13yo Ukrainian Refugee Robbed And Abused at San Francisco Middle School, Wants to Return Home

Yana, a teen who fled Ukraine for the safety of San Francisco, was looking for calm in her new school, but found chaos instead. https://t.co/d9SoCj7JZv

— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) February 19, 2023

Everything Yana, a 13-year-old Ukrainian refugee, knew about public schools in the United States was what she had seen on television or in the movies, often idyllic settings where teenage conflict and angst ironed itself out by the end.

[...] "I thought it was going to be better because it's San Francisco," she said in Ukrainian, with her aunt translating. "But after two days, I saw everything going on at the school."

Students interrupted classes, jumped on desks, cursed at teachers. At first, Yana wondered what was going on, but then "nothing happened." Students were not disciplined or prevented from repeat behavior.

"After one week, I understood that was normal," said Yana, whose last name The Chronicle agreed not to publish in accordance with its source policy.

Not long after, Yana said, she became the target.

[...] Within a month at Marina, Yana said, someone stole her cell phone in the cafeteria and then a group of students, who she believed was responsible, threatened her. Yana knew enough English to understand the gist.

"They started yelling and cursing and moving toward her," her aunt said of the early February encounter. "A counselor came and intervened."

[...] Yana's aunt and mother have requested a transfer to another school, where the teen could start over without fear for her safety or an escort through the hallways, but so far, the district has denied that request and urged Yana to return with the support services offered.

So far, she hasn't been back.

[...] Yana just wants to go back to her hometown in central Ukraine, back to the only school she knew before the war, even as her mom and aunt have started to research camps and other programs in San Francisco to occupy the summer months.

"I didn't plan to leave my friends and my family," she said. "When you leave, you don't know when you'll get to go back."

A Ukrainian refugee living in Minneapolis was robbed at gun point by two black men. pic.twitter.com/R1rI2irKTt

— John Curtis (@Johnmcurtis) February 8, 2023

"Too many Muslims, too many people with different skin colours."

Andrea, a host for the Homes for Ukraine scheme, tells @darshnasoni how "shocked" she was at how difficult a Ukrainian refugee found adjusting to ethnic diversity and cultural values in the UK. pic.twitter.com/SMRhMKmU9g

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) January 26, 2023