It feels like a civil war. When you talk to the refugees from the former Soviet Union, thousands of whom live in South Florida, they will tell you the Russian invasion of Ukraine is like one state in the USA fighting another. They perceive it that way because so many of them have friends and family in both countries.
Katia Majstorovic left the Soviet Union as a child. She lives in South Florida. Her parents still live in Russia, her grandmother was born in Ukraine, and she has close friends there as well. She’s an example of how hard this war is hitting people thousands of miles away.
“Completely shocked, I don’t think anybody expected this, nobody wants this war, I don’t understand what is the rationale behind it, Ukrainians are very peaceful people,” Majstorovic said.
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Here in South Florida, charities such as the Global Empowerment Mission are collecting supplies and raising money to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees leaving Ukraine. GEM is partnering with Airbnb to help.
“One of the reasons why we stepped up in this moment is we have the global network of housing, one of the most urgent needs for refugees, and certainly for refugees fleeing Ukraine,” said Liz De Bold Fusco, spokesperson for Airbnb.
Majstorovic has friends who have left Kyiv to go to safer areas of the country.
“Most of the people I know, they’re mothers, they’re common people far away from politics and everybody is shocked, everybody is outraged, and everybody literally feels that this is something out of a horror movie,” Majstorovic said.
She’s worried her parents won’t be able to get the medications they need in Russia once the sanctions really cripple the economy there. Her stepbrother was arrested in St. Petersburgh for protesting against the war. Now, Majstorovic and her friends are worried that history is repeating itself and we’re on the brink of World War III.
