|
Taras VoznyakHow to implement Ukrainization in occupied DonbasIt is impossible for
us to live
with occupied Donbas as before.
The glass has shattered to
pieces and however we try
to glue it
together, it will never be
the same again. The truth
is that nothing
lasts forever… Ukraine is changing.
Europe and the world are
changing too. In the context
of these changes, Ukraine will not be
the same as before. However, several issues remain on the
table. One of the main
reasons why such a conflict happened in the
Donbas is a certain infantilism, at least on
the part of eastern Ukrainians
who refused to take the
future into their own hands
and decide their fate. What
do I mean by this? When crowds in the
Donbas shouted: “Putin, bring in
your troops!” and “We want
Putin!”, their cries meant that
they were not at all
ready to shape their destiny,
their path to the future,
or they were
incapable of doing so. This
reflects the mindset of the
post-Soviet man whose actions and
thoughts are dictated by the
“great Stalin”. This is a deeply
patriarchal society where everything beyond the Urals
is decided by the “Older
Brother”. Such people live like
sheep on a big farm… and
that’s what the occupied territories
of Donbas have become today. The rest of Ukrainian
society has grown and is
ready to shape its own
future. This is the Ukraine
which stood up, fought and
has consolidated its infrastructure over the past
two years. It has become
more mature and more responsible. Have the people who
remained in the occupied territories
matured? Have they fulfilled their “dreams”? Sometimes, this seems like a rhetorical
question. Some Donbas people justify
their infantilism by saying they
are unimportant and insignificant, or they are
old…pensioners. “We don’t decide
anything. No one listens to
us. Our voice
is never heard.” But, these
are lame excuses, a way to escape responsibility
and questions that have risen
with the passage of time. In future, if we
want to build
a new relationship with Donbas, several
questions will arise: “Do you want to
work with us and build
a common future together? Are you
really capable of creating a new
future for yourselves, or would you rather
become a deadwight for the rest
of our country
like before?” You failed with Russia,
so do you
want to do
the same with Ukraine? If Donbas refuses to work with
the rest of Ukraine to
create a common future, the Donetsk
puzzle can be easily solved,
that is we
must stand and say a loud
“Good bye!” I don’t think Ukrainians
are once again ready to
welcome Donbas back into the
fold to face
an unknown future with its
oligarchs breathing down their necks.
Donbas must find the answers
to these questions on its
own. The rest of Ukraine
must also consider these questions. Do we
really want to continue living
with such a Donbas? Are we
ready to give Ukrainian citizenship back to those who
burnt their Ukrainian passports? Can they continue
to live in
Donbas, but must not be
allowed to decide the fate
of a country that they’ve betrayed. Some Donbas residents have already given
their answer. Such people have
left that black hole, the
dark tunnel that leads to
nowhere. They’ve left their homes
and settled in other regions
of Ukraine or abroad, or
even in Russia.
They’ve given their answer. They’ve
made their choice. Now, it’s
up to the
rest… Their response will be
reflected in how occupied Donbas
accepts Ukrainization. Ukrainization does not merely refer
to a policy of facilitating and spreading the
Ukrainian language and promoting Ukrainian
culture and a national identity. It also refers
to growing up and maturing… And here’s the last
point: all this does not
apply to Ukraine’s sovereignty and its territories. Occupied Donbas is a sovereign region of Ukraine
and will be returned, just
like Crimea. Translated by: Christine Chraibi May 3, 2016 http://euromaidanpress.com/2016/05/03/how-to-implement-ukrainization-in-occupied-donbas/#arvlbdata
|