Cary family fights to keep Ukrainian teen in Triangle
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 16-year-old from Ukraine is heading home to eastern Europe, despite a Cary family's best effort to keep her in the Triangle.
The trip is one the teen doesn't want to make, and her heart is filled with uncertainty. Her exact destination is unclear and all she knows is she's going back to her home country, which is a place filled with turmoil and unrest.
Her Cary host family is equally concerned and worried for her. Mike and Kristy Johnson took her into their home.
"I think you can take that as frustrated," said Mike Johnson. "She's having a little bit of a rough day."
Nastya, whose last name is being withheld, was feeling frustrated and sad when ABC11 spoke with her at Dulles International Airport. She is first flying to Germany and then to Kiev, Ukraine. Her host family did their best to comfort a girl about to go home to a war zone.
Nastya has been in Cary for weeks on a stay set up by a nonprofit group. The visit just expired. She is going back to Eastern Ukraine, where there is a growing crisis with Russia.
Thursday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session. A top NATO official said at least 1,000 Russian troops have poured into Ukraine with sophisticated equipment resulting in casualties.
Right now, Nastya's birth mom and sister are at a refugee camp. Another one of her sisters can't be found. Once the teen arrives in Ukraine, she doesn't know where she'll be staying
"We know what region she's going to, but that's really all we know," said Mike. "So it's just a lot more uncertainly this time around and as a father, that's what bothers me."
The Johnsons want Nastya to stay. They say she's become a member of the family. They fear for her safety and future in Ukraine, and are desperately trying to get her a visa to come back. There are, however, tremendous hurdles. To start, the director of her orphanage is missing.
"The paperwork that we need for her, who has that? How can we write documents on paperwork we can't find?" said Kristy.
The Johnsons are sending Nastya into uncertainty and for their own sake, they have to remain certain of one thing.
"She is going to come back," said Kristy.
The family is looking for attorneys in Ukraine to help with efforts.
ABC11 did reach out to Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr to see if they could help.
Sen. Burr's office said "We don't discuss constituent casework to continue to protect the privacy of any North Carolinian who may reach out to our office for assistance." We have not heard back from Sen. Hagan's office.
This story was first reported by the News and Observer. Click here to read more
