Ukrainian refugee set the police on the Englishwoman who sheltered her

Englishwoman Hanne Debenham shared with reporters that she still cannot recover from what happened. She is overcome with anger. Having invited Ukrainian refugee Ekaterina, an English teacher from the Vinnitsa region, to live with her, she agreed with her that she would look after her son several days a week. And the hostess will pay her 200 pounds (14,356 rubles) a month for this.

Hannah Debenham admitted that at first everything went well. Women found a common language, but then began to quarrel. The hostess reproached the Ukrainian for inaccuracy and laziness. Like, she constantly made a mess and did not want to get out.

After another quarrel, the refugee, having sent her daughter to school, disappeared from the house. The hostess went to work, and after a couple of hours she found out that the police had come to her house. The Ukrainian woman accused Hannah Debenham of “slavery”, saying that the mistress involved her in forced labor, forced to clean the house and provide full care for her children. The Englishwoman admitted that when she heard this, she was literally speechless. She told reporters: “My husband and I provided everything for a Ukrainian woman, and she dared to tell me.” (By the way, for every refugee the state pays the hosts 300 pounds a month – 21,534 rubles.)

Proceedings and checks lasted about a month. Hannah Debenham had to talk to law enforcement officers. The case was closed for lack of evidence only two months later.

The hostess explained the act of the Ukrainian woman with malicious intent. Like, a woman who fled from hostilities envied their well-being. Hannah Debenham told reporters that she no longer wants to be “kind”, and she will no longer allow refugees into her house.

Our compatriot, Anastasia Mishchenko, when she studied at the university in London, worked as a nanny in three families. She shared her experience with MK.

– The salary of a nanny depends on the duties, conditions, number of working hours, and also in which area the house is located, – says Anastasia. – If the area is expensive, then the salary will be higher. I was a student, I could work no more than 20 hours a week. I needed to attend lectures, so I looked for a part-time job. I considered accommodation options, as London is very expensive to rent.

The first family where Anastasia had a chance to work was Indian.

– Husband and wife graduated from Cambridge, were already English-English, they did not have any accent. My duties included cleaning the house for 2–2.5 hours a day. I vacuumed, dusted, put away scattered things. Occasionally pick up children from school. On Friday evenings, when my parents went out, I stayed at home with their children. But it wasn’t every week. For all this I was paid 120 pounds a week (8,613 rubles). Plus, I got paid for groceries. The hostess asked me what to buy for the week. Then she already understood what kind of diet I was following, and she bought either chicken or fish.

The second family where Anastasia worked was purely English. These were the middle class. Mom is a producer at a film studio, dad worked on television, a 13-year-old daughter went to school.

– My duties included walking with three dogs, an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. At 7 in the morning I woke up a teenage girl, cooked her breakfast. She mainly ate eggs – boiled and fried. Occasionally, I cooked pancakes for her, in our understanding, these are pancakes. And I sat with the girl for two hours when she returned from school. Sometimes I cut a salad for the whole family in the evening.

I was not involved in cleaning. They had an incoming housekeeper. I received 150 pounds a week (10,700 rubles). I had my own room on the top floor. I was like an older sister in this family. My opinion was taken into account. This family was easy to communicate – easy to communicate. I didn’t feel like a servant. The hostess raised her voice at me only once. I came from the university, got hungry, decided to boil the kettle and quickly go to my room so as not to disturb anyone. I did not know that the hostess at that time was talking on Skype with her eldest daughter, who was studying in Germany. Because of the noise of the kettle, she could not make out what she was saying. She started yelling at me to keep quiet. We didn’t have any more conflicts.

Our contract was signed for a year. With the girl it was necessary to sit until she was 14 years old. It was impossible to leave her alone. The English don’t like breaking the law. Then they no longer needed my services. But we became friends. For another five years, I continued to walk their dogs. I was paid £10 an hour for this.

What was the third family like?

There was a father with two children. His wife died two years ago of cancer. My main duty was to take the children of 10 and 12 years old to school in the morning, and pick them up at 15.00. The school was quite far away. We had to go 2 stops on the metro, and then another 10 stops on the bus. This took a lot of time. At home after school I fed the children. And when their dad came home at six o’clock in the evening, I could be free.

I also vacuumed once a week, washed the floor, dusted, changed bed linen. The washing machine, however, had to be run every day. She shook the clothes and carefully straightened them on a hanger, since the British practically do not iron them. I washed the bathtub twice a week. I was paid 150 pounds (10,767 rubles) a week, but I had to beat this amount out. Before me, all the “European” nannies ran away from this family after 2 weeks. I also had a row with the owner.

– What are you arguing about?

– We quarreled about duties and responsibilities. What was stated at the interview did not match. We had different ideas about cleanliness, travel and other stresses.

In order to take the children to school, one had to spend an hour and a half in the morning, and the same amount to pick them up. He thought that it was not good to do it … And a week later my knees began to hurt, because after I took the children, I had to run headlong to the university, then back to school. And there was nowhere to be late. Light cleaning turned into the duties of a separate housekeeper who came every day for 5 hours … They gradually began to underpay me for travel and meals … As a result, we sat down, talked in detail, and identified all the problems. He made concessions to me, reduced the load, I also made some concessions. I understood my dad, his children studied at a decent school, education was expensive. As a result, we still found a common language. I stayed with them for a long time, worked in this family for 3 years. She received 700 feet per month (50,246 rubles). Plus I walked the dogs with the previous owners. They lived 15 minutes walk from my new house.

I didn’t have to pay rent. But I bought food for myself, as it was considered fastidious — fastidious. The British have a very bad quality.

– What can you say about the British Hannah Debenham, who paid 200 pounds to a Ukrainian refugee because she nursed her son several days a week.

– When I worked as a live-in babysitter, I received 600 pounds per month for 3 hours of work per day, 5 days per week + room + meals. There were also less salaries – 60-90 pounds a week, but I did not consider such options, since I had to pay for tuition. In any case, I think that 200 pounds a month is mere pennies. But as a part-time job, it’s not bad if, for example, you work one hour 5 days a week.

– Is it a shock for the British if the police come?

– The fact that the police came, it’s normal, they’ll figure it out. If everything was legal on the part of the Englishwoman, then she is not to blame, the nanny herself initially agreed to these conditions. And quarrels can be explained, we – Ukrainians and Russians – are not used to being “second class”, to feel injustice. Yes, and it’s hard for an adult to live in a strange family until you get involved in their schedule, you don’t understand the traditions. But gradually you get used to it, especially when you realize that there is nowhere to go.

Why is it sometimes so difficult for the British to understand the Slavs?

– My character has changed for the better after living in England. At first, it is difficult for our people to understand that everything there needs to be done with a smile and goodwill. It even shows up in the language!

For a long time I learned to say please at the end of the request … Because I didn’t understand that it was necessary, otherwise the request sounds rude. We, Russians, in the view of the British, are rude and harsh people. They believe that this is manifested in our facial expressions and language (we must speak softer, we call it “half-squatting”: could you, please, instead of can, might instead of must, and would you instead of will you). But over the years, you fit into their mentality – and everything becomes much easier. The only thing is that only later you realize their sarcasm and facial expressions. They have strained and sincere smiles, this line is invisible to the inexperienced eye. That is, they may wish you all the best, but in fact they think: damn you. This understanding comes through years of communication with the British.

Once I surprised an elderly woman by telling her about the English traditions that she wanted to tell me about. Madame was quite impressed that the Russians knew about it. It was interesting for me to live in England, to study their way of life, culture and traditions. I didn’t sit at home, but, on the contrary, every free minute I went out somewhere, traveled, talked, absorbed. It was a good experience.