I got my ass handed to me by a 19-year-old Ukrainian woman yesterday.
One of my Ukrainian language teachers here is a very intelligent, kind, multilingual student. Yesterday we took a field trip to the grocery store to teach each other the English and Ukrainian names for basic foods — a handy lesson for survival here.
But at the end of the afternoon her tone changed from gentle to serious as she confronted me about something that had been bothering her.
“Why is your blog so insulting to Ukraine?” she said. Before the comment even registered she then proceeded to tear me a new one, asking me if I thought Ukrainians were just barbaric cave people, why I came here if I thought this place was such a joke, and that I was basically a pampered ass, ignorant of the effect that years of genocide, war and colonial subjugation has had on the people here.
Before I could even defend myself, she said that she still respected me, but that I should, “mix some clean water with the dirty.” She then jumped on a streetcar and left me to marinade in my own shame… as well as a peculiar pride for having taught her proper use of the word mix hours earlier.
I agree that generally I have focused on the more absurd aspects of this country. In my defence I have always been drawn to ridiculous things no matter where I am living. See, here, here and here. I also agree that many of my posts have included, “potentially insulting generalizations about people and cultures” I did give fair warning about this. Also, for years I was obliged to write un-critical articles for luxury lifestyle magazines, and I may have gone overboard now that my leash is off.
I think it is a particularly Canadian trait to make fun of things. We have been a wealthy, peaceful, internationally recognized country for over a century. We have no problems taking the piss out of our culture and national institutions because there is no direct threat to them.
The same cannot be said about Ukraine. Since the Mongol invasion, Ukrainian culture, sovereignty, language and people have been under siege. Ukrainians have endured slavery, colonial rule, countless wars, genocide, totalitarianism and a general global ignorance to their society. Ukraine has only been a nation for 18 years, and a functioning democracy for five years. Look at the other former Soviet Republics: Moldova, Belarus, and Kazakhstan! C’mon.
I’ll address Mariya’s concerns after the jump. Plus, From now on I promise to mix in a little more clean water.
In particular she had issues with the following:
Vodka: Why Ukraine can’t have nice things. “I’m not a drunk, my friends and families aren’t drunks. And that photo you used!” she said. Okay, the photo was bad, and the overwhelming majority of people I’ve met here are not drunks. That said, what I wrote are indeed facts, and I still believe that attitudes and policy towards alcohol are a major issue here. That said; it is indeed dirty water.
Russian Facebook: “If you hate VKontakte so much why did you join? Also, none of my friends have sexy pictures on for their profiles!” True… most of the profile pics are pretty much what you would expect from a social networking site. But there are more provocative photos than you find on Facebook, from both men and women. I think some of this has to do with the fact that beauty is held in high regard here and there is pride in showing it off. Also, I am not laying blame at the feet of girls here for attracting Internet prowlers; I am simply saying that VK is an easy avenue for these sleaze bags.
Strangely, I only realised the true extent of the horrors suffered by the Ukranian people recently, by chance, through a series of articles in History magazines and documentaires such as Niall Ferguson’s “War of the World: History’s age of hatred” which describes the separation of East and West Ukraine, and Russification programmes, and all the atrocites in the world wars and Russian Civil War. I have also come upon articles about the whole issue of the Crimea. All very tricky, but eye opening. What has been the Ukranian Goverment and society’s response, in terms of History education, since independence? Would be interesting to know.
I thought I knew a lot about what happend to Ukrainians in the past century, but I’ve had my eyes opened even more since getting here. I’m working on a few posts in that vein, but there is only so much suffering anyone can write about. I’m gonna try and space them out. As far as the gov’t and people… in western Ukraine nationalism is as popular as football.
Hello. I look for you !!! Please, read VKontakte.
For me I am getting a real sense of Ukraine and thinking of it in a way I hadn’t before. I wonder if your sense of humor may at times get lost in translation. There is no doubt that you really love and enjoy your experience there. Keep writing!
Love, Mum
[...] July 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment When I read this article I was mad. Mariya mad. [...]
Man, I’ve been there. Not exactly, but close enough. Nobody likes to hear bad things about their country from visitors, no matter how respectful and well-intended and funny they may be.
As a Canadian, sure, it is easy to joke about history when your atrocities are (relatively) minor, and your colonial rulers did (relatively) more building than destroying.
Having said that, nobody wants to read a blog about how pretty the rose blossoms are this time of year. Leave the pap for crappy nationalist newspapers.
Your vodka articles addressed a real issue. Sure the tone was humorous, but also concerned and empathetic. You cite carefully-researched articles and have clearly given some consideration to the issue.
If you didn’t give a shit about the country or its people, you’d be writing about nice shops and beautiful vistas. There are enough westerners who arrive on planes, stay in western chain hotels, eat at western guidebook-approved restaurants, go to beaches or museums (or strip clubs), and then leave. They write shallow articles about pretty things, and are ignorant to people and their experiences. That is insulting, because it’s treating the country like a playground rather than taking it seriously.
If you engage on a more meaningful level, you’ll write about real issues and real challenges. Nobody is arguing that alcoholism isn’t a problem, and it’s one that clearly could use some attention. You’d be doing no favour to the country or your Ukrainian friends by putting on rose-coloured glasses and writing a glossy brochure.
I don’t mean to suggest you should be on some kind of mission, but there’s nothing wrong with being concerned about what’s going on. I also think any sting of your criticism should be tempered by the fact that you got an apartment and are learning Ukrainian … hardly someone who is there to make a mockery of the place.
It sounds like Mariya might have a point with including some more more “clean water” posts, but like Tim said, don’t let the criticism reduce the blog to fluff. You’re well within your rights to give your honest opinions and impressions of the culture, just like she’s within her rights to rip you a new one if she disagrees. Something tells me you’re writing this more for the folks back home than the people in Ukraine, but if the locals are reading, it’s probably worth balancing the bad with the good.
Sage advice. ;)