The Ukrainian community of Paraná has been looking for information from relatives and friends since the dawn of this Thursday (24th) after Russia’s invasion of the neighboring country in Eastern Europe. Reports from those in Ukraine are of great concern, with people trying to flee the country and running in an attempt to save supplies, cash and fuel in case the military conflict escalates. Paraná has the largest Ukrainian community in Brazil, with about 80% of the 600,000 immigrants and descendants living in the country.
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The businessman Sérgio José Maciura, grandson of Ukrainians and owner of the travel agency Dnipró Gold in Curitiba, which for 29 years has specialized in packages to Eastern Europe, mainly Ukraine, says that the feeling is of great fear and despair among Ukrainians. with whom he spoke this Thursday morning. “Everyone is hiding at home or trying to flee. A family I came into contact with today took refuge in a friend’s house in the mountain, in the Carpathian Mountains, close to the border with Poland. Those already on the western side of Ukraine are trying to cross the border to Poland”, says the businessman, who is also president of the Brazil-Ukraine Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Services.
Named after the country’s main river, Dnipro takes an average of 500 tourists a year to Ukraine, representing 30% of the company’s operations. It’s not just Brazilians who travel through the agency, but also tourists from Argentina, Paraguay, the United States and Canada, countries that also have large Ukrainian communities.
Maciura already predicts the impact of the military conflict not only on his business but on other economic activities with Ukraine. But the businessman’s main concern right now is who is in Ukraine. “We are aware that tours are going to drop. Who wants to visit a country that is being attacked?” he asks. “We have to wait and pray that common sense prevails, because in addition to my family, I have many friends and work partners in Ukraine, from hotel workers, drivers, guides, business partners with whom I am very concerned”, says Maciura, whose family is from Liviv, the second largest Ukrainian city near Poland.
The concern is the same as that of Felipe Orsten, president of the Ukrainian Society of Brazil, whose headquarters are in Curitiba. He also spoke to Ukrainian friends on Thursday. “In addition to food, people are saving cash because they are afraid of running out of internet for banking transactions, as happened in the 2014 conflict,” he says, referring to the invasion eight years ago, when Russia annexed the island of Crimea.
Even with indications from the last few days that Russian forces would invade the neighboring country at any moment, Orsten says that Ukrainian friends did not expect the military action to be so intense. “They only expected an imminent attack in the eastern region, where there are pro-Russian separatist groups. So much so that many people moved to the west in the hope of having more security. But the attacks and bombings are taking place throughout the country.” .
Among the Ukrainian community in Curitiba, Orsten says the feeling is of great sadness, especially with the older members, who did not expect to see the country attacked again. “It seems that with older people the sadness is even greater, because they already followed this when Ukraine was not yet an independent country”, says the president of the Ukrainian Society. “For a long time we were prevented from speaking our language and keeping our customs. Now we see a setback, with the feeling that Ukraine may again lose its freedom, its sovereignty”, he laments.
Of the eight times he has been to Ukraine, Orsten says one of the most memorable was in 2016, two years after the revolution that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. “It was sad to see images on TV today of Independence Square, in the capital Kiev, empty. The same place where people demonstrated in 2014”, he says.
This Thursday, the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation condemned the Russian invasion and invited the descendants to meet Sunday (27) and Tuesday (2) in Ukrainian churches not only in Paraná, but also in other states. “We call all the Brazilian people to solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people”, the president of the representation, the Curitiba lawyer Vitório Sorotiuk, signs the summons.
Prudentópolis
The most Ukrainian city in Brazil, Prudentópolis, in Campos Gerais, will have a protest this Thursday against the Russian invasion. Dressed in typical clothes and with the flag of the European country, the descendants will show solidarity with Ukrainians in the main square of the municipality, which bears the name of Ukraine.
About 75% of the population of 52,700 inhabitants of Prudentópolis is of Ukrainian origin. The municipality even keeps some of the main Ukrainian-style buildings outside the European country, such as the Byzantine-style Church of Saint Josafat. Last year, the City Council approved Ukrainian as the co-official language of the municipality.
With such a tie with Ukraine, the mood is one of mourning in Prudentópolis this Thursday. “Everyone is very sad. The feeling is that Russia has not only invaded Ukraine, but that it has invaded Prudentópolis as well”, compares mechanic André Zakalugem, 34, who also works as a teacher and translator of Ukrainian and is part of the group. folkloric Vesselka.
Zakalugem says that in recent days many residents of Prudentópolis have been “paying mass” for peace in Ukraine. “Many people ask at Mass to pray for Ukraine. Every day more people in the city make prayer chains for Ukraine, whether in Catholic or Orthodox churches,” he says.
President of Grupo Folclórico Vesselka, Fermando Demenech claims to have spent the night awake with other friends in search of information about the Russian invasion. “On social networks, many Brazilians who live in Ukraine were very apprehensive. This is the news today in Prudentópolis. This is only talked about in the city”, explains Denemech.
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