a Kind of Refugee / 07.01.2023
I am on vacation in Lviv. Doing nothing is the challenge and privilege I’ve taken on, knowing that—like anything in wartime—you have to do it now, because then will be too late.
In the last days of 2022 my Ukrainian friends started asking me: Where’s our lend-lease? Don’t you think the Americans are mocking us and their own history? What do you mean you haven’t studied the 1941 Lend-Lease Act? Isn’t that your responsibility as an American?
They were, of course, pushing me to say something, to take responsibility for the actions of my government. The historic Lend-Lease Act of 1941 allowed the US to send weapons, vehicles, fuel, airplanes, food to Great Britain and later to its allies, including the Soviet Union; without these materials WWII would have ended differently.
The US in 2022 is bringing up the past glory of its victory over Nazi Germany, while at the same time remaining reluctant to provide Ukraine with the kinds and quantity of military materiel that would allow it to defeat russia. As if America were seeking cover from the ghosts of its past while its own spirit is flagging.
Your power lies in owning your history—whether criminal or glorious. For 31 years Ukraine avoided taking responsibility for its role in establishing the Soviet Union, an event whose 100-year anniversary went all but unnoticed on December 30. Today Ukraine is fighting a bloody war for freedom from the undead Soviet Union that russia has claimed for itself.
***
When naming my Substack domain I wrote: akindofrefugee2022. Did I think I’d be done writing this story by the end of the year? I doubt I was thinking past tomorrow, but writing 2022 emphasized something that was hard to believe then: here I was—a refugee in Ukraine, the homeland my grandparents had to abandon in 1943.
My early dispatches wove back and forth between stories of my grandparents’ journeys and from the war I was getting to know firsthand. By summer my own story had taken precedence.
The intensity and intricacy of firsthand experience is seductive. Sensations, feelings, events. Each is followed by the next, fresh and new. It’s easy to be consumed by what is happening in the moment. But if we don’t also send our thought back in time with the question—How did we end up in this place?—then this war will surely never end.
My friends’ questions about lend-lease were not cries of frustration toward all Americans. They were addressed first of all to me: Larissa, where is your sense of history? How do you relate to the history of your country? How can you call yourself a citizen and not know what those before you argued and did?
Without our history we are utterly vulnerable to manipulation through propaganda, temptations of comfort, economic perks.
This year I intend to look more into my own personal history and the history of the countries that have been my home. You can hold me to it.
***
Today a Kind of Refugee was recognized as a Substack Featured Publication for 2023! Funny, as I hadn’t written anything yet this year. But I appreciate the vote of confidence. It’s a thrill to be introduced to so many new readers.
While I’m urgently resting, here is the full archive of dispatches from last year: https://akindofrefugee2022.substack.com/archive
And a selection of favorites: https://akindofrefugee2022.substack.com/p/a-kind-of-refugee-16102022
PS Growing up in the Ukrainian diaspora, I went to summer camp with a girl whose toughness and attitude I admired. A couple years ago I remet her as Zenia Tompkins, founder of the Tompkins Agency for Ukrainian Literature in Translation (TAULT), who has been translating important new Ukrainian authors for English-speaking readers and promoting their work. You can support the work of TAULT and its translators here: https://www.tault.org/donate-1
PPS Regarding Comments:
If you’re looking for somewhere to share your “alternative facts” or russian propaganda, this is not the place.
And while I certainly appreciate your expressions of support for Ukraine and kind words about my writing, I’d love your questions. I know, it’s called “comments,” but how can we talk to one another without formulating what it is that we’re curious to know about our fellows?
Thank you Larissa, for keeping us posted. I do appreciate it. I'm aware it must be difficult to juggle what you do here and your life in general there. Trust me, that's not lost on me. I'm curious to know more about the developments with the Lend/Lease agreement between the states and Ukraine. I remember those negotiations in the earlier days of the war and strove to understand the intricacies then. I hope you stay safe and wish the best for your fellow countrymen in your native homeland. Keep alert, stay safe, stay strong. Thanks again.
Congratulations, Larissa!
"Lend-lease" is a topic on which I devour as much information as I can. Personally, I think we've had our toe in the water for too long and now it's time to get into the pool. Ukraine has proven they can do a lot of damage with old and inferior equipment so let's send them the really good stuff!
The weapons and equipment are coming. I'm sensing a sort of competition brewing as far as who sends what and how can one country better another's contributions to the defenders. There's finger pointing and donation shaming among Western nations which hopefully leads to an enviable armory for Ukraine. I'm fairly confident that we're seeing this ghastly war for what it truly is and that the necessity to arm Ukraine for victory is becoming more than just a withering sentiment. I can picture Biden saying, "Geez, I guess these folks really want to win this thing."