To Ukraine, With Love, 5000 Miles Away

Content note: the Russian-Ukrainian war, murder

When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, I didn't hear about it on the news. I learned about it via text directly from my good friend Yarik, painfully fresh in the palm of my hand. Bombs were dropping just a few kilometres from his mum's home and every second was a fight to survive.

I remember being at the Cambridge train station then. I was shaken,dumbstruck, and for a half minute I couldn't really breathe, sitting by platform 7. I had a dreadful feeling this was going to happen; it was hard to believe that this wasn't just another long nightmare in bed.

I am incredibly hurt by the invasion even as a non-Ukrainian. My friends in Cambridge understand that Ukraine has always been close to heart for me, and I am not among those who gained a sudden interest in Ukraine after the war broke out. Even though my hometown lies 5000 miles away, Ukraine, for so many reasons, is not just some faraway land in eastern Europe.

One of these reasons is my close friend Yarik. Hailing from Kyiv, he has surprisingly lived in my homeland of Taiwan longer than I have. We started off as very distant Facebook friends for quite a while, and only reconnected after one of his Russian friends showed up on the news being falsely accused for murder. These four years of friendship have been nothing short of wonderful; although we were never romantically involved, he was always there, through the best and the worst of times. This feeling came particularly strongly after a major depression period last year. In the many moments in which the feeling intensified, he would always text so timingly to check on me- it was as if he knew I was struggling. As I fought a disease and a series of personal battles, I still had one friend left in my own homeland. He was a foreigner, but also very much the opposite.

I was so proud of him when he saved up to buy his first flat in Kyiv a little before his 30th birthday, and I still vividly recall the excitement when he showed me the floor plans. The fondness of this memory, however, is what makes the hurt so real: it pains me to hear how his friends have had their hard-earned homes bombed to ashes. This isn't 300 AC, nor is this a movie; every day is a struggle for me to concentrate.

Ukraine also feels different for historical reasons. I come from a zone where threat from a bigger geopolitical power is constant, and I somewhat understand - yet not dare to imagine - just how much courage it takes to face that fear on a daily basis. Though 5000 miles apart, both Ukraine and Taiwan have undergone hardships for the pursuit of freedom - distant, yet so similar. Writing for Varsity Interviews, I've come to learn how just like us, discomfort has brought Ukrainians to be tough, progressive and very resilient. There is something very Taiwanese about Ukrainians, and there is something very Ukrainian about us Taiwanese.

As such, for a long time, I've always felt that Ukraine was good for my soul and I've always invested my time in it. Back in 2019, people sneered at me for learning Ukrainian with Cambridge Ukrainian Studies. 'But it's not French, and Ukraine is so poor', some would say. In a world where everyone only looks up to economically powerful languages, I often question how we can explore the less-known and deeply interesting perspectives of humans when everyone pursues the same language. It is a sad world if languages are only learned for money - it really robs us of opportunities to see the unseen charms of distant corners or the world, or what their people have to offer.

As such, I paid sceptics no attention: just like humans click with humans, I clicked with Ukraine. Among the 11 languages that I speak, my experience with Ukrainian has allowed me to see humanity at its best and its purest; through the language, I came to learn what it means to love cross-culturally.

I have been kept busy this past month as Ukrainians arrive in the UK. Running a volunteer programme for refugees, I have come to realise how incredibly brave Ukrainians are. It is by no means easy - many of them forced to leave their husbands, brothers, and fathers behind at war, constantly worrying about the safety of their family. All of this, while also coming to a new country, learning a foreign language, helping their children adapt, and taking every opportunity to rebuild their lives. I deeply respect how they are navigating the intimidating situation and I'm giving every effort to make sure my sunflower siblings are doing alright. In such trying times, they're still standing, and they're still smiling. They give me so much courage to live on.

Шановні українці,

Ви найщиріші, найприземленіші та найсильніші люди, яких я коли-небудь зустрічала. Я знаю, що зараз ситуація дуже складна, але все буде добре. Ви переживете це, і добрі люди будуть поруч з вами до кінця. Я просто знаю, що все буде Україна!