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6 OUR LIFE • March-April 2026 Before They’re Gone An Interview with Author Erin McCarthy Christina Tershakovec , UNWLA Advocacy Chair Former USAID Deputy Director Erin McCarthy, who has significant experience working in Ukraine and is passionate about highlighting the plight of Ukraine's abducted children, has written a novel on the subject, Before They're Gone , now available on Amazon. The UNWLA’s Advocacy Chair, Christina Tershako - vec, recently had an opportunity to ask Erin about her experiences, her book, and her goals in writing it. Erin McCarthy is a senior development practitioner with over 16 years of experience leading democratic development, foreign assistance, and national security initiatives, with a focus on Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Most recently, she served as Deputy Division Chief in USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, where she helped oversee a $286 million portfolio and led strategic, multilat - eral efforts to strengthen civil society and democratic governance. Erin is a leading expert on civil society development, particularly in politically restric - tive environments. Before They’re Gone is her first novel. Author Erin McCarthy Christina Tershakovec: What was your first experience with Ukraine? Erin McCarthy : My first experience with Ukraine was in the fall of 2010 when I travelled to Kyiv for a temporary duty assignment (TDY) with USAID. I spent two weeks working in and around Kyiv with our USAID Mission. A colleague and I drove north from Kyiv to Gomel and Minsk, in Belarus, for several days as well. It was my first visit to Eastern Europe (and my first TDY with USAID), and I immediately fell in love with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. The architecture, the food, the kindness of my Ukrainian colleagues and everyone I met were amazing. I trav - elled back to Ukraine many times since my first trip, typically once or twice a year, to support our USAID Mission team and visit with our grantees and see the important work they were doing first-hand. My last trip to Ukraine was in the fall of 2024. When did you become aware of the abduction of Ukrainian children? I was first made aware of the abductions of Ukrain - ian children in late 2022 when several of our USAID civil society partners briefed us on the situation. I vividly remember that first meeting and listening in disbelief as they described what was happening — how the children were being taken and what they assumed was happening to them in the camps. Ear - ly on there were very few children who had been located and returned, so there was a lot of specu - lation about what was being done there, most of which turned out, sadly, to be accurate. It seemed unreal that something like that could happen in 2022. From then on, I tried to read every report that was written and attend every briefing on the topic that was offered. I tried to make sure the is - sue was prioritized for support. What gave you the idea to write this book? I couldn’t believe such a horrible war crime was taking place, and back in 2022 very few media out - lets seemed to be covering it. Our partners were working diligently to get the word out about what was happening, but for some reason it wasn’t get - ting picked up. Our partners and other groups were writing excellent, in-depth reports and engaging in international advocacy efforts with governments, international NGOs, and human rights groups. Most importantly, local and international human
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