(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa advocate for Ukrainian immigrants says it’s become harder to get people out of the war-torn country. Martha Hulshof of Ireton has helped about 150 Ukrainians move to northwest Iowa through her sister, who is a missionary in western Ukraine. Hulshof says the process that has taken a couple of months can now take more than six months. She hasn’t being told why there’s been a delay, but says it is putting lives at risk.

“It’s heartbreaking what is going on over there. It’s war. And people forget since we don’t see on the news anymore what war’s really like with all the death and torture.” And Hulshof says flooding has compounded the issue of finding help for the refugees.“The situation here is hard, and it’s just that much harder to find houses and vehicles when people here have lost so much, too,” Hulshof says.

Hulshof says she is looking for northwest Iowans who want to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)