels, particularly the Ukrainian civil society is doing everything to make us feel at home.”

The response to refugees from Ukraine – both from the Belgian authorities and generous host families like the Leclercqs – continues to be exemplary.

As Christophe says, “The welcome of Ukrainian refugees is really standard setting. Instead of having fears, let’s build on this positive story.”

Sofia concurs, “As a Ukrainian journalist, I can tell stories of Ukrainian refugees in Belgium and how they're living here, and what Belgium does for them.”

With Christophe and his family’s welcoming approach, and Sofia’s talents and blossoming career in journalism, there is no doubt that they are indeed leading by example.