‘Are any of your relatives dead yet?’ a classmate reportedly asked a Ukrainian refugee, then laughed as she nearly cried

A TikToker who goes by @shape_shifter01 says a classmate at her American high school asked her if her relatives were dead yet while laughing at her reaction, in a video that has drawn over 4 million views. As detailed by the Daily Dot, the creator says she is a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the United States during the Ukraine war.

According to her account, classmates would ask where she was from, and upon learning she was a first-generation Ukrainian refugee, would laugh. She says the mockery continued even after peers were aware of her background.

She also described an incident involving an English teacher after she was assigned an essay and mistakenly placed a double space between every word due to unclear formatting instructions. When she asked for clarification, she says the teacher ridiculed her in front of the class and allegedly repeated the joke for the rest of the school year.

She says a group of students asked if her relatives were dead yet

The creator says the bullying escalated after she learned her uncle had been struck by missile shrapnel and was facing possible amputation or death. She says she still attended school that day, where a group of students who had previously targeted her approached her, and one asked if any of her relatives were dead yet before laughing. She says other students in the group apologized for their friend’s behavior, but the student who asked the question laughed harder as she neared tears.

Research on refugee and asylum-seeking children has found they are more likely to experience bullying than their peers, often due to language, cultural background, or past experiences marking them as different, according to the Anti-Bullying Alliance. The organization notes that individual vulnerability factors can intersect with systemic issues such as racism and insufficient staff training.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance recommends schools challenge discriminatory language immediately, ensure anti-bullying policies explicitly cover race and faith-targeted incidents, and train staff to recognize and respond to such situations, including providing translation services where needed.

The video has drawn a large response in the comments section, with many users expressing support for the creator. Gamepur was unable to independently verify the specific school, teacher, or students described in the video, as the account originates solely from @shape_shifter01’s TikTok posts, and neither the school nor the individuals named in her account have publicly responded.