To be born in one year with your country, to be of its age and to be a friend, understand and feel it better than the others. Not to divide your life in the Soviet “before” and independent “after”, not to compare and not to seek for the differences. To divide the history and the present, eventually, to be a part of this modernity. DUMKA found out who are those that this year’s turn 27. What they are thinking about their country, about the possible emigration, the essential changes and the independence itself.
My childhood in independent Ukraine is full of freedom, creativity, dreams and scratched knees.
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that there is nothing impossible for this country, and its voice sounds like a heartbeat in each of us.
Over the past few years, I’m not able to track how many worthy initiatives have appeared in the country. I’m inspired by those fire in the eyes of those who want to prove the whole world that we worth a lot. These years are the grief and joy, strength and pain, but at the same time – these are important steps to something great and deeply spiritual.
If I was offered to move to another country... While defending my thesis on the originality and uniqueness of the Ukrainian nation, I gave a very nice speech, but today I can say for sure that I wouldn’t move out. There are so many opportunities in Ukraine, you just need time, energy and will.
If I was able to change three things in modern Ukraine, I would put in power those people who truly love their work, and not just power and money. I would expand the network of grants for talented children, scholars, and scientists. And I would make public transport comfortable.
Independence of my country is my independence.
My childhood in independent Ukraine was simple and not focused, in the end, it was the main happiness – not to cling to the adults’ problems. Children are independent in nature until they don’t understand it themselves.
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that even very long winters pass with time. In the end, with respect for those events, I want to avoid any rash manipulation. Once the blessed Lubomyr Husar said, that there are many of us on the Earth, but only a few are people. However, it appeared that there are more of them than we all thought.
Over the past few years, I’ve understood that patriotism, first and foremost, is a conscience in relation to work – everyday one, your own and painstaking. And yet, we have much more time than we think in order to work conscientiously.
If I was offered to move to another country, at least, I would discuss the possibility of it. Opportunities and prospects are not always tied to the territorial components, but rather to internal harmonization with the environment. In the end, it’s not even about Ukraine, and not about the state at all. It is about the search of the environment – scientific, air, weightless (“to each his own”). Therefore, it’s necessary to develop the area where the inner clock goes the most accurately. Jet-lag occasionally occurs even if you don’t move from place to place, especially if you don’t move for a long time if you understand what I mean.
If I could change three things in modern Ukraine I would start with small ones. For some reason, for the last five years, everyone is so worried about global categories, while the changes are just a series of consistent little steps. That’s why: work more, stratification of time and the materialization of the result. In any field. At least, it works on the personal level.
Independence of my country is an invisible feeling of a hard ground under my feet and a strong shoulder next door.
My childhood in independent Ukraine … I was born and grew up in the Vinnytsia region in the village of Kryzhopil in the family of a teacher and a driver. The family has always been Ukrainian speaking, I remember the Christmas very well we were gathering with the whole family and singing carols. I loved singing with my mum and grandmothers, and when I was asked to sing alone, I was so shy that I crawled under the table. At school, I was very fond of language and literature classes. When we had started to write the first essays, a lot of my classmates were outraged, they were saying that my mother writes them for me, but I wrote them myself… I remember there was a competition for reading a poetry of Taras Shevchenko. I came there with a poem and an essay devoted to Kobzar. The participants read Shevchenko’s poetry, but I went out and read my own verses about Taras… I won’t even remember why I wanted to do it this way so much, but it happened… Then regional, all-Ukrainian contests began to master my style. I wrote about Ukraine. I really loved to write…
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that Ukrainians are not indifferent to state-building and they are able to choose their own path of struggle. That throughout generations the courage can reincarnate and with the hands of the younger generation to fight for a better fate for the whole country.
Over the last few years, I more than ever feel like a citizen of my state. I dedicate 80% of my time to live broadcasts on Ukrainian Radio – Voice of Kyiv. I’m raising the issues related to the modern Russian-Ukrainian war, historical cases, and important events for Ukrainians. Last three years I’ve worked on the publishing of my own collection of poetry, which was devoted to our defenders in the East of Ukraine.
If I was offered to move to another country… This is a difficult question because the history knows many Ukrainians who, while being abroad, brought no lesser benefits than those who live here. I think I would agree to live abroad for a certain period of time, for study and development, to gain an experience that could be applied in Ukraine. Of course, with a further return to Ukraine.
If I could change three things in modern Ukraine, I would have made a quota for the Russian language on the radio (but not a quota for the Ukrainian language as it is now). Do you recall Lesya Ukrainka’s words: “Take care of your language so that you do not have to defend Ukraine”. The second thing is a moratorium on deforestation and on the creation of hydropower plants on the rivers (the changes made them are irreversible). The third thing – I would ban the Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate.
Independence of my country is my independence.
My childhood in independent Ukraine was colourful. Parents almost never were at home, they built their business knowing how valuable it was to catch a moment. Early in the morning, I was taken to the neighbours, every time to the different ones. I woke up together with aunty Lyuda, with aunt Zina, or my grandmother Olena. In short, as many apartments were in our block of flats, as many nannies I had. I was going to the kindergarten on my own, to school as well. However, my parents were doing everything so that I didn’t have to want something that they could not give me. So, I had everything, especially freedom.
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that there are so many of us! I couldn’t even imagine how many cool people are here, in our country. In the first days of the Revolution, the centre of Kyiv was incredibly beautiful. I was in love with every person.
For the last few years, you know – the war. Impotence and desperate desire to live happily.
If I was offered to move to another country, I would ask: why? I can’t even theoretically dare to move from Odesa to Lviv, although there would be cosier.
If I could change three things in modern Ukraine then it would be tolerance, ease, and law. The first two traits are very essential for all of us, and the third thing should be a priori effective. Independence of my country exists. And this is the main thing. Maybe it’s rather late, but for 27 years we have our own space. It’s not so short period of time.
My childhood in independent Ukraine was the first grade when on your first day at school you were given the portrait of Leonid Kuchma. It was five hryvnias for which you could buy a coke and two packs of crackers. It is the twenty-fourth Volga of black colour, which we had at that time, it was still considered not a bad car among the men over forty.
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that Ukrainians are very patient people, perhaps too much.
For the last few years, while living here, you try to understand … Our society comes into existence or it’s dying?
If I was offered to move to another country, I would answer that I had already tried and I didn’t like it. Maybe in some respects, we have a worse situation, but this is your city, your place and your challenge, which you can accept.
If I could change three things in modern Ukraine, I would take all the sponger politicians to a desert island. After that, I would start the broadcasting of the new season of “Survivor”. Volunteering youth, when applying for a job, receives bonuses, allowances and collective respect (since from the very beginning they showed that they know what to do with that life). The roads…
Independence of my country is still not complete, since everyone whom we’re not glad to see are coming here, but the one whom we call for isn’t coming.
My childhood in independent Ukraine was generally happy, full-fledged and carefree.
The Revolution of Dignity has shown that there are active citizens in Ukraine who are not indifferent to the future of our country. They are ready to defend a decent life for themselves and for their descendants. They are true patriots of Ukraine and they won’t be silent in the response to criminal actions of the authorities and violation of rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens.
Over the past few years, culture and art in Ukraine have grown rapidly. Since 2015, I have been active in the creative field, I took part in various patriotic, song and poetic events. In connection with this, I left my job as a technical specialist, I finished the courses of TV-journalism and I want to try myself on television.
If I was offered to move to another country, I wouldn’t decline this offer. But exclusively for the purpose of tourism and travel – then returning home. It’s hardly possible for me to live abroad. My motherland is holding me too tight here. It also gives me the strength to live and do whatever I can, so that my descendants could live here not worse, but even better than me.
If I could change three things in modern Ukraine, it would be: 1) mentality: Ukrainians, in my opinion, should be more friendly, less tolerant in order not to let their land fall apart. 2) To overthrow the oligarchs and change the system from corruption to transparency. 3) Finally, adopt a law on the Ukrainian language that would clearly regulate the spheres of state language usage and establish a clear system of fines for non-compliance with the requirements of this law.
Independence of my country is directly proportional to how every citizen of Ukraine feels. It would have been nice if most of us knew that.
Text by Dmytro Zhuravel
