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Not that way back, says 14-year-old Illia, “I wakened with the sound of rockets.”
His father remains to be house in Ukraine, defending his nation in opposition to the Russian invasion.
His mom and little brother fled to Romania.
“I’m attempting to name my household daily, but it surely’s not doable,” mentioned Illia, who left Ukraine on a bus and stored going, touchdown in Los Angeles nearly three weeks in the past to stick with household.
On Monday morning, he enrolled at Palisades Constitution Excessive College.
“I see these children, these youngsters right here. It appears fairly good,” mentioned Illia, who spent half a day registering at Pali and attending to know his method round a campus that sits on a perch above the ocean. Such a phenomenal, tranquil setting for a younger lad whose nation is in flames.
Illia is taking P.E., biology, algebra, English and examine abilities. Together with his shaggy hair, unfastened athletic clothes and high-top sneakers, he regarded like simply one other child on campus. If he returns to Pali within the fall, he mentioned, he needs to exit for the basketball workforce.
I requested if he knew methods to surf.
“Like, on the ocean?” he requested.
Precisely. Pali Excessive does have a surf workforce. Illia mentioned it’s a chance.
Illia has a hyphenated final identify, and after I requested methods to spell it, he warned that it’s fairly lengthy.
“Might I write it?” he requested.
He took my pocket book and pen and he spelled out Ishchenko-Leshchynskyi.
Ukranians have put up a valiant combat to defend their nation in opposition to the cruel assault waged by despotic Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hundreds are useless and tens of millions have fled, working for his or her lives as cities and cities are destroyed.
I requested Illia why that is taking place.
“For my part, Putin has an sickness,” he mentioned, “and he must kill the entire planet earlier than he dies.”
When the battle started, Illia mentioned, a few of his pals took up arms and he needed to hitch them. His mother and father, who owned and operated a cosmetology clinic, wouldn’t let him. Together with Illia’s grandfather, they made preparations to hustle Illia in a foreign country with different refugees on a 15-hour journey.
“There have been Russian troopers, Ukrainian troopers, however we had this signal on our bus — KIDS — so it was much less harmful,” Illia mentioned.
The plan was for Illia to fulfill up with a household good friend in Romania, then make his method to the closest airport and get on a aircraft headed for Los Angeles. His mom’s sister, Olena, who’s from Ukraine, lives in West L.A. along with her husband, Eugene Jang.
“My spouse received a name from her sister in the midst of the night time — that’s how pressing and last-minute this association was — and requested if it was OK to ship her son, who was attempting to get to the Romanian border,” Jang mentioned.
The value of a aircraft ticket soared as excessive as $14,000 round that point, Jang mentioned. As they waited on one thing extra affordable, Illia spent an evening in a business-class lounge on the airport, because of the hospitality of these attempting to assist Ukrainian refugees. When the costs got here down, Illia’s aunt and uncle purchased him a ticket and he flew first to Istanbul, then Los Angeles.
“When he first arrived I didn’t actually pry, however he slowly has opened up about what he witnessed, and in all honesty, I believe there’s just a little little bit of PTSD,” Jang mentioned. “When he first got here right here he was having nightmares just about each day.”
Illia and Jang’s spouse have been speaking in regards to the occasions in Ukraine, Jang mentioned, “they usually each assume Putin is the satan incarnate.”
Jang mentioned the enterprise owned by Illia’s household was destroyed after they’d sunk “virtually each cent” into it. Their condominium nonetheless stands however a lot of the neighborhood has been shredded. Illia’s mom and little brother finally left Ukraine for Poland, then Germany, and can quickly be headed to Greece to stick with pals.
For all of the trauma and heartbreak he’s endured, Illia advised me he has lengthy had a want to maneuver to the USA and examine right here. Two and a half years in the past he visited California with a faculty group and toured UCLA and UC Berkeley along with assembly along with his aunt and uncle in L.A.
However faculty is a great distance off, and Jang, who’s a school counselor and a tutor, started exploring highschool choices for Illia. Jang’s tutoring purchasers embody the three youngsters of Pali Constitution Excessive dad or mum Lisa Woods, who helped kind issues out.
Woods reached out to the college’s board members. Pali Constitution Principal Pam Magee and L.A. Unified College Board member Nick Melvoin had been looped into the dialog to see if the college might accommodate a refugee scholar with simply two months left within the faculty 12 months.
“There’s a sense of compassion for our fellow people who’re coping with so many issues,” McGee advised me in her workplace as Illia met with a counselor to find out what studying ranges he was at and what courses he wanted at Pali.
In the meantime, Woods and her husband, Josh, have began a GoFundMe web page to assist assist Illia and the remainder of his household, together with Illia’s pals who’ve fled to different cities or are nonetheless on the bottom in Kyiv.
After he registered for his courses, Illia advised me he worries about his dad daily.
“He’s in essentially the most harmful place,” he mentioned.
I advised Illia I can’t think about what he’s going by, along with his household splintered and in limbo, with no readability as to when, or the place, they may be reunited.
“It’s so unhappy, so scary. I hope my metropolis, my Kyiv, gained’t be destroyed. I hope for the entire of Ukraine. It’s a great nation and we’ve an incredible president,” he mentioned of Volodymyr Zelensky, who has gained the world’s admiration for his courageous stand in opposition to Putin.
In a world able to such diabolical insanity, Illia is appreciative of of easy acts of humanity. He mentioned he feels grateful to household and pals who made it doable for him to be the place he’s now. There’s quite a bit to love about Los Angeles, he mentioned.
“Climate, individuals, buying, vehicles, ocean,” Illia mentioned.
He additionally likes the Korean meals, tacos and burritos. And he advised me he was wanting ahead to his first full day of courses.
Steve.lopez@latimes.com
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