In a twist of fate, a young professor from Los Angeles went from teaching abroad to fleeing with his family for his life when he found himself in Kiev, the center of a war zone.
“I would say we are going to return, but I don’t know if we are going to return”, said Juan Tec. “I simply had so many things, we were starting a life here, a home, but now we are running”, declared the teacher of 32 years to ABC News, with whom they share their journey while fleeing from Kiev amid Russian bombing.
At first light Thursday morning, he, his wife and 2-year-old son picked up Tec’s elderly grandmother-in-law before hitting the road for Poland.
Until just a few days, Tec’s plan was to remain in Ukraine, but the explosions in the capital made him change his mind.
“We think that it is probably better to leave than to stay in Kiev, in case they come here,” Tec said in a daily video. “As American citizens, we would be safer outside of Russian-occupied Kiev, if it happens.”
Through iPhone videos, still images, and video diaries depicting the scenes of the invasion and evacuation from Ukraine, the teacher has been keeping up to date on his situation on ABC’s “Nightline”.
Through his videos, the teacher recounts the raw events that the evacuees have seen on their journey.
“There was an explosion right there,” Tec said in a daily video. “Stuck in traffic, all the birds just flew away. I don’t know if it was a downed plane or what, wow, that was intense”.
Tec packed everything that could fit in his car and, while they flee, he tries to keep the gas tank full.
On Friday, Tec and his family managed to reach the Polish border, although he does not know if he will ever be able to return to Ukraine.
Tec and his family arrived at the Polish border on Friday. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever come back.
“Really upset with this whole situation,” said the Tec. “We had a house here and they came and destroyed it. They are trying to destroy it. But the Ukrainians are brave and they are standing up and fighting back and we saw some of the military coming out from the opposite side and I felt a little bad. You know, they’re fighting. I think most of us should fight, honestly. They are going to do everything possible to protect their land and their country”, he commented.
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