17-year-old Ukrainian woman herself fled from Ukraine to New York through Mexico: an amazing story

In the United States this week, the Uniting for Ukraine program (unity in the name of Ukraine) began to operate. It is designed to streamline the receipt of legal status for Ukrainians who have decided to leave their homeland. And to prevent cases like the one that happened to 17-year-old Liza from Chernihiv, reports "Voice of America".

She has now settled in with her New York aunt, but her journey across the Mexican border has not been easy. Lisa Krasulya has been living on Brighton Beach by the ocean for thirteen days. She fled from Chernigov, fled from the bombings, from death, from her former life. I broke up with my parents and sister, friends.

“It was scary because my biggest fear is war. And when my parents ran into my room at 6 in the morning and woke me up with the words that we were at war, it was very scary.”

After spending three weeks under the bombing in the basement of her house, Lisa and her family were evacuated to Poland. In Warsaw, they were met by Molly, a close friend of the family who had traveled there from New York. Lisa is a minor, she is 17 years old. Mom handed over the girl to the care of Molly, and she herself remained in Poland to look after elderly relatives.

Molly and Lisa flew to Mexico. They crossed the American border on foot. They were told that she was underage, that Molly could not be with her without the accompaniment of her parents. That they were forced to separate. The girl will be in their care for a few hours or a maximum of two days.

Molly said: “Then Lisa started crying because it was a shock to us. There was a long line behind us. The border guard insisted that they should take Liza away. I asked under what conditions she would be kept. And he said: their conditions are better than ours and they are fed better than us.”

Children are temporarily separated from their escort, as US authorities want to make sure that people with whom children and teenagers cross the border are not involved in human trafficking. Their data is carefully checked. These reviews can take weeks or even months.

“The room is medium in size, where there are 20-something people. The doors are locked by a card on the wall, you can't get out. Nothing. White walls, lights that don't turn on. All the time since I was a minor, I was in this room with mothers and children. There were mats on the floor, everyone slept on them, covered themselves with some kind of blankets. And at the end of the room were two metal toilets. So it's like a prison cell. It was cold because there was air conditioning. Both I and some mothers were in a T-shirt, some in a light jacket. It was very cold, everyone was freezing. Some kids even got sick there. When a small child was ill, we sat in the room for 7 hours, and he screamed. The doctor did not come, it was very scary. Almost all the people who were there were Russian Belarusians, people from the central regions of Moldova. There were times when I was asked questions. It was very painful for me to answer. We talk to them, and tears just flowed. I was worried about my mom. She doesn’t know where I am, ”Lisa shares her memories.

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After two days in a border prison, Lisa, accompanied by two guards, was sent to New York to a special institution for immigrants like her separated from their guardians. Mostly Hispanic teenage girls were kept there.

“The conditions were much better there. It was a big apartment. Five girls' rooms, one girl in each room. Kitchen, hall. We went out twice a day to do something. We were physically active all the time. After I spoke to my mother, they gave me a stack of papers in Spanish. I had to put a signature on every page. I flew there at night, and everyone wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible so that I could go to bed. But I told them to translate everything for me. And that I won't sign until I get a transfer. They sat, they translated every rule for me.”

The girl's parents and Molly hoped that she would be released quickly. But they didn't let her go. And only on April 17, Molly went to the Bronx and took Lisa.

“My friends and relatives have gone all over the world. A very small percentage of people stayed with me in the city. I really want this to finally end, so that everyone can see each other. I met with all my friends and relatives, you met and finally hugged each other, ”says Lisa.

Liza does not yet have any immigration status, and her Ukrainian passport was taken away at the immigration service. Molly is looking for a good, preferably free lawyer for her.