“Should I stay here or go back to Ukraine? That’s the question many Ukrainians abroad are asking themselves right now. Diana Kinash, 22, is one of them. Originally from the Ternopil region in the west of the country, the University of Toronto student has hardly stopped following the news in her native land since the start of the invasion on February 24.
Her parents are safe in the UK, where her sister lives, but communications with some family members have been cut off since the invasion. “I haven’t heard from two of my cousins,” she says. One of them, aged 32, has military training and is part of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Force.
In the absence of immediate military or medical aid, the political science student, two months from graduation, thinks she can lend a hand in the political renewal of her country. Its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, made the fight against corruption his main concern during his campaign in 2019 and Diana Kinash wants to contribute to the fight. “For years we had corruption and people didn’t trust their government,” she said. “It’s important that young people learn from this and improve the situation,” she says.
Diana Kinash, who arrived in Toronto in 2018 to study, says she is not alone: Ukrainians of her generation who study political science or law like her are aware of the level of corruption. “We are trying to improve the situation since we are not motivated by money. We want to improve the system since we have to live in it”.
Constant distraction
It was this corruption that prompted Inna Ivanova’s father, a businessman, to leave Ukraine. The University of Toronto student, born near the border with Slovakia, arrived alone in Canada in 2001. Her father had already been there for three years; her mother came to the country in 2006. The last few weeks shook Inna Ivanova and made her anxious. Many members of his family are still in Ukraine.
At the end of February, the 35-year-old student decided to share her feelings on the Reddit forum, which has a page devoted to the University of Toronto. “I missed weeks of school and work due to stress,” says Inna Ivanova to Homework. Several of her peers responded, which was heart-warming, says the anthropology student. Diana Kinash was in the group.
The home stretch to graduation is emotionally and mentally taxing, adds Ms.me Kinash. The student had to ask her professors to postpone their deadlines for her work. The invasion took place during college reading week; exams awaited several students on her return. “I feel a little lonely sometimes so my interactions with other Ukrainians have helped me,” she says.
Inna Ivanova planned to complete her studies part-time next year and then enroll in a master’s degree. “But your future is put on hold when you are disoriented in this way,” she continues in the same breath. Returning to Ukraine is an option she often thinks about. “I feel helpless here,” she said. His uncle still resides in his hometown, Uzhhorod, now inundated with refugees. After graduation, rebuilding the country will be on the list of options to consider. Before the war, she had never thought of returning permanently.
What future ?
The ability of Ukrainians abroad to use their knowledge may depend on the post-conflict state of the country and its duration. According to the UK Foreign Secretary, the war could last for about ten years; representatives of the American government think that it could possibly be spread over twenty years.
Diana Kinash hasn’t set foot in the country in two years, but plans to return this summer, provided the situation improves. So far, his home region in the west of the country hasn’t been affected as much as those in the east, but that could change. On Sunday, an attack on a military base 25 kilometers from the Polish border killed more than thirty people.
The 22-year-old student has yet to start thinking about the face of her native country upon her return. Inhabited by hope, she clings to the possibility that the Russian invasion does not come to her village, an hour from the city of Ternopil. “It’s kind of ridiculous to think like that,” she admits, “because the invasion has an impact on the whole country, not just one particular region.”
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.