Statistics show that 13-15 million Ukrainians and their descendants, that is approximately one third of the population of modern Ukrainian state, live abroad. Most of them live in Canada, the US, Brazil, Argentina and others. Before Maydan, the Ukrainians abroad thought of their motherland several times a year – on the anniversary of the Holodomor and Shevchenko’s birthday. But the winter protests in Kyiv, the occupation of Crimea and the war in the Donbass demonstrated a true power of the Ukrainian diaspora – today their support can’t be overstated.
After the annexation of Crimea, the Crimeans, who had to leave the peninsula, joined the Crimean diaspora. Hanna Zakharova, the Crimean, who lives in the Canadian city Calgary now and is actively involved in the volunteer activity of one of the oldest Ukrainian diasporas, told us about the help to the Ukrainian army abroad, emigration difficulties and plans for the future victory.
You left Crimea almost immediately after the annexation. What emotions did those events cause?
I was an active person in Crimea – I was involved in volunteering, we organized various actions together with like-minded people. Then I joined with my friends the Crimean Euromaydan.
But everything was over with the occupation. It was very scary; it seemed to me that it was a nightmare. Armed people on the streets, the pressure on journalists, activists kidnapping, horror arising with sounds, which are similar to the explosion… and a thought flashed across your mind – it is a war.
But the war began not in Crimea but in the East of our country. Three people were killed in Crimea: two military men and one ordinary citizen Ryeshat Amyetov, who came to the square with one-person picket. Later he was found tortured to death. The Crimean “self-defense” started to kidnap activists and torture them. At that time many people having an active attitude to life left the peninsula and continue to move out now.
Emotions are as if you are a person deprived of own home, all rights and having just the right to breath.
Emigration and living arrangements at the new location are very difficult things. How did you find the strength to volunteer?
The events that happened in Ukraine over the past year have changed my life completely as well as the lives of many my friends. I’m glad that I was not wrong with them – we share common values, they are real friends. At that time (during Maydan and the annexation of Crimea – editor’s note) all values and rights that seemed to be self-evident suddenly turned to be illegal. When the dictatorial laws of January 16 were adopted, I thought that it was the end of the world. But then there were the first deaths, the “Heaven’s Hundred”, the occupation, the war…
When I came to Canada, first and foremost, I started looking for our people and found wonderful friends – the Ukrainians and then the Russian people, who supported me. Many of them came here to escape the Soviet regime. Those Russians, who came later, have already escaped the Putin’s regime, other people wanted to stay away from the rotten system. As for me, I was born in Russia but have been living in Ukraine for all my conscious life receiving its freedom into myself.
I was welcomed warmly by local people, they asked many questions and wondered how it is possible that “I was from Crimea and spoke the Ukrainian language!” There the volunteer movement took a new meaning for me: “help to our people” turns into “help to our people at home”.
The assistance to other people keeps the lights on for me because only in such a way I feel myself needed, not lonely and that I mean something in this world. The volunteering is a great way to fight the depression although you save every penny to survive.
How active is the Ukrainian community of Calgary?
It is very active, though it is not so large as in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. It includes about 80 thousand ethnic Ukrainians but only some of them are really active and organize a lot of different events – both cultural and educational ones – and young people work alongside the older generation, know and sing Ukrainian songs. There are many Ukrainian churches, where some events are held as well, the Ukrainian school and Ukrainian choirs.
What was the reaction of the Ukrainian community of Calgary to events on Maydan in winter of 2013-14?
All active members of the diaspora take the events at home to heart. It is related even to those people, who came here 30 years ago or was born in Canada but visited Ukraine. When Maydan started, everyone worried very much, began to arrange actions and fundraising to support Maydan regularly. There was a festival of the Christmas carols in the church, “dumplings” – when all members gather together, make and sell the Ukrainian dumplings for $6 per plate. They organized the illumination of the Calgary Bridge with the yellow-blue colors, later there was a performance in honor of Shevchenko. It was exactly the Shevchenko’s birthday, when the coordinator of the Crimean Euromaydan Andriy Shchekun was kidnapped…
In general, the entire Ukrainian diaspora in Canada collected more than 2 million dollars to help the brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
The President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Pavlo Grod is very proud that he was declared persona non grata in Russia.
Has the community’s activity changed after the war started in the East of Ukraine?
Yes, of course, we help even more but now to the soldiers in the ATO zone being in direct contact with volunteers in Ukraine.
A starting point for us to organize such kind of the assistance was the request of one of the volunteers of the battalion “Golden Gate” Oleg Hmelnitskiy. He appealed to the Honored Artist of Ukraine Ihor Bohdan, who was singing in the group “Vatra”. Ihor put the idea of organizing a concert in Calgary in September. All our organizations and Ukrainian on-stage performance groups such as the choir “Korinnya”, dance theatre “Suzirrya”, Tetyana Onyshchenko, Stefaniya Romanyuk and many other artists has joined it. Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association opened an account to raise funds. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress created a page on their website. I prepared information stands, posters and flyers. Olena Skorohod reached an agreement with the local authority to arrange the concert in the center of the city. We contacted some volunteers in Ukraine to help our soldiers in different areas. I assumed the cooperation with the volunteers in Ukraine.
What are the results of your work? What people were you able to help directly?
Since August 2014, we were able to collect more than 17 thousand dollars and 14 thousand have been already sent.
Our help is targeted, in particular, via volunteers and volunteer organizations in Ukraine (Save Ukraine, “Wings of the Phoenix”, “Wings of Hope”, “People’s rear”).
We bought the medicines for the wounded in Kyiv and Lviv hospitals through the cooperative efforts, purchased hemostatic agents for guys in the ATO and warm overalls for tankers; thanks to the efforts of Yura Danilov and Save Ukraine Foundation, Landrover Discovery was purchased in Europe for the battalion “Golden Gate”. Leonid Panchenko and volunteers made minor repairs in the car, painted it in camouflage and this week the auto will be delivered to the Shastya village. We helped border guards in Kherson, added funds to buy a thermal imaging device for the battalion “Aydar”. But there can be problems: for example, recently the “People’s rear” sent oversized uniforms and it is needed to change it. All reports about our work can be found on our Facebook page Support for Ukraine – Calgary.
We also managed to collect a huge amount of clothes, primary, children’s ones, for forced migrants from the eastern Ukraine. Many people responded and continue to bring them. Some days ago we sent about 100 kg baby clothes to Kherson. We are planning to make new sending with the help of the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa volunteers.
How do Canadians react to your activity?
The problem is that almost no one in Canada knows about the war in Ukraine and obvious violation of human rights on the territories occupied by Russia.
There were news related to the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war but then they stopped to discuss this topic despite the fact that periodically you can find news about the help to Ukraine from Canada on the official government websites.
So, we took to the streets on January 25 to express our protest, honor memory of people died in Mariupol and during the war, inform people and ask the Canadian government to help on behalf of the diaspora. Our main requirements were: to release Savchenko, Syentsov, Kolchenko and other political prisoners; to step up sanctions against Russia; to recognize the LNR/DNR as terrorist organizations; recognize Russia as the aggressor and sponsor of terrorism; provide Ukraine with the military assistance at struggle with the aggressor. We hope that the government of Canada will hear us.
Are there other migrants from Crimea or the east of Ukraine among volunteers in Calgary?
Yes, I already know some of them: two people from Donetsk and Lugansk – they are my friends. They are wonderful people, who helped me collect children’s clothes. Just like me, they hate the Putin’s regime. One of them came just recently together with his family leaving his business in Donetsk. But there are also people, who support the “Russian world”. I try not to communicate with them.
Do you collaborate with the Ukrainian volunteers in other countries?
Of course, we are in contact but not so often. For example, we send money for the volunteer from Dnipropetrovsk Yulya Segeda, who collects first-aid kits of NATO standard, directly to the United States and from there packages with first-aid kits are sent to Ukraine. Our first action of solidarity with the whole world after Maydan was the march and demonstration on January 25.
It is very difficult to make any predictions now but all the same: what are your hopes and dreams?
Now I live for the moment and have nothing. I have no idea what will happen with my family tomorrow. My wealth and my sense of life today are inspiring people around me and at home. But I’m very glad that there is a chance here to help our people, who go to the front with the humanitarian aid at the risk of their lives and those, who being in the trenches, virtually barehanded fight for the right of existence of freedom and democracy ideas, supremacy of law and international law, supremacy of generosity and universal values over meanness, treachery, betrayal, lies, corruption and an attempt to divide and rule without paying attention to people’s lives only because there is a power – authority, nuclear weapons, military capacity.
Our nation is struggling not with one enemy that attacked from the east – our nation is also struggling with the internal enemy, who has been destroying our country for all these years. But together we will win because we are many and hold together.
I will say not in the future time but in the present one: we are conquering all local and imported evil, we are regenerating and thriving. Only in this way. With God on our side!
