Emotional. Sympathetic. Anger. Sadness. Admiration. Those are some of the feelings I had after spending an evening with Andrii.
Gerry and I met 22-year-old Andrii recently on our trip to Ireland. He worked in the hotel where we stayed in Dublin. He and 50,000 other Ukrainians are in Ireland, most of them are refugees, Andrii is not. He was there on a three-month educational leave from college so he could learn the English language which will benefit him when he finishes law school in December. He had only been there two months when we met him, and we were very impressed with how quickly he was progressing.
Andrii came to Ireland alone. He went to Poland by car and flew to Ireland from there. When the Dublin customs agent at the airport saw his Ukraine passport, he asked if he needed temporary protection. Andrii said he did. Ireland is very supportive of the Ukrainian refugees.
Andrii is from Lviv, a beautiful city in western Ukraine, which he explained is the country’s cultural capital. The Russian army has not reached his city yet but the bombing from Russian missiles is causing a lot of destruction. He said, “War is normal there now. There’s bombing all the time.” He went on to tell us about his sister who is a nurse in a Lviv hospital. “It’s very stressful and heartbreaking for her. Wounded soldiers are brought by train every day, 100-to-200 a day, and about 50-to-100 of them die every day,” he said.
With emotion, Andrii talked about the Ukrainian relationship with Russia through the years — “We were never friends with Russia. Throughout history, we’ve had to fight for our freedom. Russia tried to destroy our culture. They burned our books, they killed anyone who didn’t agree with them, they caused starvation by taking our food supplies. Russian people are slaves. They are used to being told what to do. They don’t think for themselves.”
He told us how he first heard about the present war. “I remember when I woke up on the 24th of February. My sister called and said, ‘Russia has started war. Lots of crowds are quickly going to the grocery store, the pharmacy, to the petrol station.’”
With wet eyes, Andrii continued, “The attack was a sudden surprise. It was difficult to believe. Everything had been OK. Why did it start? It’s so stupid. All Europe was saying, ‘Ukraine can fight only one month.’ Russia and the world did not know Ukrainian people never give up.”
We asked what he thought of President Zelensky. He said, “He’s popular. People respect him. I think he’s brave not to leave Kiev.” He went on to tell that Zelensky studied law and was a good actor. The first light moment of the interview came when he talked about the president’s role in “Love in the Big City,” the movie that was filmed in America. He said it was an amazing movie and we should see it. (We will.)
We asked how he felt about returning to Ukraine in October. He said, “I’m not happy here. I don’t see myself here. It’s not my home, not my language, not my emotions. I wake up at night all wet with sweat. I fear that Russia could be at my home tomorrow.”
He reflected on how being away from home has made him view life differently and appreciate his country even more. He said, “This trip to Ireland has been a trip to adult life for me. I didn’t value my country enough. I value my country more since I came here.”
We asked how he felt about the possibility of being conscripted into the army after he finishes school in December. He said, “It is better to be killed than to live under Russian occupation.” He added, “We appreciate the 60,000 volunteers who have come from around the world to fight with our army. We appreciate the great support from Poland and England. We appreciate the United States for all the financial support. You are a powerful country. Thank you for not leaving us.”
As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep well that night. The emotion and passion of the evening with Andrii still stays with me. His bravery and love of country reflects the spirit of Ukraine.
It’s important that we Americans do all we can to help.
Carol Gariepy lives in Phillipston.