Dutch and French authors after having visited Ukraine: what did they see and what plans they are bringing home

PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute have hosted a delegation of writers and cultural activists from Netherlands and France. This is already the fourth visit within the program In Solidarity With Ukraine.

Upon completion of the visits, the participants are expected to become ambassadors of Ukraine abroad, writing materials about it in the foreign media and launching projects of support.

The program In Solidarity With Ukraine was organized by PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute with support from the Prague Civil Society Centre. Informational partner of the program: Espreso TV Channel.

During a week in Kyiv, writer, filmmaker and screenwriter Lisa Weeda, writer and journalist Jaap Scholten, artist Manon Uphoff, writer Florian Jacobs, and French philosopher and writer Pascal Bruckner met Ukrainian servicepeople and representatives of cultural and human rights organizations, visited liberated localities and got acquainted with Ukrainian culture.

"There is no other way to describe my feelings: I feel part of Ukraine now. I am not sure what impressed me the most: your courage, kindness, spirit, strength or sense of humor, no matter the circumstances. But I do know that I feel both humbled and empowered by the trip: I now have a better sense of what is worthwhile in this world, and what is worth fighting for," says writer Florian Jacobs.

After visiting towns in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, where they had seen the impact of Russian aggression firsthand, the authors returned full of impressions and reflections. Writer Lisa Weeda remembers her meeting with a woman who works in a church in Irpin:

"Her story, about how she decided to serve the church, if her region would be de-occupied, was a beautiful one. She was very eager to tell her story, as do many. There is a certain resilience in telling stories, it needs a certain strength and power. This woman certainly had it. I admire that very much."

The delegation participants also met representatives of the Crimean platform. Among cultural institutions, they got acquainted with the activities of the Book Arsenal, Dovzhenko Center, the Khanenko Museum, and National Art Academy of Ukraine.

At the Veteran Hub, they had a chance to talk to Hlib Stryzhko, marine and veteran who participated in the defense of Mariupol, and Kateryna Halushka, combat medic of the Hospitallers Medical Battalion.

Lisa Weeda, Jaap Scholten, Manon Uphoff and Florian Jacobs took part in the public discussion at the PEN Ukraine Space where they shared their impressions of visiting Ukraine and talked about the ways of covering Russian invasion in the Dutch media and the role of Ukrainians in building the European future.

Besides, the public conversation titled "Does Europe have the courage to oppose new dictatorships?", held between Volodymyr Yermolenko, president of PEN Ukraine and editor-in-chief of the UkraineWorld, and Pascal Bruckner, a living classic of the French philosophy, was also organized at the PEN Ukraine Space. Pascal Bruckner is one of the best-known French philosophers and writers. He is the author of philosophical books such as The Tyranny of Guilt, The Paradox of Love, The Democratic Melancholy, The Misery of Prosperity, An Imaginary Racism, The Tears of the White Man etc., and of novels such as The Love of Neighbor, They Stole Our Beauty, Evil Angels etc.

After having returned home, the delegation participants feel inspired in representing the interests of Ukraine abroad. Thus, Florian Jacobs is planning to publish the Dutch translations of Ukrainian books. Writer Lisa Weeda hopes to come back to Ukraine in summer to search for new stories and write a children’s book about this experience.

Translator: Anna Vovchenko