Reflections on Ukraine: My Country, My Home
Reflections on Ukraine: My Country, My Home
I remember I went to grade one a few days after Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Everyone was celebrating. I was excited because that meant I didn’t have to study Russian language at school, become a Pioneer or have a picture of Lenin on our classroom wall. Every town, city and village held a parade knowing that the future ahead won’t be easy, but we’ll be free, at last!
Over the years, we learned about freedom during history class, read from Ukrainian writers and poets, sang songs and proudly wore Ukrainian embroidered shirts while waiving the Ukrainian flags (blue representing the sky and yellow — the wheat, a common rural landscape).
Loving and fighting for our country has been ingrained in us over the centuries. The stories of our Cossacks fighting in the steppes, our heroes in the Soviet-Ukrainian war, grandparents sharing horrific tales of surviving through a forced famine during 1930-1933, known as Holodomor, which killed nearly 10 million peasants in eastern Ukraine, and my own grandfather’s war stories of World War II when the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought for Ukrainian independence against both the Germany and the Soviet Union. This fight has continued on in modern times with people gathering on the streets for the Orange Revolution in 2004 to protest the voting fraud and ten years later during Euromaidan for our chance to become part of the EU instead of being closely tied with Russia. In many of these wars Russia was the aggressor and an instigator wanting our beautiful land, rich resources, fertile soil, and hardworking people.
Having immigrated to Canada 18 years ago with my family, I’ve followed what has happened in Ukraine closely over the years. I stayed in touch with my cousins, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbours. After our son was born in 2016, I took my Canadian husband to see Ukraine, the small town where I grew up just outside of Lviv and to meet all these wonderful people. Not knowing any Ukrainian language, he blended right in over the countless dinners, bottomless drinks and endless stories of me translating back and forth while trying to learn about each other during our visit. It became evident that these hardworking people are proud of who they are, their history, culture and language.
Ever since the attack, my life now revolves around the news, calling my family back home, hearing stories from my friends hiding in bomb shelters with their kids, ensuring that my cousin who gave birth in the first days of war to a healthy baby boy is safe with all her children, and checking in on friends who are volunteering around the clock, making sure that the help that arrives to the neighbouring countries gets to those who need it most inside Ukraine. Schools, colleges, theatres all turned into refugee centres welcoming people from the eastern parts of Ukraine. Our people as always, will do anything and everything in their power to feed, help, support and protect.
What made me very proud was that since day one, Londoners have been willing to help Ukraine in every possible way: some financially, others by collecting donations, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, by acts of kindness offering their support, hugs, flowers, treats, etc. When I reached out to my friends on social media asking for help – within days my living room was piled up with boxes and bags of supplies all ready to be donated to the London Ukrainian Centre. Upon dropping the items off I stayed to volunteer and helped pack the donations for shipping overseas. One thing was clear - the donations kept coming in and volunteers from all backgrounds were there to help sort through them. Our collective efforts have demonstrated the great impact we’ve made, but there will be more work to be done when thousands of temporary residents from Ukraine arrive in Canada.
As I write this, I have a lot of love, pain, anger and hate in my heart, but I’m staying hopeful that Ukraine will be free again soon. It will be rebuilt stronger than ever before and united by its territory and our beautiful language. When that day comes, I want you to visit Ukraine, enjoy its rich culture and see for yourself how wonderful our country and our people are.
Slava Ukraini!
Ulyana George
Executive Administrator
London Community Foundation