BRAMA, Feb. 9, 2000, 1:00pm EST

The Two Ukraines
by Walter Prochorenko

In the past couple of years, when traveling between my home in New Jersey and my office in Kyiv, I have noticed an ever-lengthening separation between the Ukrainian Diaspora and Ukraine. The process was slow at first and hardly noticeable, but recently it has widened to a chasm that may not ever be bridged again.

At first it was a lack among my Ukrainian/American friends to travel to Ukraine; to hear about the developments; to interest themselves in the day to day events. But then it became an obvious and almost belligerent desire not to know or understand what is going on in the Ukraine of Eastern Europe.

The shame if it, is that this is the time when Ukraine needs the moral and spiritual support of the Diaspora in order to continue its development. I hardly suggest or condone financial help since I (among many of my peers) have learned the hard way that Ukraine, in this respect, is a bottomless pit. But support, in the true moral sense, it does need and should have.

It is hard for us in the Diaspora to come to terms with the Ukraine about which our parents taught us and the Ukraine that exists now.

The Ukraine our parents remembered was one of beautiful and peaceful nature; of wonderful customs and stories; of warm family holidays; of powerful renowned and patriotic poets and writers; of expressive songs and dances; and of all the dreams and expectations of youth. It was a Ukraine of endless plains, deep woods, wide rivers, and tall mountains. It was a Ukraine of quaint villages, friendly people, hearty food, and peaceful nights.

The Ukraine that we found after independence was full of hopes and potentials, but the several years since have all but shattered these expectations. Instead we now find a country with unworkable and antiquated industries; dangerous nuclear plants; factories that do not produce anything; people that have yet to learn real work ethics; politicians who constantly squabble among themselves when not stuffing their pockets with proceeds of unearned income; laws that are unworkable and oppressive; taxes that oppress to the point of destroying the very businesses that feed the budgets; roads and railroads that can’t support a necessary distribution system; and citizens who would rather flee than build a country they can be proud of.

Where and when did our country go wrong? Where and when did it get its reputation as one of the most corrupt nations on earth; as one of the worst business climates in the industrial world (and even in the undeveloped world); as the largest exporter of white slavery; as one of the most closed countries in international trade; as a country without a true free press and without free expression? How did the country push its elderly to literally beg in the streets; its 15 year olds to work as prostitutes; its young men to yearn to be gangsters, and its “intelihentsia” to work as common laborers?

What can be said of a country where the only businesses that seem to prosper are casinos, strip clubs, tobacco industries, Mac Donald’s, and Coca Cola? What can be said of a European nation of 52 million people that does not yet have a 5 star hotel or a golf course to attract investors? A decent swimming pool or gymnasium in each major city where its youth can find some sports activities?

How is it that a country that could feed Europe many times over cannot develop its own food industry? What can be said of an industrialized agricultural nation whose distribution system for its own agricultural products (or for any other product for that matter) is almost non existent. Where it costs more for cucumbers and tomatoes in the main city produce markets in February than in any supermarket in the world (including Tokyo). Where most fish, cheese, and fruits are imported.

The faults and blames can be investigated, disected, and digested endlessly. This will not change things. The realities remain. They are hard to take but true. Needless to say – something is wrong. Something needs to change. Somehow, the two Ukraines must merge into one, and most definitively into the former. But in order for this to happen, our Diaspora must not lose hope; must not abandon the dream and hopes of our parents; must not turn its back on the realities that made the second Ukraine into what it is today; and above all must not forget that we are one people.

I hope that someday soon when I go back to visit my friends and family in the US, that I will find a renewed enthusiasm for all things Ukrainian and that I will find a renewed interest in helping – intellectually and morally – our families in the European Ukraine that are yearning for a better life.

Walter Prochorenko is a Ukrainian-American with business interests around the world. He was among the first entrepeneurs to establish business ties within independent Ukraine. One of his ventures is a real estate development and consulting firm based in Kyiv called Pro-W International Corp..

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