Ukrainian Mom, Daughters Living With Bridgewater Family As Dad Stays To Fight

BRIDGEWATER, NJ – A Ukrainian family is settling in to Somerset County after having to leave their home in Sumy, roughly 19 miles from the border with Russia.

Liza Burlaka and her 13-year-old twin daughters Yeva and Sofiia came into Bridgewater on August 22. They arrived safe, but without their husband and father Alexander, who was required to stay and fight in the ongoing war.

The Burlakas are staying with Justin and Christy Bitner and their twin sons, Ben and Owen. Justin said the family dog, Luke Skybarker, has been good company for the girls.

“The girls actually hadn’t listened to music, danced or just even ‘played’ since February so now that they are here and smiling, Liza is so happy to see her girls back to normal,” he told Patch.

Yeva and Sofiia will start 7th grade with Ben and Owen next week. Before that, the families have a trip to New York City planned and have already been to the beach. The Burlaka twins have tried funnel cake and eaten pizza. They also report the McDonald’s in the U.S. tastes “fresher” than the McDonald’s back home.

Liza, Yeva, and Sofiia said they were still adjusting to their new life: not only did they have to flee and leave Alexander behind, but they’re on a different continent and surrounded by a different language. They still talk with Alexander daily, over the six-hour time difference.

Liza, who has been cooking a lot of soups since her family arrived, said Ukrainians cook and eat at home more than Americans seem to. The Bitners have more “stuff” around the house than the Burkalas did at home. Yeva and Sofiia will have extra English lessons at school, but Justin said they already have a good handle on the language.

The Bitners are picking up some Ukrainian, too.

“Justin says Ukrainian is a lot harder than English,” Liza said. “We have a lot of different (verb) endings and pronouns.”

The two families connected through Uniting for Ukraine, a federal program that gives Ukrainian citizens a pathway to come to the U.S. for a two-year period if an American family agrees to financially sponsor them. The Bitner family is providing their new housemates with everything they need to live comfortably.

“I just decided to do it one day after watching the news,” Justin said. “I asked my wife and she said ‘absolutely,’ so then I applied on the website to help. We feel we are doing well in life and we like to directly help people rather than giving money to something that we don’t know how it will be used.”

The families quickly found common ground. Not only are the two sets of twins in the same grade, but both sets of parents have had similar career paths: Alexander and Justin are both entrepreneurs, and Liza and Christy are both teachers. Alexander also began teaching tennis lessons several years ago. Justin said the Burlakas are "our Ukrainian doppelgängers."

“Many families contacted us on the first day, but the Burlakas stood out to us,” Justin said.

There was an instant bond, and the Bitners invited the Burlakas to come stay with them after just a week of talking.

“We were the only family they contacted,” Justin said. “They felt if it did not work out with us, they wouldn’t pursue anyone else. So we all feel it was a fate thing.”

The Burlakas spent nearly all their savings on the airline tickets to get Liza, Yeva, and Sofiia to the U.S. The war has devalued Ukrainian currency to the point where their savings were worth much less in American dollars than before Russia’s invasion.

Justin said the Burlaka family had a 2,000-square-foot apartment in Ukraine “that is much nicer than my new house here,” and went on nice vacations before the war.

Liza said the family enjoyed taking vacations to countries on the Mediterranean Sea.

“I miss my previous life,” she said.

“They spent a lot of money and time and effort building their two-story, beautiful apartment the way they wanted to,” Justin added. “(Alexander) has a job that he really loves, and (Liza) has a job that she really loves. So, walking away from that and starting from scratch is very difficult."

A second apartment, which they used for rental income, was destroyed in a bombing.

“On the very first day of the war, they woke up to see tanks rolling down the road outside of their home,” Justin said. “They were the first city taken and were under Russian occupation for two months.”

Justin said Liza, Yeva, and Sofiia do not talk about that time much, because the memories are too painful. The Burlakas stayed in their home “with constant shelling and the noise of rockets flying over their heads.”

A humanitarian corridor opened for them to walk through the snow with their belongings to safety, Justin said, but the Burlakas chose not to because they heard Russia was shelling the safe route.

“Through all of this, they did not want to leave Alexander behind but eventually, the fear of their children being harmed and the torture of constant air raid sirens made them decide it was time to leave,” Justin said.

People around Bridgewater have donated three bicycles, many clothes, and close to $1,000 for the Burlakas.

“(Sofiia) was trying to ride my bike, which was too big for her, so luckily we got some girls’ bikes in,” Justin said.

Liza said she’s ridden a bike before, but added “maybe I forget how” with a grin.

Justin said the family found a local doctor to tighten Sofiia’s braces monthly, which was a necessity. There are also some fundraisers in the works around the area, Justin said.

“The community has been great for them,” Justin said.

Liza has set up a SpotFund to build back her savings. She and the Bitners are working to get her approved to teach in the U.S, and she said she will begin studying for the Praxis next month. She hopes to save up to move into an apartment with the girls.

Justin said the family will move home if the war ends soon, and if not, they will have to apply for asylum so they may stay in the U.S. Justin said they hope Alexander will be allowed to leave and join the family, if they must make that decision.

“We would love to talk to a free immigration attorney for advice on this,” Justin said. “We want to get this started immediately, as we know it can take a long time.”

The combined families in New Jersey hope to send Alexander a care package monthly with artwork from his girls and with things he and the military might need.

“I have asked him many times what I can send him, and in taking care of his family, that's all he could ask for,” Justin said. “But the military desperately needs warm clothing for the soldiers as winter is approaching and they are out in the snow and cold. Also, any drones that are not ‘toys’ that you are willing to donate would be awesome. They use them to scout ahead safe routes or to identify where the enemy is on the battlefield.”

Click here to donate to the Burlakas.