By: Matt Pentz
John R. Wilhelm Foreign Correspondence Intern
Before Euro
2012, Westerners had a skewed vision of Ukraine. The former Soviet republic is still
viewed by many as inseparable to Russia, even 21 years after Ukrainian
independence. Hosting one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments was supposed
to clear up misconceptions.
Instead, they
only got worse.
Tales of building
delays and skyrocketing hotel rates had plagued the preparations from the
start, and issues came to a head when photos of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko covered in bruises were leaked to the press. Tymoshenko’s supporters
maintain that she was imprisoned purely because of the political motives of
current president Viktor Yankovych, and the fallout from the alleged abuse was
fierce. There was even talk of moving the tournament -- harrowing news for a
young journalist who had already booked a flight and set up an internship in
Kyiv.
Ukraine
kept the tournament but their image woes only got worse. A BBC documentary shed
light on -- locals say exaggerated -- hooligan violence and racial attacks in
both Poland and Ukraine. Most teams, even those scheduled to play games in
Ukraine, decided to base their squads in Poland and what was meant to be a national
celebration was turning into a disaster.
All of
these issues were on my mind when I landed in Kyiv a few days before the
tournament but, from what I’ve experienced, these fears were overblown.
I’ve
discovered a complicated nation with a multifaceted identity. It may be easy to
simplify the narrative to fit the stereotypes, but Ukraine, even more so than
anywhere else I’ve visited, is impossible to fit into a narrow definition.
Every time
I’ve come up with a profound theory that sums up the culture, an opposite reaction
blows my hypothesis to pieces. Originally convinced that the Yankovych-Tymoshenko drama had
split the people into two camps, I’ve come to discover that the majority are
just tired of corrupt politicians of any name. A dominant storyline had been
the division between the western part of the country, desiring stronger ties
with Great Britain and the United States, and the east, which wants to stay
close with Russia. Many even said that the eastern city of Donetsk prefers the
Russian team to the Ukrainian one. But Donetsk natives showed up and cheered
just as vigorously for the home team as those in Kyiv did.
In a land
of contrasts, the truth normally lies somewhere in the middle. Strangers can be distant but uncommonly warm once they consider you a friend. The masses
can be pessimistic about the corruption of their public officials and still
optimistic about the future of their country.
I’ve been in
Kyiv for almost three weeks and needed half of that to get into the flow of
everyday life. Once assimilated, I’ve picked up a few lessons. The language
barrier is a challenge but not an insurmountable one. You can mime your way
into getting a decent haircut, but may still have to blindly guess and hope for
the best when ordering at a restaurant with a Cyrillic menu.
Mostly, I’ve
learned that a city can have a Lenin statue and a towering monument to the
Soviet Union and not be all that different from your own.
Being at
the center of such a glaring media spotlight has exposed the fallacies of using
stereotypes to cloud judgment and accepting the dominant storyline as
fact. It is a vital realization for any international journalist and perhaps
the most important takeaway from an incredible three weeks of football and
culture in Ukraine.
