Seeking justice - an open letter from Olha Stefanishyna

This is not about programming or hobbies, it's about a serious crime

I moved from Ukraine to Austin, Texas in February 2022 after winning the Green Card lottery. With my background in web development and clothing design, I had two jobs: a personal shopper at Walmart (Walmart Supercenter, 13201 Ranch Rd 620 N, Austin) and a part-time React Developer; taking those important first steps in a new country.

It happened while I was sleeping in my apartment (Austin, 6800 McNeil Dr 1923) - an event that changed my life forever. I have a brief, terrifying memory of waking up to see one of my coworkers from Walmart. When I tried to reach for my phone, the coworker threw it to the floor. I turned my head to the right and saw someone else. I remember a tissue with some substance being placed over my face. After that, everything went blank. This wasn't a party gone wrong or a risky lifestyle choice - I was attacked while sleeping in my apartment where I lived alone.

The next day I woke up feeling ill, thinking I had nightmare and I caught the severe flu. I ignored it. But subsequent events forced me to remember it.

After the incident, Walmart managers underestimating my English discussed a lot of things near me, that is related to the attack, including terminating my employment, saying, "She doesn't remember anything, what's the problem? Let's just fire her.", "She didn't fight for herself", "She was sterilized". They spread videos I've never seen and thrown insults despite I was one of top performers. I got problems with my health that could not have occurred naturally. I started to set questions and put peices together.

Everyone who I asked what happened, told me to go to shelter, church or psychologist and I had almost no memories of what happened. But in the past, I had woken up during surgery to remove my appendix. This experience gave me first-hand experience with how medical drugs affect consciousness and memory. Because of this experience, I could finally understand what happened to me that night. Other victims never be able to make such a connection. Without a similar experience, they never understand what was done to them.

It took me a while to understand it. I was in a foreign country with a new language and legal environment. I started to suspect that it wasn't the flu several days after the attack. I found myself unable to accept it on two levels: the complete absence of my memory about the event, and the sheer inconceivable nature of what had transpired. At first, I thought I could have an issue with adaptation. I started to check health and visit doctors to learn what happened. I covered all the costs myself. Some managers discussed my personal medical information after that, accessed without my consent. The company treated me as an object, not as a person.

I reported the incident to law enforcement as soon as I felt I had enough information to accept the fact that I was attacked at home, they closed the case without proper investigation and labeled me mentally unstable. Meanwhile, my coworkers in Walmart continued discussing me and my personal information, including medical data, without my involvement. This forced me to seek answers independently.

During my time in Austin, I became a target of systematic dehumanization. It started at Walmart and expanded throughout the community. My attackers manipulated social opinion through political tensions, fears, and prejudices. They labeled me as a "Russian scout," then a "Ukrainian prostitute," then "mentally retarded", "bueatifull trash", "dumpster", "liar", "happy layer" and "mentally unstable", despite that I never gave them any reason to think of me that way.

I wasn't able to find anyone who would work on my case so, I had to flee to save my life because the people in that environment were hostile.

This crime is a dangerous, because predators can destroy anyone through assault, torture, personal data theft, and deliberate manipulation of social opinion. Such actions create a system where serious crimes become tolerated, and victims are silenced through humiliation and social isolation. Victims are left with long-lasting physical, psychological, and economic harm, while perpetrators face no consequences. It allows predators to set precedents where victims have no opportunity to defend themselves against those who obtain their personal data through employment or apartment rental processes.

Today it's me - tomorrow it could be anyone, regardless of their background, job position, or social status.

Just think of it: they drug you diring your sleep and then wake up. It's impossible to protect yourself when you don't know what is going on. What can one do if you even cannot report to the police because you don't remember?

Moving to another country required all my resources. This attack nullified my efforts, leaving me without health, money, or the desire to continue. It shattered my trust in the world and took away the opportunity to build the life I had worked so hard for.

For society, addressing these issues is crucial to prevent such crimes from becoming systematic.

For me, obtaining information is vitally important to reclaim my life.

Trauma‑related and drug‑induced amnesia create the perfect conditions for silencing victims and making them disappear. In my article PTSD: When Dragon Doesn't Scare, I explore the neurobiological effects of life-threatening events and how criminals exploit medical blind spots to cover up serious crimes and avoid responsibility. You also can read it on Medium.

As soon as I realized I had PTSD, I started keeping a flashback journal, and it seems that the first attack on me happened in Crimea, then in Kyiv, and only after that in Austin. You can read them to understand what was roughly happening to me: I have few direct memories of the attacks and they are described in details.

I seek legal support and ask anyone with relevant information or ability to help to contact me.

I'm Currently Seeking

• Information about the incident and related video recordings
• Witnesses who might have seen or heard anything about the incident in Austin in 2023 or about the incidents in Crimea or Kyiv (2013 - 2022)
• Legal assistance
• More details about how I learned what happened to me can be found on the details page
• You also can find pinned and highlighted threads on my X page (@o_stefanishyna)