A neighbor's sorrow

Our upstairs neighbors are Russians, now living in Canada for 22 years.  Both are scientists with kids who are scientists.  We have gotten together with them intermittently in the past couple of years. They typically rent their condo out.  This year they are not renting it, just going back and forth to Canada every few weeks where he has his business.  They love it here, jogging, bicycling, always at the beach, grilling outside, etc.

Then I saw them as they entered their condo.  Her mother in Russia had a stroke.  My neighbor was devastated.  She has to go back to Russia to see her mother who appears to have been given a tracheotomy and is possibly on life support in the hospital.  She must be moved to a facility but where and how. The grief, I sense, is complicated by fear.  My neighbor no longer knows the system in Russia.  Her stepfather is an experimental physicist totally wrapped up in his work.  He considers his step daughter a traitor since he hates the U.S. and Canada and is "200% behind Putin".  He is "brainwashed" she says.  So she is essentially going back to a hostile environment.  She has a step sister living in Canada who is back with the mother and is "drained".  No help there.  Her husband has decided to go back to Russia with her and I'm glad.  She seems so fragile and overwhelmed.  I wonder if they might be detained in Russia on some charges. She seems discouraged and frightened by the political environment there and current hostilities (sanctions) with the US.

I hope we see them again. I promised to water her plant on the lanai.

We forget how precious our democracy is and easily it can be lost. Just as Russia reverted to a dictator, we can be subsumed by fascism and autocratic rule.