Pilgrimage

By Volodymyr Kish

I find it curious that so many of my generation of Ukrainian Canadians have not ever been to Ukraine.  Despite the fact that Ukraine has now been independent for some two decades, that tourist visas have not been required for many years, that numerous airlines now fly into Ukraine, that hotels and other tourist services have improved considerably, nonetheless, the number of visitors to Ukraine from Canada is disappointing.

When I ask those of my friends and acquaintances, who have yet to make the pilgrimage, as to why they have not done so, there is no shortage of reasons or excuses.  Typically, the question boomerangs back on me and I am asked why I think they should go visit Ukraine.

Having spent a cumulative total of some five years living and working in Ukraine over the past two decades, and having enjoyed every minute of it, I usually have no trouble in obliging.  Obviously within the limited confines of this weekly column, I cannot do this topic justice, however, I would like to propose at least two main reasons, one personal or spiritual, and one which, for lack of a better term, I will call intellectual.

The personal aspect rests on the fact that most Ukrainian Canadians are but one or two generations removed from their antecedents who emigrated from Ukraine.  We carry the genetic heritage of our Ukrainian ancestors who have inhabited the area around the Black Sea for the better part of a thousand years.  Aside from this genetic link, many of the values, traditions, preferences and interests that we inherited from our parents also owe their origins to the spiritual and cultural legacy that they brought with them when they immigrated to Canada.  Let us also not forget that most of us have extensive family who still live in Ukraine and we would likely be able to find dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins and other more distant relatives without too much effort or research.  

I remember the first time I visited the family’s ancestral villages and how deeply moved I was by the fact that in so many of my newly found relatives I saw reflected the physical characteristics, gestures, expressions, voices and mannerisms of my parents.  Regardless of the geographic, cultural and economic aspects that otherwise separated us, it was immediately obvious that we were “family” and the bonds formed were almost instantaneous.  

Our very chromosomes have their physical origins within the rich earth of Ukraine and the ties thereby are not only spiritual but literally physical as well.  Though we may have been born in Canada, travelling to Ukraine can justifiably be viewed as a “return” rather than a visit to a place we’ve never been.  We all carry a piece Ukraine not only within our souls but within our DNA.

The second reason for visiting Ukraine is because of its significant importance in the process that saw the greatest ideological, political, economic and military conflict of the Twentieth Century being resolved with the conclusive collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the destructive evil that was Communism.  The stubborn resistance of Ukrainians both there and in the diaspora played a fundamental role in that ultimate victory.

It is only by visiting Ukraine, talking to the people there and seeing the end result of over 70 years of Communism that we can really begin to appreciate what was at stake during that difficult period of time.  It will be a long time before Ukraine is able to recover from the ravages, both physical and psychological, of the Communist era, and the impact is still highly visible and influential even today.  It is only by going there and seeing and experiencing Ukraine first-hand, that we can truly begin to appreciate what we have here and how fortunate we are in having been born and raised in a country where people truly have fundamental human rights and the opportunity to freely make the most of their opportunities.

Complacency and lack of appreciation for democracy and a civil society are weaknesses that authoritarian and corrupt regimes inevitably take advantage of.  Visiting Ukraine would be the equivalent of an effective intellectual “vaccination” against the various political viruses that prey on the politically naïve.

Go make a pilgrimage and connect to your past – you won’t regret it.