My time in the Peace Corps serving in Ukraine finished in late 2019 as tensions with Russia were on the rise. Since then, I had kept in touch with Ukrainian colleagues, especially since the onset of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. After relocating to the Boston area late last year, I had a chance to acclimated with the local Ukrainian community. Harvard University sponsors the Ukrainian Research Institute, which hosts numerous events throughout the year, including lectures by Ukrainian diaspora leaders such as Oleksandra Matviichuk, a recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Another prolific organization in the area sponsoring events is the Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England. The UCCN serves as a nucleus for community activities where other groups can request assistance with coordinating their own events, fundraising, and raising awareness. One of the organization’s most high-profile events occurred on February 26th this year, marking one year since the full-scale invasion began. The event, Ukraine: 365 Days of Defending Freedom, began as a rally outside of Copley Square where a few thousand participants showed up to show their solidarity. The rally featured a number of notable speakers including local Congressman Stephen Lynch. Several of the Ukrainian community leaders shared their own experiences and hardships experienced by their families back home.
I recently had an opportunity to talk with Nika Chelnokova, one of the event’s featured speakers. Chelnokova, originally from Kyiv, relocated to the Boston area in 2020 to begin attending Suffolk University. She graduated last month from Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School with a bachelor’s degree in marketing with honors. During her time as a student, Chelnokova has stepped forward as an outspoken activist and maintained a position as a community leader at UCCN. Her dedication toward leadership stems foremost from her cultural identity but also from an ability and willingness to put into practice her skillset for meaningful change. This level of public service is unique among diaspora members involved with communal engagement (Grossman 2019, 1270).
We began discussing fundraising and different approaches individual citizens can do to make a difference. Chelnokova began, “Being Ukrainian, it means you have always someone who you know who needs help”. She credited the work and trustworthiness of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States. While she expressed a wariness among larger organizations and their role in fundraising efficiency, a few Ukrainian non-profits were highlighted as being transparent and effective such as Razom for Ukraine and Sunflower of Peace. “They [the Ukrainian disapora] know where the money goes, but still, even though with the Ukrainian diaspora telling us that, and I fully believe them, this is not the way I prefer to that, because it’s all about the percentages that are going for salaries [or other expenses], and then the $5 that you donated, you feel kind of proud about that, it doesn’t feel that significant”.
While the enthusiasm and participation coming from Americans have been overwhelmingly positive, this stance is not universal. Chelnokova referenced a Facebook post by Congressman Lynch after the February 26, 2023 rally. “People would say, ‘Why would you send money to Ukraine and all those things, so in that case, sometimes when I look at that, I think the first mission [is] just to explain about the war in Ukraine”. Non-profit organizations supporting Ukraine such as the aforementioned Razom and Nova Ukraine have seen a meteoric increase in donations; going from hundreds of thousands of dollars to each raising more than $70 million in cash and in-kind donations since the war began (Beaty, 2023).
While Boston lacks a “Ukrainian Village” as seen in Chicago or New York, the community is active locally with the UCCN seen as being the primary driving force. “They [UCCN] is responsible for all of the events, so, we have a collaboration with different centers, such as Trinity Church, also with Christ the King Ukrainian Church, we are also collaborating with Makor Center. If we need any help, or anything we already know the places willing to be used as a venue. We are doing media releases, we’re more organized and more professional, and we’re finding volunteers for specific things. So UCCN here is kind of like the mother, they always help with any question that we have. For example, in any interviews, all the journalists talk with them and then ask who is willing to talk”. Lastly, as our discussion turned to focus on the current status of the war, I wanted to find out about Nika’s impressions of what a postwar Ukraine could look like. The repercussions beyond Ukraine’s borders have been immense. Sweden and Finland, longtime Western-leaning partners have been galvanized to expedite their accession processes with NATO. Finland officially joined in April, while Sweden is still awaiting ratifications from Hungary and Turkey. Chelnokova described a familiarity among older Ukrainians who had grown up during the Soviet Union speaking Russian. This contrasted with a starker discontent among younger Ukrainians. She continued, “Ukrainians are just very, very tired of this relationship with Russia, so they will be willing to do whatever it takes to not be with them”.
[1] Jonathan Grossman (2019) Toward a definition of diaspora, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42:8, 1263-1282, DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2018.1550261
[2] Beaty, T. https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-be335ce9375d11732fa3a61995267f1d
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