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angeladamas's Blog
I made it to Kiev.
Related to country: Ukraine
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It has been years since i left Kiev when i was very young to remember anything. Alot has happened since i left, like the breaking of the Soviet Union, changes in economy, the Orange revolution and the like, alot has as well happened with my family; the one i left behind when moved to Tanzania.
Going back to ukraine had many reasons for me, it was going to find part of my roots, finding my relatives and wanting to once more get familiar and solve the curiousity and questions i had been asking myself about it.
My preparations for travel took very long, and was never as easy road, but all in all i got so many dissappointing comments about Ukraine and Kiev. Some told me i will be wasting my time and i should dream for something else, some said they are on the edge of poverty and i shouldnt even think of them, and some said i will not enjoy and it wouldnt be as pleasant as i wish it to be.
But me being me, i went ahead as to me it meant alot, especially because thats where i came from, my mother, brothers and sisters were still there and i never saw them before, so i said i dont care about any situation, and even though i dont speak the language, i am determined to go and no one can stop me with their comments.
On mid november last year when i got there, at the airport i felt like i was in another world. When people were struggling to finish the check up and go to their destinations, i was just overwhelmed by the fact that i was actually there.
But to top it all, i got help from everyone who didnt even know English and managed to find a place to stay and find my relatibes within the same day i got in.
the City was soooooo beautiful and peaceful that i felt amazed by the light effects on the buildings at night and even though it was cold, i was amazed by the warmth of the people.
KIEV you are sooooo beautiful and i cant wait to come back.
This time i will be able to speak some words of the natives precious language, Ukrainean.
To all who disappointed me, you should open your hearts and find time to get to really know Kiev and even visit and then you will be supprised!!!!!!!! and amazed!!!!!!!!!!
I will always embace the memories and will always tell of how wonderful Kiev is, i am glad i didnt give up, may be it was kiev wanting me to go back,and i managed to despite of all odds.
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Kiev
Unajua baada ya kusoma kuhusu safari yako ya Kiev, I got alot of questions than answers. Iam sure you have attachement in Ukraine as you indicated one of your parent hail from there. So I guess you had to like the place. And perhaps you got better treatment...
Im saying this because, Iam a Tanzanian who happened to visit Kiev sometimes in April this year on official buziness, but honestly I had a terrible experience right from the airport. I could never understand why I was treated the way I was, nisingependa kulalamika sana, lakini nilikuwa na some other folks wazungu wote walipita bila usumbufu wa aina yoyote kabisa and it was only me, incidentaly I had nothing wrong with my papers, well my American colleague told me...they are doing this because you are black. Poor me, my nerves went rumbling, and it couldnt help the matter I spent many hours just waiting for officers who could only tell me later..."you can leave"..I have lived in USA, Europe na kwingineko..lakini sijawahi kuwa treated kama mnyama hivi.
Sipendi ubaguzi and sitaki hata kuufikiria kichwani, but Angela my visit to Kiev changed my whole perception of Estern Europe, na especially Kiev mpaka leo nikiwa naangalia any opportunity iwe ya kazi or anything..Ukraine naipita mbali sana..I felt really bad with the way I was treated. And I promised myself, I will never visit Kiev, what broke the straw of the camel, was, my experience when I went for my dinner...I met this guy who just showed me this weird look and he was nearly kicking me for no good reason...and indeed even my friends told me..here..black people are not welcome.
Ohhhh Poor Kiev, It is a beutiful city, but her people arent that beutiful I guess. I might be mistaken to conclude that way, but my experience was heartbreaking and I can only say..Adieu Kiev.
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Dear Chris,I hope you will be able to read this at some point. And i thank you very much for writting this feedback. As supprisingly as this might sound to you, i totally agree with what you are saying. It is a shame that people can treat others that way, and i got similar treatment at the airport, its just that i had so much more that i was looking forward to that i did not let them bother me at all. But it is heartbreaking that even in the emabssies of Ukraine in most parts treats people the same way. I see it more as ignorance really, some few people who are too enclosed in the color puzzle that they have no idea the age of color segragation is long gone. As i said in my article, i met some very nice people who were extremely nice to me and that made me not generalize such bad treatments as the whole of Ukraine. I understand your concern, and you have every right to think and feel they way you do, i just hope and wish they can change soon enough as they no longer live in the closed soviety society, and unfortunately now the world doesnt live in color hirachy. Just a short incidance that happened to me in Bagamoyo-Tanzania when i went to this one bar/food for our dinner, and a man came to me and started insulting me for no reason saying he is Tanzanian and is not afraid of me. To my suprise no one helped-they all just looked. I told the man he should be ashamed to call himself Tanzanian because that is not how Tanzanians behave. The moral here is to show just how much for me i have been facing these things (being of mixed race) that i understand completely how it hurts. I hope you will not let the experiance limit you from getting to know Ukrainians you will meet in the future-as those who treated you badly does not represent what Ukrainians are.
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