The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ukraine family able to reunite in U.S.
As Roman Zhenzhirov organized his apartment, Coldplay’s “Daddy” blasted from his playlist.
“You’re so far away. Oh, you’re so far away.”
Tears dripped down his face. Zhenzhirov, 30, couldn’t bring himself to eat lunch. He sobbed at the table beside his husband, Roman Shyshkin, 37.
But his tears didn’t stream from sadness. That recent Tuesday night would be the first time in more than seven years he would see his mother, Nataliia Zhenzhirova, and brother, Arsenii Zhenzhirov.
Zhenzhirova, 51, and Arsenii, 17, escaped from Ukraine when Russia invaded the country in February. They were coming to the U.S. through the Biden administration’s Uniting for Ukraine program, which committed to welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Zhenzhirov and Shyshkin applied for Zhenzhirova and Arsenii the same day the program opened. In the following days, the couple heard about other Ukrainians getting approved. But their family’s application showed no change in status.
So they reapplied — and were approved the next day.
“If we waited, we would still be waiting,” Shyshkin said.
Trying to leave
Zhenzhirov said his family in Ukraine applied for visas six times over their seven years of separation, only to be denied for unknown reasons. Now, four months since leaving Ukraine, the family was ready to be together again.
And while listening to “Daddy,” he envisioned the reunion — and mourned his father’s absence.
Daddy, if you’re out there.
Daddy, all I wanna say. You’re so far away. Oh, you’re so far away.
Zhenzhirov’s father stayed in Ukraine to fight and serve his country. Men of conscription age, 18 to 60, are prohibited from leaving.
“Even if he could, he wouldn’t leave,” Zhenzhirov said.
Arsenii, like many of his friends, wanted to stay in Ukraine and take up arms when of age. But his father told him he needed to leave to take care of his mother, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor six months ago. She was scheduled to have surgery in Ukraine before war broke out.
So Arsenii and Zhenzhirova fled Zhashkiv, a city in central Ukraine, and headed to the Romanian border. They stayed a week in Romania and then Poland before settling in Berlin for 3½ months. In Germany, Zhenzhirova got health insurance, and her tumor was removed.
The reunion
Zhenzhirov’s reunion day started with a phone call at 5 a.m. His mother and brother were at the Brussels airport in an immigration room filled with other Ukrainians. They were about to be released but were minutes from missing their flight.
Shyshkin and Zhenzhirov called the airline, explained the situation and asked if they could keep the doors open a bit longer for the family. When they finally were released, Arsenii sprinted to the gate only to find that the TV screen in the waiting area incorrectly said the flight was headed to Istanbul.
It turns out their flight was delayed. And the delay meant more hours until the Zhenzhirov family reunion.
They were now going to arrive in Miami at around 8 p.m. — three hours later than planned. And so Shyshkin and Zhenzhirov made their way to the airport, Zhenzhirov wearing a cream-and-maroon embroidered vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian shirt that varies from province to province.
The couple, together since 2011, left Ukraine and applied for political asylum in 2015. They fled amid Russia’s invasion of Crimea, where Shyshkin is from. Ukraine, Shyshkin said, didn’t have laws to protect the LGBT community, and it was dangerous to be openly gay.
They bought their two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood within a year of arriving in South Florida. They both recently earned professional licenses, Zhenzhirov’s in cosmetology and Shyshkin’s in real estate.
In a few hours, Zhenzhirova and Arsenii would be joining them in their Hollywood home. Zhenzhirov peered through the terminal’s glass window as travelers cruised down the hallway and into the embraces of their loved ones.
The few scattered families who remained sat in silence.
Zhenzhirov leaned on a waiting area chair and anxiously checked his phone for a call from his brother. It was already 10 p.m. And just past 11:30 p.m., Arsenii strolled through the hallway, flipping his hair and towering over his mother, who walked beside him. Zhenzhirov rushed over and hugged his brother before turning to his mother. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her head into his chest and began to weep.
Zhenzhirova held her son’s hand and glanced into his eyes for the first time in seven years. Then they went to the elevator, ready to get to their new home.