蜜桃影视

Virsaviia Puzhalina, age 7, who came to the United States in April as a refugee from Ukraine, knew exactly what she wanted to wear on her first day of school: A T-shirt adorned with the words 鈥淧eace and Love鈥� along with matching red, white and blue leggings 鈥� a tribute to her newly adopted country.   

The second grader, who lives with her mother, father and two older siblings in Tacoma, Washington, was excited to return to class, though she was worried about having a new teacher. 

鈥淏ack home,鈥� in Ukraine, her mother, Anastasiia explained, 鈥渆lementary students have the same teacher from first through fourth grade.鈥�

But Virsaviia鈥檚 fears melted after just a few hours.

鈥淚 like my new teacher,鈥� said the little girl, sitting in the family car as her father drove her and her sister to Elmhurst Elementary on the second day of school last week. 鈥淚 liked my class and my new friends.鈥� 

Virsaviia鈥檚 brother, Illia, 11, felt the same: The sixth grader, who moved up to middle school this year, was thrilled to have Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking students in his English language classes. And middle sister Yeva, 9, was elated to have the same 5th-grade teacher this year as her big brother did for the few months the siblings were in school last year. Not only did Illia speak highly of her, Yeva got to meet her during a spring parent-teacher conference. 

鈥淪he was excited to see her (again),鈥� her mother said. 

But underneath the joy that accompanies the start of the new school year is a painful uncertainty about the future. Virsaviia鈥檚 parents worry daily about their immigration status, their ability to work and about the family they left behind.聽

They and others with strong ties to Ukraine wonder when and how the invasion, now in its seventh month, will end. 

蜜桃影视 has been keeping pace with expats since last winter and with Virsaviia鈥檚 family since meeting them at a refugee camp in Tijuana, Mexico in April: They were among more than who fled the country since the invasion began Feb. 24. 

Another 7 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and are living in areas prone to conflict, unable to leave because of security risks, battered infrastructure and a lack of money and information about how and where to head for safety, according to the United Nations.  

More than had been killed by early August and more than 7,400 others have been injured, the UN reported. 

The Zaporizhzhia power plant, located inside a city that has become , is currently being monitored by while Ukraine鈥檚 armed forces, bolstered by volunteers, held by the Russian military. 

Marta Hulievska, a rising sophomore at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, has been worried about the power plant ever since war began: It鈥檚 located in her hometown. 

The history major is anxious about her parents鈥� recent decision to reunite there after months spent apart. Married for 21 years, they were eager to live together again.  

鈥淪irens go off every hour,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视 earlier this summer. 鈥淢y dad ignores them: If you would go to the bomb shelter every time the alarms go off, you would not be able to function.鈥�

Hulievska, who spent her summer in New York City working as an intern at a human-rights focused organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie, worries whether her father, a 57-year-old attorney, will be called up to war. 

鈥淪o far, he has not gotten any documentation about it,鈥� his daughter said, speaking of the draft. 鈥淏ut it happens kind of randomly. It鈥檚 always in the back of our minds.鈥�

And her parents鈥� financial situation is dire. The Ukrainian by the end of the year. Hulievska has been sending them money for several months. 

She isn鈥檛 sure when she will see them again, though she does plan to participate in a three-week study abroad program in Berlin in December. Hulievska hopes her mother and sisters, who are free to travel outside Ukraine, will join her. If they make the trip, it will be their first visit since she left for college. 

Wartime restrictions mean her father will not attend. Men in his age group are prohibited from leaving the country. And no one knows when 鈥� or how 鈥� the invasion will conclude. 

Her parents remain divided on the topic.  

鈥淢y mom feels it will end soon, which helps her to not panic,鈥� Hulievska said. 鈥淏ut my dad is pessimistic. Whenever I talk to him about coming back to Ukraine, he thinks I might not be able (to).鈥�

Yana Lysenko, a graduate student at New York University, wasn鈥檛 willing to wait any longer. Her boyfriend lives in Odesa, which is partly why she headed back to the country in late August. She was so worried about alerting her parents to her plan that she told them only after she bought her plane ticket. It took two days to enter the beleaguered country. 

鈥淚t was an exhausting trip,鈥� she said in an Aug. 26 email from Ukraine. 鈥淚 flew to Warsaw and then Moldova Saturday-Sunday, rested in Moldova overnight and then crossed the border via bus to Odesa on Monday night. Things are much calmer here currently than I expected. I鈥檝e heard a few sirens over the past few days, but no attacks from what I know on the city itself.鈥� 

Lysenko, working toward a Ph.D. in comparative literature and Slavic studies, longs to volunteer. 

鈥淚鈥檝e done a bit of inquiring and there are a lot of different opportunities, although I鈥檓 really leaning toward those that help prepare meals for people in need within the city, as well as those that help the elderly,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淧eople are really struggling. Prices are very high for food and basic necessities right now, so I鈥檇 like to help the most vulnerable groups in that way.鈥�

But vulnerability isn鈥檛 confined to those who remain in-country. Anastasiia Puzhalina and her family, who鈥檝e been living in Tacoma for the past four months, have relied on the goodness of strangers as they navigate life in the United States. 

They currently live rent-free with an elderly man whom they met through their church. A recent widower who lost his wife to COVID, he enjoys their company. 

鈥淗e is an amazing man,鈥� Puzhalina said. 鈥淗is grandkids are almost the same age as our children, so this is such a great blessing for our family.鈥�

He pledged to help them until they can live on their own but it鈥檚 a difficult position: Puzhalina鈥檚 husband worked for years at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and she sold clothing online. They鈥檝e always supported themselves. 

They鈥檝e applied for Temporary Protected Status and employment authorization but neither has come through yet. Right now, they鈥檙e surviving on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANIF. 

The uncertainty makes it difficult to plan for the future: Puzhalina has no idea where they might be in a year.

鈥淚t depends on what status we will have,鈥� she told The74. 鈥淚 am praying for the end of war, but I can鈥檛 see the end yet. If the war does end, I think our Temporary Protected Status won鈥檛 be extended and we will have to leave. I don鈥檛 think we have any path to legalization. I think we will use this time as much as possible to help our family in Ukraine.鈥�

Puzhalina鈥檚 parents still live in Chernihiv. Her father is not allowed to flee and her mother wouldn鈥檛 go without him.

Their daughter鈥檚 concern extends well beyond their physical safety. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the danger of being hit by a missile, but about inflation, the lack of work, the price for groceries, of fuel, for everything,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a really bad situation in Ukraine.鈥�

Despite these fears, the family鈥檚 stay in America has been marked by many bright spots 鈥� particularly for the children, who spent the summer swimming in a backyard pool, visiting a local rock-climbing center and camping. 

Illia, who months earlier in Tijuana expressed worry about making new friends in America, has since forged a strong bond with a boy at school. The relationship has greatly improved his ability to speak English. 

And the children aren鈥檛 the only students in the family. Their mother has spent the past few months learning to drive. 

She鈥檚 already passed her written exam and will soon sign up for the road test. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 very challenging,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 never had to do it in Ukraine: We lived in a 100% walkable place. The big test, I鈥檒l take it when I will feel more confident. I had never been behind the wheel before.鈥�

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