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***click on + and ! for Perepadya's story in each place. Hover over each pin for location.

Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Davis,CA

Swords, Ireland

Dnipro, Ukraine

Davis High junior Maxym Perepadya is a Ukrainian refugee. This is his journey from hometown Dnipro, Ukraine to his current home of Davis, CA.

The refugee journey of davis high student Maxym perepadya

They arrived as refugees in Swords, Ireland, on May 5. There, they received aid from the Irish government, who gave them a hotel room to stay in for free, plus a monthly allowance to pay for food. There was no kitchen in the hotel, so they had to rely on restaurants, supermarkets, and the hotel buffet. Perepadya’s mom only stayed with them for part of the time, before going back to Ukraine. In Ireland, Perepadya went to school, which was not exactly enjoyable. “Number one, the school uniform is really uncomfortable,” Perepadya said. “(It’s) big and giant, (made of) sheep wool. And when it rains, it gets like twice as heavy.” Phones were also forbidden. “You are not allowed to even take out a phone in a break, in a school territory,” he said.

Getting into the US as a refugee was more difficult than getting into Ireland. Ireland only required filling out a few papers; to get into the US, Perepadya and his father had to acquire a sponsor through the program Uniting for Ukraine. This essentially proved that, when they came to the US, they would be productive members of society. Their sponsor lives in Davis, and so Perepadya and his father came to Davis. Perepadya’s mom didn’t come over with them, but she visits every few months. School in Davis is “much better” than Ireland, Perepadya said. “Now like, in every class I have a couple friends.” Here, with a larger diversity of students compared to Ireland, Perepadya doesn’t feel like he sticks out as much. He also has a larger friend group, comprised of mostly American students. His best friend, though, is Ukrainian. He continues to play tennis, which he started five to six years ago. And he calls his family via Facetime, including his brother in the Czech Republic. Perepadya’s legal status as a refugee ends in 2026. By then, he hopes to acquire a university visa and stay in the U.S.

After four months in Ireland, Perepadya’s father decided they would move to the US. But before that, they went back to Dnipro for two weeks. By this point the war had become routine. At the beginning of the war, Perepadya and his family had run to the bomb shelter around the corner from their apartment at the sound of any air raid. Now, people just ignored it, unless the sound was close. The brief trip to Dnipro served mainly as a time for Perepadya to be with family. “The visit was nostalgic because I hadn't been in my house for about 6 months and I knew I wouldn't be there for at least a couple of years,” Perepadya said. It also served as a goodbye. “I remember seeing my family, especially my mother's father, because he was really sick and I knew it was the last time I would see him,” he said.

Perepadya and his father were joined by his mother when it came time to leave the country, around May 1. His 23-year-old brother and his brother’s girlfriend came to get them, because his father couldn’t legally leave the country without his brother. “(My brother is) basically a regular person, but officially he’s disabled,” Perepadya said. “He can’t lift really heavy stuff because he has a metal, not like spike but something in his back.” Parents of disabled children could legally leave the country, because otherwise they would be eligible for being drafted (which, at the time, included men of age 27-60). So it was necessary for Perepadya’s brother to come in order to get their father out. After leaving the country, they went to Romania, then Hungary to say goodbye to his brother and his brother’s girlfriend, who were going to the Czech Republic. Perepadya, his mother, and his father returned to Romania, and from there they flew to Ireland.

DHS Junior Maxsym Perepadya grew up in Dnipro, Ukraine, until the age of 14. He left home with his father when Russia invaded, and after traveling through multiple places, ended up in Davis. “Certain people had warnings, like journalists,” Perepadya said. “A lot of people had them, but, you know, we never believed in it.” “A funny actually story, like literally one day before (the invasion), me and my friend made a bet for a slap in the face: ‘Will the war start or not.’ And I said it won’t start. And like literally five or six hours after that it started.” On Feb. 26, two days after the invasion, Perepadya and his father moved to Chernivtsi, in the western part of Ukraine. His parents had divorced, and his mother had to stay in Dnipro due to her job and her parents’ health. So throughout Perepadya’s international journey, she would stay with them for part of the time, and go back to Ukraine for most of the time. “They’re kinda (on good terms),” Perepadya said. “Because of me. But otherwise not really.” In Chernivtsi, Perepadya and his father lived in a house left behind by an older couple who had left the country. Along with Perepadya and his father came some other family members and coworkers, plus their kids.