Feature; How to Talk to Ukrainians

Feature: Svitlana Mozharivska, ABEA Ukraine “How to Talk to Ukrainians About the War: Not to Harm, but to Support ”

Now only babies probably, do not know about Ukraine. From the very first days we, ABEA team, have received dozens, hundreds of messages from partners from all over the world. We hold our deepest gratitude! The support provided by the nearest countries, in particular Poland, Slovakia, Romania - it is not possible to convey in words, not to sing in songs our appreciation. Messages, calls, suggestions from customers, potential partners, and even competitors from all around the world are impressive and show that we have built resilient and good relationships and most importantly, how to stay a human. Therefore, we have had the courage to prepare a short list of things that will make it easier for you to communicate with a Ukrainian, just in case you want to not just communicate, but really support.

1. Call a spade a spade

This is probably the only case in life where tolerance and a desire to soften up the edges can lead to worse consequences in comparison with straightforwardness. In Ukraine there is war. We know that this terrible word is very scary. The word is blocked in social networks, children's textbooks and minds of those who want to distance themselves. However, more than 8 million refugees, destroyed cities, wrecked houses do not allow to call this horror "conflict", "invasion", "difficult situation" or other moderating words. War. Acknowledge this in a conversation with any Ukrainian and he/she will be grateful to you for the truth.

2. Keep in touch

We have got many discoveries and selfknowledge during these weeks of war. Who did you call / write firstly after the explosions? How did you react: left or stayed in the country? Did you work or volunteer? However, we swear that we really remember every text, every good word of support. Please, feel free to write and ask. Even in a few weeks, even in a month every word and message matter a lot to us. They are important. They keep us going in the basement to the sounds of bombing & destruction of houses or to the birdsongs in forced immigration.

3. Do not ask us about the Russians and when we can be friends

We do not know if it is worth explaining here. Since we have chosen an open topic for the article, we will be honest with you. Yes, we have a lot of family connections, friendly ties and working links. However, for us this issue is now like rubbing salt into the wound. We do not know when the war will end and how. We do not know how we will communicate further with Russians and whether we will do it. Every question and every mention pour white salty crystals on an open bloody wound and make us burn so hard that we want to howl.

4. Don't ask us about plans for the future

On February 24, 2022 our lives, plans and dreams simply came to an end. Everything we wanted stopped to be relevant. All our prayers were substituted by one prayer. 35 million people - Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews or even atheists (yes, even they started praying) - began to ask the God to stop the war. Yesterday we stocked up on groceries for a week, planned to go skiing until the end of the season and planned a summer holiday, not to overlap with colleagues' vacations. Today we are planning to go out to provide humanitarian aid to migrants (if air alarms allow), find medicines for parents (if alarms allow) and send to the other end of Ukraine by post or a complete stranger who has promised to deliver these medicines, because who we are to disbelieve a man with honest eyes. Tomorrow (if air alarms allow, of course) we will do the same thing - help a little, work a little, write steadily "how are you?" to our families and friends, and pray, pray, pray. We do not have any definite answer about plans for the future. But better ask us what we will wear to the Victory Parade in Kyiv. We all know the answer. From our side we invite you to buy Vyshyvanka (traditional Ukrainian embroidered clothes) and be ready to come to Ukraine for a parade, walk along wide Khreshchatyk Street (the main street of the capital), eat the famous Kyiv pastries (the most famous pastries in Kyiv), drink fragrant coffee in Lviv, swim in the sea in Odessa and rebuild Kharkiv. We want to say - see you soon! Svitlana Mozharivska, Head of the Legal Department, ABEA Relocation