Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in economics, in his book “The Argumentative Indian” poses a question: If racism, religious intolerance, and sexism are wrong, can nationalism and patriotism, which are so often upheld as noble, be right?
It is a very relevant question to Ukraine, especially in the light of Ukraine’s sporadic problems with racism, religious intolerance and the lingering presence of a blinkered nationalism. I say blinkered because “When a country is under foreign domination, nationalism is a strengthening and unifying force. But a stage arrives when it might well have a narrowing influence,” to quote the Indian freedom fighter and the first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Racism
Personally, I find Ukraine one of the safest countries in the world, and Kyiv, one of the safest cities. Walking alone through dimly lit streets, late at night, or making use of the frequently shabby underpasses, I have never felt really uncomfortable or threatened about my safety. The same with attending the football matches at the Olympic Stadium, where, often, crowds could be 60,000 or more strong. I have attended such matches all on my own – something I wouldn’t care to do in Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
Apparently, from what I gather, the picture is not that rosy anymore. Many – some acquaintances, some strangers – have been reporting a surge in racist violence recently. Reports talk about gangs of skinheads roaming around; hanging out in underpasses; assembling in front of student dormitories, as well as making their presence felt in the city center. So far, it has been the foreign student community – particularly the African, Asian and Middle Eastern – on the receiving end of these perpetrators of hatred, aggression and violence. Recently for an African student, sadly, the experience turned out to be fatal. Last month a Spanish girl and her Spanish boyfriend – she a teacher of Spanish at the Shevchenko University – were assaulted by a gang of six. The incident took place – there was no theft involved – at 10 in the evening right in downtown. A reliable source tells me that one of the most recent victims was a top-level diplomat from an Asian country.
Religious Intolerance
Ukraine, unfortunately, has a long tradition of anti-Semitism: one inherited from a medieval, theologically based Jew-hating tradition and inexplicably carried on – despite the horrors of pogroms and the Holocaust – to the 21st century. Vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, all over Ukraine, still occur on a regular basis – the most recent being the defacement of a monument to Holocaust victims and 270 Jewish graves in Odessa. It is jarring, to say the least, that there is very little public condemnation about atrocities of this nature.
Nationalism
During the Orange Revolution, I met plenty of Ukrainian nationalists of all colors and hues. Fortunately, because of the overall prevalent good-natured-ness of the crowd, their presence and often misguided proclamations were no cause for real concern. On the other hand, looking at some pictures of last Friday’s blockade of the monument of the great Ukrainian bard Taras Shevchenko by a small group of nationalists, I was saddened. Their excuse was that the left-wing party supporters – all Ukrainian citizens though – had no right to pay their homage to the poet’s 193rd anniversary. Very counterproductive, I thought, considering the task at hand – an effort at nation-building that calls for the participation of every single Ukrainian.
Not Insurmountable
For a country like Ukraine – a very fertile land and not overcrowded; with plenty of natural resources; a hard working and above all a rather well-educated population – problems like racism, religious intolerance and misguided nationalism are certainly not insurmountable.
Racism can be tackled by a vociferous condemnation of it by the general public, with full-fledged participation from the media and a vigilant law-enforcement authority.
Religious intolerance – because of Ukraine’s peculiar and somewhat entrenched anti-Semitism – calls for a deliberate personal effort from the majority of Ukrainians. The task is not easy, since it involves the weeding out of inherited and superstitious notions.
A fervent and concerted nationalism was indispensable as long as Ukraine was fighting for its freedom. Now that Ukraine is free and independent, that brand of nationalism can only function as a hindrance to the country’s emergence as a truly democratic civil society. All effort and energy, right now, ought to be channeled towards nation-building.
Harikrishnan Sankaran is a member of the editorial staff of the Kyiv Post. The views expressed are strictly his own.
