Ukrainians will return home when the laws are clear and workable, and the state can build a relationship of trust with them. So far, Ukraine has made mistakes, including the temporary suspension of consular services abroad for men and the narratives about evaders, which led to their obtaining citizenship of other countries, says Natalia Panchenko, leader of Euromaidan Warsaw, one of the most famous and influential organisations of Ukrainians in Poland, and head of the Stand with Ukraine Foundation.
Ukraine must build cooperation with the diaspora, following the example of other countries where diasporas have representatives in parliament. At the same time, one of the main tasks should be preserving Ukrainian identity.
What should be done to achieve this? Is Poland integrating Ukrainians? What are the consequences of politicising the issue of ‘Ukrainians in Poland’?
Natalia Panchenko answers these and other questions in the MOSTY (The Bridges of Ukraine) project by the Civic Initiative “Holka.”
About the activities of Euromaidan Warsaw
We promote Ukraine’s interests in the international arena, primarily in Poland, where our organisation was founded. However, we also work in other EU countries and the United States, as we did with the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine.
We are trying to convince the authorities there that Ukraine needs support, and the public – why Ukraine should continue to be supported, and why war fatigue or inflation that has come to their country is not Ukraine’s fault, as Russian propaganda often says. It is the fault of Putin and the war that Russia started. Then, people begin to фссузе this inflation and the need to help Ukraine entirely differently.
We are now working to transfer frozen Russian assets in the EU and the US to Ukraine. This is more than €300 billion. The next area is the war crimes tribunal, which should convict Putin and all those who support him. The second vector is assistance to Ukraine, namely the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities
We cooperate with the embassy the most. When Ukraine’s president or foreign minister comes on an official visit, they organise a meeting with Ukrainian organisations. There are also working meetings with Iryna Vereshchuk, who was the first Deputy Prime Minister and is now in the Office of the President. However, she has not cancelled the format of working meetings, where Ukrainians abroad address pressing issues every two weeks.
With so many people abroad, the state must establish cooperation with them. However, I don’t see a relationship of trust between the state and these people yet. I hear messages that Ukraine really wants people to come back. However, the law that banned consular services is not about trust between a citizen and the state.
We need to build trusting relationships with Ukrainians abroad.
We need embassies to cooperate more actively and not to put the entire burden on embassies alone. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. There are countries where diasporas have representatives in parliament. In this way, the government shows the diaspora that you influence decisions in the country, you are like us, and we do not separate you from ourselves.
On the conditions for the return of Ukrainians from abroad
First, housing, especially for those who left because of the war. Foreign countries provide them with social housing. Another option is to buy a mortgage, which is much easier and more realistic in the EU than in Ukraine. Therefore, if a person starts from scratch and thinks about a new home, as many people from the occupied territories do, it is easier for them to build or borrow this new home abroad.
Education for children is very important. Whether that child can have a free or low-cost, but good school and university.
Ukraine has to become competitive here. Of course, it is difficult, there is a war, but there is a great privilege. Abroad will always be abroad for Ukrainians, and home will always be home. But this huge privilege works in a complex. When you have something else – a school, a mortgage at 3% or 5%, plus this privilege – it becomes an advantage, and people move.
For Ukrainians to return, we need to treat Ukrainians abroad as equals and not promote various theories about evaders. Such mistakes should no longer be made because they can be costly.
What every Ukrainian abroad can do
They can donate, attend rallies, and explain to their friends, neighbours, and colleagues at work why it is essential to support Ukraine. They can explain that the war is caused by Russia, not Ukraine. They can explain why there is inflation and why you can’t go to stores like Leroy Merlin or Auchan, which have not yet left the Russian market.
