Strong emotions in Ukraine.
Coming to Kiev is anything but ordinary
by Federico N. Fernández*
Yesterday Sunday May 22nd we took a flight that would take us from Poland into Ukraine. A part of the group went to Batumi (Georgia) instead. The Ukrainian delegation was rather small this time, since more people are coming today and tomorrow. It was just Ron Manners and me. Ron is a successful businessman, author, and freedom fighter from Australia. This last fact will become very relevant for what follows.
Everything was OK with our flight and we arrived ahead of schedule. Moreover, at passport control there were very few people. We couldn’t be luckier, or could we?
Ron went ahead of me to talk with the migration officer and soon after that I was called by another one. I only was asked where I was coming from and received a nice stamp in my passport. I went through the line and officially entered this beautiful country.
However, my dear friend and Road Show colleague was still being “interviewed.” And instead of crossing the line I saw him being escorted by a giant guy dressed in a camouflaged military uniform and taken God knows where.
For a second I froze. I really didn’t know what to do. Then I recalled that a guy in Poland mentioned that there might be a visa request for Australian citizens. I guess illegal immigration from Australia to Ukraine must be a big issue nowadays…
Anyway, I thought if that’s the case, he would just pay and be released. A couple of minutes passed and still no Ron. My anxiety level was definitely on the rise. So I decided to act.
The first people I talked to were two women who worked for the airport. After listening to me looking like I was totally bothering them, they responded that I should go to the “Lost & Found” counter. I’m not kidding! When I mentioned that I was interested in the whereabouts of a person, they replied “Sorry, I don’t know.”
So I tried to contact one of the border officers that are in the small booths and stamp your passport. I also told him that I was traveling with a gentleman from Australia and that he’s been detained. His reaction was… laughter! Strongly believing that this must be a very sick and sadistic person, I left him as soon as I could.
My third attempt was trying to communicate with the soldiers. I couldn’t find the one who took Ron but I could speak to another instead. I explained him the situation and told him that I wanted to know where Ron was. He asked to wait and wait and I saw him going to a room, probably some sort of detention room. He came back one minute later and inform me “your friend isn’t there. He must have been through already.” That really worried me because that was technically impossible. I have been waiting for Ron the whole time and never saw him again since he was taken.
Thank God in the airport there was free wifi and it worked pretty well. I could look for the phone number of the Australian Embassy in Ukraine and contacted. A machine told me that the Embassy was closed but if I was an Australian citizen in distressed, dialing 5 they’ll contact me with a call center in Canberra. Ten seconds later I was talking to a guy and explaining Ron’s ordeal. He asked for Ron’s information and a way to contact him. I provided him with his cellphone number. Eventually the guy would call Ron and briefly talk to him.
I begged him to try to contact the Ukrainian authorities and explain to them that nobody knew he would a visa.
The guy from Canberra (I think his name was Callun) called me again and told me he was doing his best and that I should call him in an hour if Ron didn’t appear. Luckily, at that same moment I saw Ron coming so the nightmare was over.
Ron told me that at the beginning he thought he was being taken to some office to pay the visa. But that wasn’t the case. He was being sent to the transit area of the airport to board a plane and leave. At one point, however, things changed and he was re-routed to the diplomatic office to fill the visa application and pay for it (85 euros). I honestly don’t know if the Australian Foreign Office could pull some strings or some local bureaucrat had some degree of mercy.
That was how our visit to Ukraine started.
When we finally got to the hotel there was a very nice girl who works with our local organizers and took us for a walking tour in the city center. Her name is Halyna Shlapai. While we were talking she mentioned that her family was from Crimea but last year they moved to the Western part of the country. I asked whether this had to do with the recent Russian annexation of the peninsula. She said yes. And she also told me a couple of very horrible stories which can only be labelled as a rough process of Russification of Crimea.
The policy of issuing a Russian passport for everybody seems to be very strong. And those who refuse to have one end up being unable to do the most basic things. For example, buying a new cellphone line is impossible without holding a Russian passport.
The results of this are that many people have decided to leave. And they must now start a new life somewhere else.
When she was telling me this I felt the need to give her a hug — which probably was the only way one can show support in these kinds of situations. Unfortunately, I’m so shy that I couldn’t do it. I hope that these lines are a second best of that hug that was never given.
And where was this conversation about people leaving taking place? At the Maidan Square. One of the points in which recent Ukrainian and European history has been written.
The place is now completely clean and normal. No barricades and no fighting. However, the scars of repression are everywhere. One of the most emotional is a side street with pictures of people. Most of them are very young. These are the pictures of the 100 young men and women killed by the government during the pro European demonstration in 2013 and 2014. They’re now referred to as “The One Hundred Heroes.”
I didn’t dare to take pictures of this humble memorial. This is something real and that is very present in the memory and hearts of many people here. I saw a woman crossing herself while crying in front of a picture. I saw the sad and somber faces of the locals who were walking by those pictures. I saw many people bringing flowers to pay their respect to the victims.
All this happened to us in less than 24 hours in Kiev. Tomorrow we have the Free Market Road Show here, where we’ll discuss ways forward for Ukraine. It’s true that we had some problems entering the country. It’s also true that border controls are becoming more and more an exercise of brutal power on innocent tourists everywhere. I will never forget that in my first visit to the United States, a very ignorant border official asked me about “the American philosopher Bertrand Russel.”
In any case, our bureaucratic problems entering the country shouldn’t overshadow the fact that this country has given the world a lesson on dignity and courage. And if initiatives like the Free Market Road Show are successful in spreading its message, Ukraine will shortly give the whole world a lesson on successful reforms.
* Federico N. Fernández is senior fellow of the Austrian Economics Center (Vienna, Austria), and vice president of Fundación Bases (Rosario, Argentina).
If you’ve liked this, please click on ‘Recommend’. If you want to read more posts like this one, don’t forget to ‘Follow’ the Free Market Diaries.
You can find me on Twitter as well.
