CBS Mornings on Wednesday highlighted the plight of an Ukrainian American who went to Poland to rescue her nice and nephew. All three were turned down by the American Embassy and now they are basically homeless. Co-host Tony Dokoupil only referred to “reassurance[s] from the U.S. government.” He played a clip of the President, but never said the words “Joe Biden” while recounting this harrowing tale.
At the border of Poland and Ukraine, the host noted that, “according to the State Department, Ukrainians are only being considered for resettlement in America if the countries they fled into are also unsafe.” Dokoupil talked to Maryna Seifi, an Ukrainian American who flew from San Francisco to find her young relatives. Seifi explained her treatment at the hands of the Biden government: “When we went to the American embassy, they just turned us away. Even though I claim to be an American citizen, they have no empathy or understanding. I want to take my kids.”
Notice how Dokoupil managed to avoid the words “Joe Biden.”
DOKOUPIL: Despite assurances from the U.S. government, it is not working. —
JOE BIDEN – We will continue to provide security, economic, and humanitarian aid.
DOKOUPIL: — and special protections for Ukrainians already living in the U.S., the State Department so far hasn’t announced any exceptions for those fleeing the war even if their closest family relatives are American. Seifi was shocked.
CBS deserves credit for even covering this story with a Biden clip. How about a discussion on the President’s responsibility for the change and how to do it?
Seifi condemned:
When the leaders of the country, right, tell you ‘We stand with you, we support you,’ this is not actual support. Real support comes when I am able to take my family with me. Their family doesn’t have a place to call home. They must go along with me.
Dokoupil managed to at least mention one Democrat, the Congressman of Seifi: “We reached out to Seifi’s congressman, that’s Representative Eric Swalwell, whose office did tell us they are going to be contacting her and will help in whatever way they can. Remains to be seen what that way will be.”
This may all sound familiar. At the end August, Americans were trapped in Afghanistan and the Biden administration was gone. The debacle that took place in Afghanistan in August 2021 lasted 409 minutes. In October 2018, it was reduced to only 16 minutes in the evening newscasts.
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Below is a transcript. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS Mornings
3./9/2022
7:09 AM ETTONY DOKOUPIL: More than two million refugees have fled that war in Ukraine in the last two weeks alone, and some of them have families back in the United States. According to the State Department however, Ukrainians will only be considered for resettlement in America when their countries of origin are not unsafe. One Ukrainian American flew from San Francisco to Poland in order to return with her two teenage cousins. We learned that this is not permitted. Maryna Seifi, a 19-year old sister to Victoria Seifi and her 16-year-old nephew Ilya told their sisters about the 622 train from Poland to warn them not to panic.
MARYNA SEIFI : Yes, they were able jump on the train and hold it tight. It was crowded with people trying to escape.
DOKOUPIL: Once the teens had been safely aboard, Seifi ran with her husband, and jumped on the next flight to California from Poland. They left behind two of their children. Only 2 years old, the youngest.
SEIFI – The instructions were to make sure that you wait at least ten, twenty, or even 20 days for your auntie to come and pick you up.
DOKOUPIL – They met five days earlier on that famous train platform, thinking it was the end of their hard work. The family lost their luck at that point.
SEIFI: We were turned away by the American Embassy when we tried to visit them. The Americans don’t understand me, and they have no compassion.
DOKOUPIL: Despite reassurance from the U.S. Government —
JOE BIDEN – We will continue to provide security, economic, and humanitarian aid.
DOKOUPIL: — and special protections for Ukrainians already living in the U.S., the State Department so far hasn’t announced any exceptions for those fleeing the war even if their closest family relatives are American. Seifi was shocked.
SEIFI: When the leaders of the country, right, tell you ‘We stand with you, we support you,’ this is not actual support. Real support comes when I am able to take my family with me. Their family doesn’t have a place to call home. They must go along with me.
DOKOUPIL. Victoria also lost her passport during the Odessa rush.
SEIFI-Poland allowed her entry without screening the papers. People are allowed to enter without birth certificates, because they believe there is humanity. Why can’t America be human?
DOKOUPIL: The situation has left her in what feels like an impossible no-man’s land. Not only can she not leave her Ukrainian family but also has to return home to America for her children. What is the limit of your stay in this state?
SEIFI – It is very difficult. Fighter. They are my fighters. I won’t send them back. They won’t be sent back.
DOKOUPIL – These teens are now stuck in Poland and banned from the U.S.
SEIFI: She longs to return home.
DOKOUPIL – Right now, no one in Seifi’s family can leave Ukraine to visit the children you are looking at. Ilya, Ilya’s sister and police officer, must remain. Their grandmother, who isn’t well enough for travel, has also stayed put. We reached out to Seifi’s congressman, that’s Representative Eric Swalwell, whose office did tell us they are going to be contacting her and will help in whatever way they can. It remains to be determined what the way will be. It will be sent to me in New York for now.
NATE BURLESON – As we look at these Ukrainian families, let us remember that there is no greater family than the human race. It isn’t a Ukrainian problem. It is humanitarian.
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