Natalia Krasnenkova was among those who were front and centre during the recent official visit by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Ireland. She and Olya Marintseva, as active members of the Ukrainian community in Kerry and as community workers there, were invited to meet the president. Here she provides a first-hand account of that meeting:

By Natalia Krasnenkova

The first official visit of the President of Ukraine to Ireland was a significant event. Despite the intense schedule of official meetings, the President found an opportunity to communicate with the Ukrainian community.

Over 40 community representatives from all counties in Ireland attended the event in Dublin.

This gesture highlights the importance of the work and efforts of local development organisations such as NEWKD* and Ukrainian activists in supporting the community.
It was a very inspiring and warm meeting for Ukrainians. From the very beginning, the President proposed a dialogue format: we asked our questions, and he listened carefully, answered, and joked. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was attentive to the questions, humane, and sincere. The meeting lasted about an hour. Ukrainians had many questions for the President.

• Ukrainian community workers in Ireland, including Olya Marintseva and Natalia Krasnenkova from North East West Kerry Development, pictured in Leinster House on December 2.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to ask a question about cultural diplomacy and countering disinformation. Now we are observing a wave of fakes about Ukrainians in Ireland, various provocations and hate speech on social media. It looks like a deliberate campaign to incite hostility between Ukrainians and the local population. The same information attacks are taking place throughout Europe, their goal is to discredit Ukraine and Ukrainians and incite hostility between communities.

Questions we discussed included: A unified curriculum for Ukrainian schools abroad; Issues of European integration; The community’s role in defending Ukraine’s interests abroad; and the opportunity for Ukrainian athletes who found themselves abroad to represent Ukraine in international competitions. I am very glad that these important topics were raised.

I was lucky to have a brief conversation with the First lady Olena Zelenska, who is implementing the Ukrainian library project around the world. Specifically, yesterday she opened a Ukrainian shelf in the Trinity College library. We discussed the possible expansion of Ukrainian shelves in libraries across the country. Ukrainian shelves have already been created in two Kerry libraries — Tralee and Dingle — by NEWKD’s Ukrainian team.

• First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska pictured at the meeting with community workers in Leinster House.

On his official page, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted:

“A good and sincere conversation and a truly special visit — the first visit of the President of Ukraine to Ireland since the establishment of diplomatic relations after the restoration of Ukrainian independence. A strong signal that we are indeed building reliable relations with Ireland. And above all, the Ukrainian community here is important in this process. Thank you for this meeting and conversation. It is important that the voice of Ukrainians in the world continues to be tangible and strong for the sake of our State’s strength.”
For me as a community worker with the Ukrainian community and an activist, this meeting with the president was a recognition of our teamwork and an opportunity to be the voice of my community. For Ukrainians who are in Ireland due to a full-scale war, it is very important to have this connection with Ukraine and feel included in the life of Ukraine even 3,000 kilometres from our home.

This meeting inspires me to continue working for the community. I would like to note that we also always have the support of our SICAP manager Robert Carey and the entire NEWKD team.

(Natalia went on to pay tribute to the Embassy of Ukraine in Ireland for their organisational prowess.)

* Community workers are employed by North East West Kerry Development (NEWKD) and other local development companies around the State through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme.

An Irish community worker’s view on Zelenskyy’s visit to Ireland

 

SICAP manager Robert Carey from Kerry was in Leinster House when President Zelenskyy addressed a sitting of the Dáil and Seanad. He writes:

It was a privilege to be invited. In an era when there is a deficiency of brave politicians, President Zelenskyy is definitely a brave politician. He’s a generational leader
He thanked Ireland for providing refuge and for all the support. He also noted that Ireland is one of the few European countries that have battled imperialism for hundreds of years, before it got its independence, so there’s a certain commonality with Ukraine.

It’s important we don’t forget that because we’ve had our independence for quite a while. It’s important to keep Ukraine in the news. And it’s important that community workers continue to highlight the injustices happening in Ukraine and ensure that people don’t fall into the trap of thinking things aren’t as bad as they actually are there.

For those of us who know members of the Ukrainian community, Ukrainians have given Ireland as much as Ireland has given Ukrainians, in my opinion.