Our time in Ukraine is over.
We cannot comprehend how fast our term here has past. Each time we come, we learn or experience
something new. The following will
highlight some of our new knowledge or experiences.
·
Police in Ukraine can spot a drunk driver by the
simple fact that they are driving straight.
Everyone else is weaving their way around all the potholes in the road.
·
I have finally learned proper Ukrainian table
manners. We were invited to join a local
group from the church for an evening meal.
I caused great consternation by the simple fact of passing on the food
after I had helped myself. People around
me did not know what to do with the dishes I was passing them. I was informed that Ukrainians have long arms
and can reach for themselves – thank you very much.
·
The food that evening had been cooked over a
wood fire. The logs had come from the
Alt-Berdjansk forest. This was a
Mennonite forestry station where my grandfather had worked in 1904. I counted the rings in the log to determine
its age in order to find out if my grandfather could possibly have planted that
tree. I was disappointed to find out the tree was only 70 years old.
My Uncle Victor Suderman Standing in Front of Old Barracks in Alt-Berdjansk |
·
One Saturday morning we had 2 teenage girls over
for breakfast. They could speak English
and were curious about Canada. We showed
them a picture of our house in Winnipeg from the street. They saw the design flaws immediately. Where was our front fence and gate to provide
privacy and security?
·
On our trip home from Kyiv, we were picked up at
the train station in Melitopol early in the morning. As we drove through one of the villages near
Molochansk before 7:00 AM, we saw the cows being collected by the shepherd and
going down the road to the pasture. This
is identical to what occurred during Mennonite times. If a Mennonite family was late in the morning
milking and their cow was not ready when the herd passed, the whole village
would know about it. Oh the shame of
having to walk your own cow out to pasture and be seen by everyone.
·
The railway station manager in Molochansk called
to ask when their station had officially opened. They suspected they were nearing the 100th
anniversary of the event and wanted to honour it in some way. I turned to the books in our library written
by my neighbour Helmut Huebert to find the answer. His book on Mennonites in the Cities of
Imperial Russia Volume II described the construction of the railway headed by
two brothers, Gerhard and Johann Wall.
While there was no date for the official opening of our local station, I
gave them the date of December 20, 1913 as that was the date for the first
scheduled train service. The station was
already past its 100th anniversary but I was pleased that local
people were interested in their own history and that they would approach us for
information on the subject.
·
At one of our usual stops at the Lichtenau train
station, we were invited inside the office of the station manager. He had 4 beautifully preserved and framed
pictures of the Mennonite migration of the 1920’s mounted on the wall. Most of the pictures I had seen before but I
took a picture of one that was new to me.
Mennonite Emigrants Boarding a Train in Lichtenau 1920's |
·
There is a large hydro-electric dam on the
Dnieper River at Zaporozhye. At the time
it was built in the 1930’s, it was considered one of the marvels of the modern
world. I had driven over it many times,
but had a desire to walk across it. It
is almost 2 km in length. I managed to
walk it this year and then for my return, I walked it again. It gave me a sore throat from the diesel
fumes of passing vehicles as well as a real respect for its immense size.
·
This dam was blown by the retreating Soviet army
on the night of July 18, 1941. They
misjudged the amount of explosives required and used too much. In the morning, pieces of human bodies could
be seen hanging from nearby trees and poles.
The release of water was also more rapid than anticipated. According to a television program in Ukraine,
a Soviet army of 200,000 men stationed at a downstream village of Belinkoje
perished in the rapidly rising water.
Blown Dam in 1941 (Private Collection of Vic Ens) |
·
This trip marks the first time Mary and I have
heard a nightingale sing. We have also
heard the cuckoo. They are both amazing
sounds and are important as any novel about the area always references these
birds. The most common bird we hear is
the mourning dove.
·
We were also privileged to see the blooming
acacia trees and to appreciate their sweet fragrance. The highway to Zaporozhye was lined with
blooming acacia trees. A photo just does
not do it justice but we keep trying.
On Sunday May 25, we became unofficial Canadian observers for an important election in Ukraine. If successfully concluded, this election
would give Ukraine its first legitimate government since the overthrow of the
Yanukovich government last February.
There were 21 candidates for President on the ballot. The winner has to achieve a clear majority of
over 50% of the votes. This could take a
number of run-off ballots. However it
appears that the “Candy Man” has achieved a true majority in the first
ballot. We hope that this will bring
peace and stability to our friends in Ukraine.
Mary and I feel it has been a tremendous privilege to be the
North American directors at the Mennonite Centre in Molochansk this year. The support and prayers from friends back
home has been felt and appreciated. The
near wartime circumstances have made this a unique experience. We never knew if we would be able to complete
our term. We are thankful that we were
able to do that. At a staff farewell party for
us on Saturday evening, the outspoken spouse of one of our employees said,
“Thank you for having the courage to come. Thank you for not running away”.
For more information on the work of the Mennonite Centre,
please go to: http://www.mennonitecentre.ca/
You can also join Facebook and follow us at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mennonite-Centre-Ukraine/735361069838076
The Winnipeg City police may be able to detect drunk drivers with that method! Had to laugh at the shepherd collecting the cows - what did he do with his sheep?
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