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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 2016 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 7 dages on both feet and hands in what seemed to me as a nonsterile environment. This picture will stay with me for a long time. So will the picture of a tattoo I saw on the arm of another wounded soldier, which proclaimed in Ukrainian “Наро- джений бути вільним, рабом не стане” (One who is was born free will not become a slave) . As a member of the UNWLA, one very im- portant thing for me was to see UNWLA money at work at the Ukrainian Catholic University and specifically at the Mental Health Institute “Prostir Nadiyi”, an essential visit that would allow me to report to our membership accurately. Our dona- tion is helping renovate an old wing on the uni- versity grounds and converting it into a modern mental health clinic, one that will support and empower the mental health movement setting the national standards throughout Ukraine. To sum up: Intense patriotism was dis- played by the wounded soldiers and volunteers supporting them and overshadowed their abysmal circumstances. It was uplifting to meet individuals that without doubt make a difference—from Father Zeleniuk, who spent every day immersed at the maidan helping, supporting and praying and con- tinues his work today; to Dr. Marijka Furtak, our representative in Ukraine, who is a truly dedicated doctor who shows no fear and goes to the most re- mote areas to check out the dire situations and dispense our UNWLA aid where it is most needed. During our time in Kyiv, I was taken aback at my lack of emotion at the maidan where I stood looking at the memorial and pictures of the Ne- besna Sotnia and replaying in my mind the images that I had seen on U Tube during the actual mai- dan events. The reaction came days later, when our friendly deputat/guide gave a tour citing personal life experiences: Listening to him retell the mo- ments when our heroes were shot in cold blood was very emotional ly charged and hearing him de- scribe the snipers, at first aiming at the main artery in the neck or groin, then cruelly aiming and shoot- ing out eyeballs still sends chills down my spine. I started sobbing and couldn’t stop. Lessons Learned: I went to Ukraine with a very strong moralistic opinion of corruption; I came away with a more realistic understanding and a new compassion toward the middle class and poor people of the country who sometimes have no choice in the matter because it is a matter of survival. For example, if a doctor earns 3,000 hryvni a month (which is only 125 American dol- lars a month), how can he or she support a family with children, pay for housing, food, extra activi- ties or have some luxuries, even though life is much cheaper in Ukraine than it is here in Ameri- ca? Clearly, something has to change. Many people have asked me about my personal view on the Ukrainian government: I un- derstand that cleaning up years of corruption and starting with the top levels of government is very difficult, but I see President Poroshenko trying to improve the process by bringing in experts like Dr. Ulana Suprun and retired US District Attor- ney Bohdan Vitvitsky to make positive changes in government policies and leadership. On a similar note, although I understand that money is hard to come by in Ukraine’s gov- ernment, I do not understand why rehabilitation and mental health are not priorities on the gov- ernment’s funding list. Instead, I see the diaspora funding the Mental Health Clinic at UCU [to which the UNWLA donated $100,000 with the ag- reement that Ukrainian soldiers would be helped here free of charge] and the Paslawsky fund that partners with a rehabilitation center, as well as many other similar diaspora-funded projects. I was forewarned about the prevalence of Russian spoken in Kyiv. Sad, but explainable. On the opposite side was witnessing the hate emitted by misinformed, relocated young people from Eastern Ukraine. Very daunting, and the pro-Rus- sian propaganda needs to be strongly counteract- ed with the truth. My least favorite experience in Ukraine was an altercation on our last day in the country, an experience that illustrates this con- cern. The afternoon was free, so we went to see Mezhyhiria, Viktor Yanukovych’s palatial estate on the outskirts of Kyiv. In the tour van coming back to Kyiv, we encountered young adults relo- cated from the war torn Eastern Ukraine area of Donetsk. They believed all the Russian propagan- da and were spewing hateful comments about the Ukrainian language, about Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Donetsk, and about the United States of America. Such blatant disrespect of Ukraine and hatred of anything Ukrainian was very shock- ing to me and put a very unpleasant damper on an otherwise very uplifting and eye opening trip. Nevertheless, I’m captivated by Ukraine and ea- ger to go back, next time on a leisurely vacation to enjoy the country’s beauty, explore, and shop. Looking forward to this. I must admit, however, that there’s no place like home and nobody better than a family that welcomes you back after a long journey. n
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