“You’re not there but you feel attached to the country, you feel attached to your people, attached to the family, but you cannot do much,” said Ukrainian-born Dmytro Gnativ.
Gnativ, a teaching assistant at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, says he feels helpless in the face of Russia’s attack on his homeland, because there’s not much more he can do for his family members in Lviv besides send them money.
(Via Twitter)
Miami’s port lit up in yellow and blue to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine.
“I cannot compare myself with the people in Ukraine, what they’re going through,” said Gnativ as he struggled to put his feelings into words.
But he is not the only one who feels broken.
On Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the lives of South Florida’s Ukrainians were turned upside down. The community is suffering as loved ones continue to endure the wrath of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The invasion began just as Ukraine was beginning to recover from its most recent COVID surge, which will most likely be exacerbated by the war while so many people have been forced to hide in basements or attempt to flee in packed cars and trains.
Olena Antonaccio, a Ukrainian University of Miami professor, expressed her sadness at seeing her country go through this after so many perished from the virus, including her father.
(Gabriela Yero for Biscayne Times)
The city of Hallandale Beach Municipal Building is flying the Ukrainian flag.
Stories of Terror and Despair
Constantly listening to heart-wrenching stories from her family and friends in Ukraine whom she speaks to daily, Ukrainian-born Yelena Cysenko is in distress, remembering how she had to flee Ukraine after her grandparents were imprisoned for being openly Christian in the 1970s.
“I’m crying every day. Everything is shaking,” Cysenko’s sister-in-law told the Hallandale resident about being stuck in Kyiv with her children.
She also shared the story of a friend in Mykolaiv who was confined to his basement for two weeks with his 2-year-old son who became ill. They eventually had to risk their lives to flee to Odessa to seek medical attention.
Viktor Pugachov, manager of Europa Gourmet, a Ukrainian family-owned business in Hollywood, has been personally and professionally affected by this war. It hits close to home because his family had to leave Luhansk when Russia took over the city in 2014.
The market is directly affected because Pugachov has been unable to acquire any products from Russia, Ukraine or Belarus, which supply the majority of the business’s products. While Europa Gourmet isn’t experiencing shortages yet, it will be once inventory runs out.
(Gabriela Yero for Biscayne Times)
Viktor Pugachov, manager of Europa Gourmet, a Ukrainian family-owned market in Hollywood, stands in front of a yellow and blue placard that reads “Stop War.”
Ukrainian Miami resident Julia Lemesh says “devastated” doesn’t even begin to convey how she feels.
Lemesh is co-president of Florida for Ukraine and president of Ukraine Global Scholars, a nonprofit organization that helps bright, underprivileged Ukrainians get into the best universities around the world in exchange for a five-year commitment to help Ukraine develop. Because of the large number of displaced students as a result of the war, she feels the program is more important than ever. The mission has now been changed from “develop” to “rebuild.”
Her core objectives with both organizations at the moment are to support her country and its youth, and to end the war in a way that is beneficial to Ukraine, with no compromises.
Doing Whatever They Can to Help
(Courtesy of Florida For Ukraine)
A woman sends a message to President Joe Biden Florida at a Florida For Ukraine “Planes for Ukraine” rally Mar. 18, 2022.
Miami is home to one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the United States, and the community has gathered at churches and rallies to protest the war, spread awareness and send help to their country. But, 6,000 miles away, many feel helpless.
When the Biscayne Times spoke with Gnativ, he shared his plans to host an April 1 benefit concert at UM to raise funds for first aid supplies for Ukrainian children and refugees. He also hoped to bring awareness to the crisis as well as Ukrainian culture as a whole.
“I want to perform Ukrainian classical music – the music which was, for decades, in the shadow of Russian classical music,” he remarked.
Lyubov Smirnova, a Ukrainian-born Miami resident, began crying and her voice cracked as she stated that she has five family members missing in Mariupol and Kyiv. Her family is scattered around Ukraine at the moment, and her hometown of Kharkiv has been destroyed.
“I’ve been unable to sleep at night. I have nightmares counting the hours,” she said.
Smirnova, 47, is the founder of Smirnova Business Consulting and the Heightened Hearts foundation, a nonprofit organization that has been delivering humanitarian aid to orphans in Ukraine since 2015. She is heartbroken beyond words because she loves both countries, as she was born in Ukraine and lived in Russia for 10 years.
While Smirnova feels guilty for having the luxury of being in sunny Florida as her family in Ukraine is suffering, she is doing everything she can to help. Heightened Hearts is delivering food, essentials that can’t be found or bought right now, to 2,000 families in Ukraine.
(Courtesy of Lyubov Smirnova)
Volunteers from Lyubov Smirnova’s family in Ukraine are helping to receive and distribute food donations from Miami, sent to the country by her Heightened Hearts foundation.
Florida for Ukraine was founded by Ukrainians Lemesh and Rafi Nagli shortly after the war began. In the last month, the organization has sent two and a half tons of medical materials and clothes for soldiers to Ukraine. They are also assisting displaced Ukrainians on tourist visas.
Although the organization has held several rallies, its latest on March 18 had a more targeted message: while they are thankful to the U.S. government for its aid, Ukraine needs advanced anti-aircraft.
The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America has dispersed $170,000 in water and medical materials to eight cities in Ukraine: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Luhansk.
On a local level, the city of Sunny Isles Beach has partnered with Global Empowerment Mission to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine, such as nonperishable food, blankets and water.
“Though we may be divided in political ideologies or beliefs, we must stand united for peace and support those affected during this time,” stated the city’s mayor, Dana Goldman. Sunny Isles Beach has one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the U.S.
(Gabriela Yero for Biscayne Times)
A car parked outside the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Miami says “Give us planes.”
Many Ukrainians have gathered at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church to pray for the war to end. The church has held several services outside of its regular liturgy to pray for Ukraine and the lives lost in the war thus far. And as the congregation prays for its motherland in its mother tongue, feelings of love and hope swelled through the church.
“We pray as much as we can. Our history is full of instances where the Blessed Mother interceded for us, and miraculously turned back enemies at the gates of Kyiv. So, we’re looking for another miracle,” said Paul Galadza, the deacon at the church, whose family fled Ukraine in 1944 to escape the Nazi occupation.
Putin’s Grasp on Ukrainians in South Florida
Despite the area’s relatively large Ukrainian population, the Ukrainian flag is usually only seen during special events and rallies.
This is, in part, due to fear.
Putin’s regime has made it very clear that anyone who speaks out against him will be penalized, and even went as far as recently calling Russians in Miami “traitors.”
The fear is palpable among both Russian and Ukrainians in Miami.
The managers of Matryoshka Deli Food and Kalinka Deli, Eastern European markets in Sunny Isles that mainly sell Russian products, refused the Biscayne Times’ request for an interview. One of the cashiers at Matryoshka was asked if she was Russian or Ukrainian. Her response was frantic, with her claiming to be both Russian and Ukrainian, and that she couldn’t discuss the war because of her family.
(Gabriela Yero for Biscayne Times)
Oksana and Peter Piaseckyj in their Sunny Isles home. In the bottom right corner is his book about the history of Ukrainian Cossacks.
Goldman said there is a “greater sensitivity” to the issue in Sunny Isles because of its large Eastern European community.
“There’s an element of fear in speaking about this. Absolutely. And that actually has been imparted to me,” she stated. “There is some question of whether there’s any consequence to that.”
Oksana Piaseckyj and her husband, Peter, are Ukrainian refugees from World War II. They currently live in Sunny Isles Beach in a neighborhood mixed with Russians and Ukrainians. Although they are very clear about where they stand on the issue, the Piaseckyjs feel that if they put a Ukrainian flag outside their home, there would be an “adverse reaction” from their neighbors.
Pugachov says he has many Russian friends who support Ukraine, but that most are afraid to speak out because they have friends or family members who are somehow connected to the Russian government, and are scared of any potential consequences.
As many believe that Putin has eyes and ears everywhere, they are being more discreet about their feelings on the war, regardless of what side they’re on.
“Putin is the bully no one will ever stand up to,” said Galadza.
Russian Propaganda Amplifies
Although there is much controversy over whether most Russians agree or disagree with the invasion, one thing is for certain: Russian television is lying to its citizens.
(Gabriela Yero for Biscayne Times)
People praying for Ukraine inside Miami’s Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Galadza says this isn’t an issue between Russians and Ukrainians.
“It’s between Putin and the rest of the world. So, we don’t hold the Russian people to blame for this. This is their government,” he stated.
However, many Ukrainians have severed relations with Russian friends and even family members who believe what their president is telling them.
Cysenko’s friends in Russia truly believe it is an “operation” to help Ukraine, not a war, she expressed with frustration.
Gnativ says his Russian friends are impossible to talk to, as they actually believe Russia is saving Ukraine. His own cousin doesn’t believe him. They say Ukraine is a fascist nation.
“I tried to talk to them. It’s not possible,” said Gnativ. “They say very silly things like, ‘Why do you need to go to NATO? Why do you need those European values?’”
He added that they also repeat offensive homophobic comments they hear on TV.
On Mar. 25, 2022, President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S. would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide Ukraine with an extra $1 billion dollars in humanitarian aid.
Many of those refugees may end up in South Florida.
While some are thankful, others are asking for more. Lemesh says that while 100,000 may not be enough, it’s a great start. Cysenko hopes her niece will be able to flee Ukraine’s ongoing turmoil and come to South Florida.
Oksana Piaseckyj feels differently.
“Of course, we are always grateful for the humanitarian aid, but what Ukraine needs now is planes, weapons and ammunition,” she expressed.
Gnativ agrees. He stated that “real support” is needed to protect innocent people because no part of Ukraine is safe from Russia.
“The first day of the invasion I said that Ukrainians fight, always fight, and that if Putin doesn’t capture Kyiv in three days, Putin has lost the war,” exclaimed Peter Piaseckyj, as he said he hopes this will be the fall of the Russian Empire.
More than a month has passed since the invasion began and no one knows what’s going to happen or how this war will end. What is clear is that Ukrainians will continue to fight to end Putin’s assault on their human rights, with or without assistance from NATO. At press time, another round of peace talks were underway.
“Every day is a miracle that Kyiv stands, the government stands and Ukrainian people stand,” said Galadza, “Ukraine will triumph. I just don’t know what will be left.”