It wasn’t just people in Ukraine who were celebrating this year’s silver jubilee Ukrainian Independence Day: Ukrainian émigrés around the world also marked the 25th anniversary of the creation of the modern Ukrainian state.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Russia is home to the largest population of Ukrainians living outside the country’s borders, with officially 1.9 million Ukrainian residents there — though the number could be as high as 10 million if people who identify as ethnically Ukrainian and refugees from the war-torn east of Ukraine are included.
The next largest émigré populations are in Canada, which has 1.2 million people of Ukrainian descent, and in the United States, where there are officially 900,000, but where there could be up to 1.5 million, taking into account undocumented immigrants.
There are also large Ukrainian communities in Argentina, Brazil, France, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, and Belgium, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says. The total number of official émigrés is more than 10 million.
Ukrainian spirit and soul
Ukrainian emigrant Luda Anastasievsky, an English teacher living in Minneapolis in the United States, told the Kyiv Post that this year Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, in recognition of the achievements of Ukrainians resident in the United States, had proclaimed Aug. 24 Ukrainian Independence Day in Minnesota.
“I celebrated it at the Ukrainian Community Picnic,” said Anastasievsky.
The celebration will continue at the Ukrainian-American Community Center with an annual Ukrainian Heritage Festival that was postponed till Sept. 18.
Anastasievsky said that the guests of the festival will be treated to a performance of the Cheremosh Ukrainian folk dance ensemble, visit a cultural exhibit entitled “The Ukrainian Photographers of the Twin Cities,” listen to the popular local Ukrainian Village Band, and enjoy a concert.
“The festival’s Ukrainian atmosphere, with its smells and tastes of kovbasa (sausage), varenyky, and bright colors of Vyshyvankas (Ukrainian national embroidered shirt), is unforgettable,” said Anastasievsky.
Tonya Levchuk, a Ukrainian IT specialist and activist living in Austin, said that Ukrainians in her city were going to rent premises to celebrate Independence Day.
“I know that various celebrations were expected in Dallas, Huston. And Ukrainians from San Antonio joined our celebration in Austin,” said Levchuk.
“Every year more and more people come to our celebrations. They bring dishes of Ukrainian cuisine and wear Vyshyvanka embroidered shirts. The patriotism of people living here amazes me,” she added.
In Argentina, the Ukrainian community is the second largest one after the Italian one. More than 300,000 Ukrainians of five generations live in cities and villages across Argentina, according to Maria Cristina Zinko, the vice president of a Ukrainian community organization in the country.
Zinko said that the celebrations in Buenos Aires and some provinces of Argentina would start with religious ceremonies.
“We will begin with laying flowers in front of the monument to Jose de Saint Martin, the national hero of Argentina. Then there will be festive church services in many Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic churches,” said Zinko told the Kyiv Post on Aug 16.
After the religious ceremonies, Ukrainians in Argentina were to enjoy festive cocktail parties and watch a concert of Ukrainian music, Zinko said.
But unlike in Minnesota, the Argentinian government isn’t providing support to the Ukrainian diaspora to prepare for the Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress reported on its website that this year expats in Canada would start celebrating Ukrainian Independence Day earlier. On Aug. 20, the Toronto Branch of the congress hosted a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence and commemorated three additional historical milestones for the Ukrainian Canadian community: The 160th Anniversary of the birth of Ivan Franko, the 125th Anniversary of the first Ukrainian settlements in Canada, and the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
“Given the very troubling situation in Ukraine, this year more than any other, we need your assistance in spreading the word and showing the strength of our community,” read a message from the congress published in July.
There was a full program of celebrations: a VIP reception and official ceremonies were followed by a concert.
The event included a Ukrainian food court, a traditional “Yarmarok” fair, as well as a mini Flea Market. There were also games in the “Children’s Corner,” a soccer tournament, volleyball and chess tournaments to round out the activities.
Motherland’ grief unites
U.S.-Ukrainian Levchuk said that compared to other cities in the United States, there are not so many Ukrainians living in Austin. But before the EuroMaidan Revolution and war in the Donbas, she had no idea that hundreds of other Ukrainians were also living in Texas.
“Ukrainians meet once a month. We call our meetings the Monthly Social. We talk, celebrate all the big national holidays together and we also gather to cheer for Ukraine during various international sport competitions,” said Levchuk.
Together with fellow Ukrainians Iryna Pylypenko and Elina Lerman, Levchuk founded a charity fund called Save Lives Together in 2014. Since then they have raised about $2 million and other aid, which they have sent to Ukraine.
In Minneapolis, activists of the non-profit 503(C) 3 volunteer organization Maidan Minnesota have organized charity concerts and other events to raise money for medical and humanitarian support for soldiers, internally displaced people, orphans, and families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. In less than two years, the Maidan has raised over $90,000 in aid to Ukraine.
“To raise the local awareness about the plight of Ukraine, Maidan Minnesota activists organize rallies, lectures, cultural exhibits and movie screenings, and initiate grassroots advocacy campaigns,” said Anastasievsky.
Long-distance ties
Although most Ukrainian expats in other countries are very patriotic, and show support and love for Ukraine, not many are in a hurry to return to their homeland.
Anastasievsky came to the United States in 1990, right before the collapse of the Soviet Union, to work and study. Currently she does not plan to live in Ukraine, for family reasons.
“But I’d love to live in Ukraine at some later point,” she said. “Ukraine is very beautiful, it has wonderful people, a rich culture, and a lot of potential.”
Levchuk, who moved to United States 10 years ago after graduating from university, now has a good job and work colleagues she loves in the United States. But she still frequently thinks about moving back to Ukraine.
“All my family lives there, I miss them so much. I even had plans to come to Ukraine and live there for six months, but my plans fell though,” said Levchuk.
Levchuk said that she has no plans to come back to Ukraine in the near future. She said she wanted to see positive changes in the Ukrainian government first.
She also complained about corruption still being widespread in Ukraine: “It’s so insulting to see that sometimes the humanitarian aid we collect and send to Ukraine from abroad can be found being sold in shops,” said Levchuk.
“We in the U.S don’t print the money. A lot of people here share all they have to help their nation. But some people in Ukraine are making money on that. That’s not fair!” she added.
But Levchuk said that when she first visited Ukraine after the start of the war in Donbas, she also met lots of good and honest people. It is for their sake that she, as many other members of the large Ukrainian diaspora around the world, will continue to help Ukraine – no matter what.
