 Bat'kivshchyna reached Australia. What's next? By Dmytro Biriukovych |
Since they sailed into New York harbor in July 2000, Captain Dmytro Biriukovych and the schooner Bat'kivshchyna have been Ukraine's unofficial nautical ambassadors. The voyage has helped the world to better know Ukraine, but has not been without its problems. Despite its lack of a trained, professional crew and modern, dependable navigation aids, the vessel has survived damage from foul weather that included two dangerous Australian cyclones and a collision with another vessel. The Bat'kivshchyna is now anchored, unprotected, off Sydney, awaiting the cash and crew to bring her home.
On April 6, 2004, the "Discover Ukraine" expedition and the schooner Bat'kivshchyna arrived in Sydney, Australia. The ship had journeyed the equivalent of 1.5 times around the equator since April 2000, floating down the Dnieper to the Black and Mediterranean seas and then into the vast Atlantic. We sailed on to North America and into the Great Lakes, then down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean before passing through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean.
The vessel and her crew have called at more than 100 ports in 14 nations, at each stop giving thousands a taste of Ukraine. Through an on-board exhibition, they discovered that Ukraine is not Russia. Guests were astonished to learn that Moscow was founded 750 years ago by Prince Yury Dolgoruky of Kyiv, that the population and size of Ukraine is similar to that of France, that Ukraine is in the center of Europe and that Ukrainians have contributed much to science, the arts, politics and sports.
The expedition arranged meetings at schools, colleges, yacht clubs and churches, and was featured on television and radio. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times wrote of the expedition's patriotic activity. When Bat'kivshchyna participated in the OpSail 2000 festival, Voice of America showed Ukrainians film of the ship showing the flag abroad. It has been said that the Bat'kivshchyna has provided Ukraine with highly visible promotion.
When the Bat'kivshchyna began its round-the-world voyage, it was supported by a group of like-minded fellows without any support from the Ukrainian government. A charitable foundation dedicated to supporting the ship and its mission has been unable to attract Ukrainian authorities' attention to this successful patriotic initiative.
Despite international notice, our work has met with little interest from our countrymen.
In 2001, Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, was named to head a new organization, Ukraine Must Be Famous. Aware of the wisdom and experience of this respected politician, I wrote President Kravchuk and asked to meet, since the expedition's foundation had already been pursuing similar goals. In my letter, I explained that I intended to ask for nothing, but solely wanted his wise counsel. Nevertheless, his staff never showed him the letter, there was no meeting and an opportunity had been lost to the bureaucrats.
Later that same year, the ship made a call on Chicago, one of Kyiv's sister cities. While preparing for the trip, I asked the head of Kyiv's foreign affairs section for a city flag to be flown during a celebration in Chicago on the tenth anniversary of Ukraine's independence. The city refused to donate a flag: "We can't give it to you. It costs Hr 700," the letter read. We did without Kyiv's flag, and hoisted our national flag in Chicago's central square instead. When we had an official meeting with Mayor Richard Daley, we presented him with a bulava - the symbol of power. The mayor's letter of thanks reached me in Kyiv.
So if the Ukrainian government hasn't helped fund the Discover Ukraine Expedition, who has? The simple answer is that U.S. charitable organizations took up the challenge.
After Bat'kivshchyna was scheduled to take part in OpSail 2000, a charitable fund called Connecticut Friends of Ukraine Expedition was organized. Those initial efforts have been augmented through the efforts of American citizens, festival organizers and the state's governor. Bat'kivshchyna was offered free dry dock space so that repairs could be carried out, and moorage for the winter in Norwich.
We didn't arrive in Connecticut quietly: There was a holiday atmosphere as the ship was escorted into the harbor. People were there to see the Ukrainian sailing vessel, and we were received with fireworks, the running up of Ukrainian and American flags by soldiers, and the playing of the national anthems of both countries. Members of the state legislature were in attendance, as were other government officials.
Ukraine's national anthem was played elsewhere as well: I recollect the Bat'kivshchyna's unforgettable participation in a parade of vessels in Jamaica and the Caribbean island of Curacao. The audience applauded as numerous national flags, including ours, were displayed. These moments inspired great pride in our country and her participation in such prestigious events. Through our initiative, Ukraine's national image has been raised.
Certificates of appreciation line the walls of my cabin on the ship. "We love your spirit," Americans told us. This is the best evidence of the expedition's value.
Not so our countrymen, it seems. We routinely provided Ukraine's embassies and consulates reports of our activities. I'm not sure they were read. "It's not a state-sponsored event," the diplomats seemed to say.
And there's another aspect to the expedition: the material support given to Ukraine by the crew of Bat'kivshchyna.
In 2000, 2001 and 2002, the expedition cooperated with the U.S.-based Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund. During the first year, we helped provide expensive equipment to the intensive care unit of a children's hospital in Rivne. The second year, we financed the cardiac care center of Amosov in Kyiv.
The next year, the Bat'kivshchyna visited the Tarar children's camp in Cuba with gifts, clothes and toys for the children who have suffered from the effects of the Chernobyl disaster and are being treated there. This humanitarian aid was gathered from Americans in Florida by the crew of Bat'kivshchyna. Because there are no easy ways for Americans to travel to Cuba, we welcomed a CCRF representative aboard to find ways to help Ukrainian children in Cuba.
In July 2003, the expedition left California and visited Hawaii, Christmas Island, the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Australia, finally landing in Sydney. Along the way, we worked with schoolchildren at the Catholic church on Tongarev Island and among Rotary Club members on Rarotonga. Sometimes we felt akin to the early European missionaries who worked in these locales.
In Opua, our first port in New Zealand, we were welcomed by the local member of parliament, Brian Donnelley. He spent about three hours on the vessel in friendly conversation, admired the exhibition about Ukraine, tasted the dishes of Ukrainian cuisine and was glad to receive Ukrainian souvenirs. As we said our goodbyes, I asked him my traditional question: "What did you know about Ukraine before you met us?" His frank reply: "Before I met you, I didn't know Ukraine existed." That situation was typical - I heard the same from the mayor of Lyttelton, on New Zealand's South Island.
Official meetings, interspersed with numerous visits by schoolchildren and ordinary citizens, are evidence that our effort at people's diplomacy has helped our country's image. Unfortunately, the one group we can't reach is our own government.
Over the past four years, foreign volunteers from the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Switzerland and Australia have worked with us. Their presence aboard widened our contacts with people and helped us realize our goals. I remember 70 year-old John Perry, who prepared leaflets about Ukraine while we were passing through the Erie Canal. John and Vita Knudson were the first to help us on our arrival in California and continued during the time we spent there. Eugen Schmied, a 79 year-old German who spent his childhood in Ukraine and later went on to live in the United States for 30 years saved our energy system and made us happy with his companionship. And, of course, Glen Willard: I owe him much. He fought with the U.S. Embassy to get visas for the crew, an effort worthy of the deepest thanks. The Ukrainian Observer is the only publication in Ukraine to regularly write about the Discover Ukraine Expedition, and which supports it financially.
And though many people helped the expedition reach Australia, we now wait for help to bring the ship and her crew home again. Are there patrons in Ukraine willing to benefit the image of the country that has made them wealthy? And will our native country stay indifferent to Bat'kivshchyna?
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Read also previous issue' articles:
Are Ukraine's Political Habits Unique?
Is Ukraine's Economic Growth Speculation-led?
Ukraine is Drifting to the West - Slowly but Surely
The Unfinished Orange Revolution?
Vacuums, Reforms and the Need to Regain the Initiative
Pirates of the 21st century
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