The Khioni family walked into Islamorada’s Starbucks on a recent rainy Sunday evening, after battling classic end-of-weekend traffic. The parents, Georgii and Nina, walked to the counter with their sons Tony, 15, and Alex, 8, and debated what to order. Alex shyly looked at the rows of colorfully frosted cake pops. He had just competed in a soccer game at Founders Park and was looking forward to a treat.
At first glance, the foursome was a “typical” Keys family going about their busy weekend. But this was their first time — ever — in an American Starbucks. Alex was wearing a shirt that said “I am Ukrainian,” while Georgii and Tony had shirts of blue and yellow, and Nina wore a traditional embroidered Ukrainian dress.
They were at Starbucks to talk to Keys Weekly about their journey from their war-torn country, from which they immigrated in June. They have established residence in the Florida Keys, registered the children in the schools and now want to express gratitude to the community.
“We are so grateful to our friends and great supporters, Andrew and Nick,” said Georgii. He explained that these friends, who have Ukrainian roots, supported the family’s first days in the U.S. The Khionis are staying temporarily in Andrew and Nick’s Islamorada home while looking for affordable housing.
“So we can settle down, rest and do our studies,” said Tony, who is a student at Coral Shores High School.
And the family does need rest. They are from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The city of 3 million people, like the rest of the country, has been constantly bombed by Russia since its president, Vladimir Putin, declared war in February 2022.
The Khionis described how their happy, prosperous life was upended by war. Georgii, who has a doctorate, worked in management; Nina has a medical degree and led a hospital radiology department. Both Tony and Alex are excellent students and athletes and played soccer in their hometown.
Then the bombing started on Feb. 24, 2022.
“For almost one and a half years, we lived and worked under bombing every single day and night,” said Nina.
The family slept many nights in a bomb shelter, where the kids spent their days studying. Georgii said that he once saw a 25-story building leveled by a missile right in front of him, and, in another incident, an entire family of friends were killed when their apartment complex was ripped in two by a 500-kilogram bomb.
“Your phone rings when the bombing starts,” Tony said. “Listen.” He pressed an app on his phone, and an ear-splitting — and hair-raising — siren blared.
Next, Tony showed a video, taken from within a shelter: Lights shot across a night sky over large buildings to the sound of screaming whistles.
“That sound? That’s the sound of kamikaze drones, which were directed at residential buildings,” he said.
At the beginning of summer 2023, Georgii knew that the family had to leave to save their lives.
“The bombing was every single night,” he said. “In May, 557 missiles and drones fell on Kyiv. I thought we may not wake up the next morning.”
Fortunately, in order to get out of the country, the Khionis were able to use their own resources and connections. And they want to continue to connect with the community about jobs in their fields: Nina for radiology and Georgii for real estate and management.
“We want to thank so many people,” said Nina, specifically requesting to mention them: Andrew and Nick, as well as A.J., Andrew’s son; friends Frank and Alex, who enabled the family to come to Florida; “great managers and people” Brian and Jeff; Linsey, a Special Olympics director “who provided amazing connections”; Pastor Tony Hammon and his wife, Colleen; school staff, including principals Laura Lietaert of Coral Shores and Lisa Hayes-Taylor of PKS, and “all the teachers for magic support,” like Ms. Barker for Alex; Monroe County government; and “all incredible persons and neighbors around us in our community, like Carolyn, who is guiding and navigating us.”
Lietaert and Hammon are both impressed by the family.
“They have been very active supporters of the Coral Shores community,” said Lietaert. “We are all very proud of Tony’s most recent accomplishment, signing as a Take Stock in Children scholarship opportunity recipient.”
Hammon added, “They’re phenomenal. The kids are amazing to watch adjust, and Nina and Georgii are both highly educated and making progress with licensing.”
As the family walked from Starbucks out into the light rain falling that night, Georgii stopped and turned around. He had one last thing he wanted to say.
“Ukraine still exists because of Ukrainian courage, and the American leadership and its amazing support encouraged other countries to stand with Ukraine — the biggest country in Europe. We want everyone to know that.”
With that, the family got in their car. And they drove away, into the night, to their new home.
The Khionis would love to hear from locals and connect. Contact them at 786-917-7707 or
Khioni.Nina@gmail.com.
