Irina Buslo: A Dream Briefly
Realized
A
decade ago, Irina Buslo was a teacher in Belarus. But
when she moved to New York from Minsk six years ago, she
worked as a baby sitter. Later she got a job as a clerk
at Banana Republic, but her interest was in learning
about computers. A year and a half ago, when she was
hired to be an administrative assistant at Fuji Bank in 2
World Trade Center, she was thrilled. She and her
roommate, Irina Bobb, celebrated by buying new shoes.
The job meant that she could send more money home to
her mother and 13-year-old daughter, who live together in
Minsk, and that she was a step closer to bringing her
daughter to New York.
Ms. Bobb, a waitress who also immigrated from Minsk,
recalled that Ms. Buslo, 32, would send money home to
Minsk before she would pay the rent on the two-bedroom
apartment they shared in Sunnyside, Queens. "You always
think about your relatives, about your daughter," she
said. "You could always catch up with rent."
Ms. Buslo, who was divorced from her husband, had
studied English and Spanish in college in Minsk in the
early 80's, said Ilya Prishepov, a friend who attended
with her and later immigrated to the United States. He
now owns a construction business in Pawling, N.Y. "She
wanted to work in a big company," Mr. Prishepov said.
"That is what she did."
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