«How Ukrainians build their ethnic community in Georgia»
According to the WHO report from the 24th of February, 2023, at least 25 thousand Ukrainian refugees were registered in Georgia. And we know that the actual number differs and is far higher. Today, you can hear the Ukrainian language in Georgian cities; Ukrainian flags and graffiti are everywhere. However, five years ago, when Katherina Kozak had only moved to Georgia, she could do nothing but dream about a Ukrainian community. Or take actions to establish the community.
Katherina was born in the city famous for and named after the man who founded the first academical institution on the territory of Ukraine — Ostrog Academy. Later, Katherina moved from her hometown to Kyiv. But she soon got tired of the hectic beat of big city life. So, she started looking for a peaceful place to live. Then, she discovered Georgia — a country where people value life and know how to enjoy its measured pace. In Georgia, Katherina got a job in marketing at an American company. However, time passed by, and she started realizing how badly she missed her home and the people from there.
“Two years ago, I realized I met very few Ukrainians while in Georgia. I missed how we celebrated our traditional holidays at home, singing songs… My good friend, who also moved to Georgia from the Donetsk area, was a choirmaster, so she started a group of amateur singers to sing Ukrainian songs. I was thrilled they did such a great thing!” says Katherina.
After the singing group, there were a few other initiatives: in collaboration with an embassy, Katherina dubbed audio guides into Ukrainian for several Georgian museums. Meanwhile, she was appointed an executive at the NGO “Svitanok” (Sunrise). The organization worked on the realization of some projects for Ukrainians.
“I felt confused after the appointment because it was COVID time. Besides, the Ukrainian community in Georgia needed to be more cohesive, and the necessity of Ukraine representation was not on the agenda. I knew that many Ukrainians lived in Georgia, but only a few expressed the wish to be involved in the public sector.
In those years, Ukrainians mainly came to Georgia with two aims: either business or travel. Permanent residents were primarily people who moved to the country in the 80s. Thus, it was no youth community. Katherina approached this as an opportunity for development.
A place where the Ukrainian community in Georgia was born
Today, “Svitanok” is an active world community member. The organization is registered at the Ukrainian World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organisation — a division of the Ukrainian World Congress — the largest Ukrainian association in the world. One of the “Svitanok” employees represents the Ukrainian youth community at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and counsels the President on youth issues.
“We joined our efforts with the Ukrainian government, and at the same time, we liaised with the international community,” says Katherina. “First of all, we deal with the people in the age group from 18 to 35. For now, our main tasks involve developing the Ukrainian community in Georgia; supporting Ukrainian initiatives; Ukraine advocacy; and supporting active Ukrainian youth.
Many new people joined our community since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. We only have a few regular staff — usually, it is a group of 8 to 15 people. However, even being such a tiny group, we have successfully organized demonstrations involving up to 10 thousand people. During the last year, our organization made at least ten events.” Katherina mentioned a procession on Independence Day and campaigns on “Ukraine Defender Day” and “Ukraine Unity Day.”
“Georgian police did not restrict our demonstrations by any means. On the contrary, they often assisted in the events. Sadly, however, no Georgian government officials joined the demonstrations. We assume they might still have been there as guests. Georgian officials nevertheless took part in the Ukraine-Georgia forum initiated to discuss the issue of cooperation between the two countries. However, those officials were experts only”.
“Svitanok” actively works with the local oppositional media. Pro-governmental media avoid any cooperation. Kate works on the distribution of Ukrainian content. At the beginning of the war, she assisted media outlets in creating coverage. She says due to the awareness-raising work, Georgians know their way around the history and even the geography of Ukraine now.
Kaleidoscope of help
“Svitanok” is also engaged with humanitarian aid. Together with the Humanitarian Aid Centre, they coordinated donation drop-off points, where people could bring clothes and medicine, which were then sent to Ukraine. Businesses often offered their help. Katherina remembers a call from a milk producer who suggested donating 5 tonnes of milk. After half a year of the war, many buses packed with humanitarian aid left Georgia and went to Ukraine. At first, more than one bus left each week. Beyond that, Georgian post offices waived any charges for packages going to Ukraine. Georgians also helped a lot with accommodation. About 1500 refugees were provided with a place to live.
“Our partner company from Georgia suggested providing accommodation, but they needed help with coordination. We had people who helped refugees leave occupied areas to get to their new places to live. We met people at the Russia-Gorgia border because people who were trying to get out of the cities on the frontline — Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv — often left for Russia first through the occupied territories. I met people who told me terrible stories. The first family I met was from Mariupol, and I will probably remember them till the end of my days.
Later, during the summer, when all urgent issues were settled, people started experiencing difficulties while looking for a job. So, volunteers created a social media channel — GamarJob, to share vacancies that didn’t require language knowledge. Today, the channel has over 1500 followers, and it is one of the most widely used resources for job-hunting among Ukrainians in Georgia. I, together with two other volunteers, have personally found jobs for 300 people. And we worked without any sponsorship. We were unbelievably happy about what we achieved”, says Katherina.
“After the employment problem was sorted out, we also moved to work on the Ukraine representation. Firstly, we were engaging young people to join leadership camps. Nobody sponsored our work; we were fuelled by pure enthusiasm. Now, we have financial support from several international Georgian organizations. What we plan to do now — is an educational program for Ukrainian and Georgian youth.
The tragic events of the war turned the lives of many Ukrainians upside down. Conversely, it made people pull themselves together and develop a national identity. Ukrainians who lived in Georgia before 2022 didn’t actively participate in the community’s public life. The majority spoke Russian. However, now most people have a spark and feel attached to their motherland.
“Compared with 2018, the Ukrainian Georgia community has become more visible and capable. There are more projects for Ukrainians and about Ukrainians now. We have built a strong and reliable community.The foundation is laid, so I want to start more extensive projects that people will remember. My goal is to make Ukraine visible in Georgia. Ukraine advocacy will remain my priority as long as I work for this organization or maybe even for the rest of my life”, says Katherina.
The story was gathered, written and translated by the team of volunteers at The Ukrainian View.
