Born and raised in the capital city of Azerbaijan, Lior discovers two things at a young age: she's meant for a life abroad and she wants to know more about her Jewish roots. Our conversation is as much about her refugee story as it is her nearly lifelong pursuit of a Jewish life. After finishing her college career and spending time abroad studying in the U.S. Coast Guard, Lior returns to Azerbaijan and finds that she's no longer welcome there. She's jailed and released, seeks asylum and knows the situation will escalate if she doesn't find a way out.

"Here. Now." This is the meaning of the tattoo that Lina bears on her right arm and the mantra that guided her through her journey away from Kyiv.

We resume Lina's story as she's fleeing her home. It's February 2022 and the war in Ukraine has begun. Lina is headed west with a group of others she's just met in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. We follow her journey into Poland and, ultimately, to the Netherlands, where she contends with insomnia, an unexpected confrontation with a fellow Ukrainian and her desire to help those in need.

Lina spent her childhood living in western Ukraine before moving to the capital city of Kyiv for university. She remained in Kyiv working in public relations and then took up freelance photography. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2013 was a devastating blow for her country and for Lina's family, who'd spent many summers at their home in the peninsula. Less than a decade later, Lina awoke on February 24, 2022 to a world irrevocably changed.