Daniel and Alina’s escape involved
a long, perilous journey from their
home city, Dnipro, to Poland, across
Europe to Belgium and onward to
Mexico and the U.S. border. They
were exhausted and had nowhere
to live until they arrived in New York.
Volunteers paired them with the
Gurevich family — Anna, Mark and
their son Gabriel. ‘‘When we found
this family, I felt so calm and at
peace,’’ Daniel says.
For Anna and Mark, the decision
to open up their home was easy.
Both are fl uent in Russian, which
lets them communicate with the
two teenagers, who don’t yet speak
English. And with their older son
away for college, they had an
open bedroom. (The siblings had
to decide between themselves who
was going to get it. Alina ended
up on the couch.)
During their stay so far, the
siblings have needed help with
logistics — fi nding lawyers, fi guring
out paperwork. But the Gureviches
have supported them emotionally
too. ‘‘The fi rst weeks, I missed
my parents very much and would
cry all night, but Anna was
so supportive,’’ Alina says. ‘‘She
showed empathy whenever we told
her what had happened to us,
and she cared for us like a mother.’’Daniel Yaburov and Alina Yaburova,
siblings from Dnipro, Ukraine,
fl ed the war in February and came
to New York, where they are being
hosted by the Gurevich family
in their three-bedroom apartment
overlooking Riverside Park on
the Upper West Side.2↑From left: Anna Gurevich, Mark Gurevich, Gabriel Gurevich, Alina Yaburova and Daniel Yaburov. P. 29