A Frenchman who lives in Quebec and who had been placed for adoption in Latvia 28 years ago has found his biological sister in Ukraine thanks to the magic of social networks. Today, despite the distance and the years that have passed, he does everything to allow her to flee the war and join him here, even if they have never met.
Photo Didier Debusschere
The story of Sacha-Pierre Tournier has nothing in common. He was born in Latvia in 1990 and his parents were forced to put him up for adoption when he was just three years old.
Adopted four years later by French people, he finally landed in Quebec from Toulouse in 2018.
Courtesy pictures
Yustina, Mr. Tournier’s sister, and her son Maxym.
His biological sister, Yustina, spent her life in Ukraine. He found out after finding her on social media five years ago.
“My parents made me what they called a logbook. It was a complete file on everything they did as steps and all the information on my biological family, ”he says.
While looking for his sister’s name on Facebook, he was hit hard by the photo of one of the profiles.
“It jumped out at me. We are the same, we have the same eyes,” underlines Mr. Tournier.
To run away
Even if they were able to make up for some of the lost time thanks to technology, Sacha-Pierre and Yustina never had the chance to meet, travel plans having finally aborted. Then the war came.
“She lives in Ternopil, between two bombarded towns,” says Mr. Tournier, shaken by the story of the tragedy that hit Yustina’s family.
“Her husband is in the army. He is in combat, he defends his country, but it was no longer safe for her and her son. Her husband told her to leave, that he was happy if they could come to Canada, that it was good for their future,” he explains, referring to the sacrifice of these Ukrainian men.
Yustina therefore fled with her son Maxym and with her friend Olha, also accompanied by her son Danylo. The four managed to flee to Slovakia before they could reach Krakow, Poland.
Courtesy pictures
They will be accompanied by Olha, friend of Yustina, and her son Danylo.
” It’s the family “
It is from there that she hopes to set sail for Canada, helped by Sacha-Pierre and his spouse, Julie. The couple also say they are ready to welcome the four refugees to the family home in Saint-Raymond with their three children.
“It’s a little hard to explain because we haven’t seen each other in 28 years, but when I saw his photo, we looked so alike. I didn’t have to think, we had to help them,” confides Mr. Tournier. ” It’s the family. »
Does he feel like he’s somehow “fixing the past” by having the chance to reunite with his sister?
“I had nothing to fix, I was at peace with my life, but we will probably say things to each other that we would never have said to each other otherwise”, reflects the 31-year-old man, who only has one year difference with his sister.
Waiting for the government
Mr. Tournier hopes that the files of his sister, his nephew and their friends can be processed quickly by the Canadian government. The residence visa applications have already been sent and as soon as they have the authorizations, they will start looking for plane tickets.
And thereafter, there is no question for Yustina and Olha of returning to Europe when the situation has calmed down. They have every intention of making their living here.
“My sister has already asked me to try to find her a job when she arrives. They want to live here and contribute, make a good life for themselves,” he says, hoping that one day their spouses will be able to join them.
“It would be the icing on the cake to be able to reunite them all here in good health after the war. »