Lana Moroz: To Be a Ukrainian Refugee

The refugee experience is rife with unthinkable hardship, and also glimmers of hope. Lana Moroz has this Perspective.

We left Ukraine last March. Me and my two sons. Difficult border crossing, Antalya, Berlin, then San Francisco.

I don’t look like a refugee. If you saw me on the street, you would never know. I am 40-years-old, tall and angular; I was once a model. I keep my hair short, and I put myself together every day. I speak English. I drive my boys to school and to basketball practice in a station wagon. My face will be smiling because I cry only in the dark.

I left my parents and husband. Now the war has not only destroyed my city, it has destroyed my marriage.

I have no savings. Everything my boys and I own came with us, in two suitcases.

I live in a house. I feel at home some of the time. I have a favorite mug, and I hold onto a cup of tea when I feel numb. I have been doing that since the war began.

But there has been an outpouring of help. I did not expect this part of American culture, and Americans should feel proud. My boys go to the best school in the city, and they have been given Legos and tickets to the Warriors. I am learning to code, and I have a job coach. I have navigated the many services that provide aid and receive a monthly stipend. I shop with food stamps at the farmers market, and Trader Joes. I know so much about how to get help that I am now helping another Ukrainian family who just arrived.

I know some of the things that I want. I want to work, and to be independent. I want to make plans. I want to speak Ukrainian. I want peace, peace after victory.

I like to walk San Francisco streets and find homes that fly Ukrainian flags. There are so many flags. I started putting postcards in those mailboxes with my story and contact information. I want to know who these people are, the ones who love Ukraine.

With a Perspective, I’m Lana Moroz.

Lana Moroz is a photographer, app co-founder, art lover, and a Ukrainian “flag catcher.” She lives in San Francisco.