The Ukrainian diaspora in Athens: "My brother is 25, he is a programmer and today he went to war"

Ioana Epure

English Section

24/02/2022

In the last week demonstrations of support took place throughout Europe (Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland), but also in the US and Canada, the countries with most Ukrainians living abroad (over two million people). 

Meanwhile, in Beirut, tensions arose between the Russian and Ukrainian diaspora, the Ukrainians in London are making plans to return home, to join the army, and the diaspora from Turkey hosts the Ukrainians stuck at the airport in Istanbul, after the air space of the neighboring countries, including Moldova, was closed, blocking many people in transit towards home. 

Only around 25 thousand Ukrainians live in Greece, but today they organized a peaceful demonstration at the foot of the Acropolis, to protest against the Russian invasion. The atmosphere is heavy, it is raining lightly, people sing the anthem and a priest says the Lord's Prayer. People do not know what else to do - their relatives do not want them home, but even if they wanted them, they would not have a way to get back home easily at this time.  

Liuba is 38 years old and is from Mariupol, one of the first cities targeted by the Russian attack. While mindlessly reloading her Twitter feed to see any news, behind her large sunglasses, she cries. She is not the only one. The demonstration has no dynamism - it is rather stupor that fills the air.    

"We could not believe that we can live like this nowadays. We wanted to believe that this situation would be avoided, but now only a miracle can stop what is happening without many deaths. I have relatives there, friends, people that are very close to me. They are scared, they stay at home and hear the bombs. They do not feel safe", says Liuba. 

"It's stupid to say that the Ukrainians could have started the war," she adds. "The Ukrainians just wanted to believe that it would not happen. That it was being talked about, that there was something on TV. But not this reality, what we see now. There are people who work, study and now they can no longer live their daily lives. They have nowhere to go, now the war is everywhere. And they do not even want to leave the country. Their homes are there. It is hard to leave your parents, your friends, to leave your home behind," she concludes. 

Ina, 33 years old, also finds the idea of a war in Europe in 2022 terrifying. 

"I am in shock. I feel that someone has died and I am in mourning. My grandmother is in Ukraine, I have cousins, uncles, many relatives, in Kyiv and Rivne." She says that she could not find any of them, because of the overloaded internet connection.

"I tried to talk to my grandmother, but the connection was terrible, I just saw that she was crying, I did not understand what she said to me and it stopped," she says. "I do not understand what is happening. We have no weapons. We gave up heavy weapons many years ago, we signed a treaty with Russia (in 1994, ed.). I thought they would try something at the borders, like eight years ago (in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, ed.) and that they would stop. It was a shock when I saw that it was not like that. I was at work, I found out from my mother. I cried for an hour. I simply do not understand how we ended up at war in Europe." 

Liubov, 45 years old, is particularly angry at the Russians and Ukrainians who support Putin. "Injustice is consuming us. The most terrible thing is that many Russians support them, support this dirty politics. And that even some Ukrainians who live in Russia take his side, although they have relatives in Ukraine who were in concentration camps. It's the most tragic thing." 

A proof that not all Russians support Putin's expansionist policy is the fact that some of them are protesting, even today, alongside the Ukrainians. Elena is from Russia, she is 33 years old and angry.

"I have many Ukrainian friends, I cannot accept this situation, what Putin is doing. Why would you do such a thing? Why would so many people have to die? Now he destroyed the infrastructure, airports. But if it continues, many people will die. Putin is an aggressor not only for Europe, but also for Russian citizens," says Elena.

In the middle of the square, the only optimist is a monk, who does not want to share his name, but claims that the war will end quickly, in two or three days, because "the Ukrainian army is wonderful". In the meantime, however, he wonders how he can get back home. He does not live in Athens, he is just visiting, and the airports are closed. "I will go back through Romania, through Suceava or Cernăuți to reach Ternopil, where I am from." 

Between 7 and 12 million Ukrainians live outside the country. Of them, more than 3 million live in Russia.