Nineteen-year-old Evgeny Bystrov, 20 year-old Elena Rybalko, and 21-year-old Anna Panfilova are standouts from the usual sight of panhandlers in Austin. Their signs read, they are lifeguards with no money to get home to Russia.
“It's my big dream to visit America, to learn more about your culture and to find new friends, to visit interesting place,” Bystrov said. He says his dream has turned into a nightmare.
The students came to Austin through a work program. They are hosted by Interexchange in New York and Geovisions in New Hampshire. Each student was supposed to bring $420 per month for rent, plus some spending money. Instead, the students each brought about $500 and counted on their summer salaries as lifeguards to make up the difference. Their parents at home have no idea they are begging on a street corner.
Panfilova says, “I cannot say for my mother that I have so big problem, because she gave me a lot of money and now I can't request more.”
The students say they walked off their jobs as lifeguards for a swimming pool in the Shadowglen subdivision in Manor on August 5. They say they did it because they were not getting paid. Their employer, Lifeline Aquatics in Georgetown, says they were paid.
Company Vice President Kerry Evans was moved to tears when she talked KVUE News on the phone. “I thought that this would be a really good experience for them, and for me and it just hasn't worked out that way, and we both just kind of got left by the companies that brought them here,” Evans said.
We contacted both companies, which claim they are helping resolve the matter. Meanwhile, the students' work visas are about to expire September 1. Their lease is up at the end of August.
They say they want just one thing. “Change tickets and go home now,” Rybalko said.
That could cost up to $300 each. All of the students have tickets to fly from the U.S. to Moscow. Panfilova still needs a ticket from Austin to New York.
As a group, they say they are making about $50 a day at the corner of Duval and Mopac.
