Svitlana

full interview

Speak loudly enough because our voices are not heard.
Are there a lot of questions?

Not very many and all questions are very similar. In fact, it’s just called the 1000 Dreams Project. Yes, this is actually a project in such a very positive way, which tells about the migrants, about the difficulties they have faced, about their strengths and about their dreams.
Super.

Tell me where you live now and with whom.
do I need to tell everything in detail?

as you wish.
Okay, I live now in New York, in Brooklyn. I live in Brooklyn, I live alone, I rent a mini apartment from people, so I live alone.

How do you spend your time here? Do you work?
Sometimes I work, sometimes I don’t. I go to theaters, meet with friends, walk.

Tell me what you do.
Overall, I opened my acting studio here. It is called Actor Studio for Brave Ukrainians. For all the people who are actors, who are not actors, just people who are interested in it, they can come and we do lessons with them. And somewhere, probably, a week ago we had a charity event – a poetically musical evening with my students, girls who went to my courses. We made this evening together with them, a poetic one.

Great, so it is essentially for the Ukrainian community?
Yes, it is for the Ukrainian community, for the Ukrainian community. We raised funds for a charity together. They helped us, They supported us in this project. We have not raised such a large amount, but we have collected something.

So tell me what brings joy and makes you happy.
This is a good question. Probably my close people, family, theater. And that’s it. Flowers that are now blooming. They make me happier. And I don’t know. The Sun. When there are some new encounters, love, when it happens.

Good, good. Thank you. I understand that this is a difficult question. Tell us how life turned out here after your arrival.
The adaptation is still ongoing. It will soon be two years since I am here. Sometimes there are thoughts to go back. Am I doing everything right that I am staying here? I don’t know, to be honest. 

Why?
Why? I came here because it was my dream. Realistically. And I was here ten years ago. I liked it. I wanted to go back all the time.

Was your dream to live here?
My dream was to try myself here as an actress, to try myself creatively, to try my opportunities. Yes, but now I don’t do anything about it yet. I don’t know how it will be next. And so I have a question whether I am making mistakes, because now in Ukraine the theater is in its heyday. Just in such a direct global flourish. And I had a pretty good successful career in the theater, so. I don’t know.

What good has happened while you’re here? Say it as it is.
Nothing. Yes, no. In fact, I met, well honestly I met a lot of people who helped me and still help. And that’s probably the best thing that happened to me. Because it always happens to me in my life that I help someone, and then someone helps me too. This help is key for me. It’s humanity and help. So It’s probably the people I’ve met here and the help I’m getting, it’s the best thing that’s happened to me here.

What has been difficult for you or is still difficult?
Good. For me, the most difficult thing is that for two years I haven’t seen my closest people; mother, sister, nephews, friends, not playing in the theater and not doing my profession, not doing my own creative development, this is the most difficult thing for me. I am torn, and therefore I do these courses in order to somehow direct my energy. But this is the most difficult. I really want to see my family. I’m very sad. It’s hard when you’re alone.

What do you feel when you are away from your family?
Im trying not to cry. Sadness, pain, sadness I do not know. There is even sometimes despair, you don’t know when you will see them. My mother generally stays in Crimea. I am from Crimea originally. This is such a strange situation. I saw her. In fact, when the war started, I saw her. She was in Kiev, then on twenty-fourth of February, her birthday. She came a little earlier to celebrate it with us, and at night we greeted her on the first night at eleven o’clock and then at four o’clock the war began and she stayed for a while later in Kiev. She did not want to go anywhere, because her sister has three children. She went abroad. Because her husband was abroad, and my friends and I left for the west of Ukraine, and my mother remained in Kyiv. Then she returned to the Crimea, in short, this is such a very long story. Now she is in Crimea, and when she will arrive it is unknown. And when we see each other. 

Do you feel any discrimination, either because of language or because you are not an American?
I don’t feel any.

How do you think refugees are treated in this country?
Well, I can’t talk about the whole country, but it is about New York. In New York they are perceived quite normally, because here, well, in general, New York is just a city of immigrants. Therefore, everyone perceives adequately enough. 

Good. A bit about the past, about pretty obvious questions for me for context. Why did you leave Ukraine? Can you describe what happened?
The first reason is Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The second reason is my dream.

How did you feel when you realized that you were going to leave?
Fear of the new, of a new life.

Tell me how you crossed the border? How was the journey here?
I took the bus to Poland.

From what date was it approximately, in what month?
That was in May.

In May, that is, there was no longer such a massive difficult transition.
No no. In general, I crossed the border here pretty quickly. Well, if you can call it that. I was lucky with this on the road. Quite quickly I crossed the border, got to Poland to my sister, stayed with her for a while, then flew to America.

How often do you think about war when you think about it, is there something specific that upsets you the most when you think about it?
One hundred percent every day. And even several times a day. Because especially it is one hundred percent When you wake up in the morning, you check the news in any case, and it has remained and remains. And when you see the news, and if there are bombings especially there, in Kiev, where most of your friends and acquaintances are and you are very worried about it. These thoughts are constant. You think about it all the time.

How do you feel when you think about this danger?
Is it alright to swear?

I think there’s no other way to express it.
I feel it’s fucked up. I don’t know. It’s kind of is really very, very, very sad. And it seems that they are just trying to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth. And it’s real, and it’s really very sad, very sad. And you don’t see the end of it. And there was a massive bombing in Chernihiv today. There are really only bad words come to mind of some kind, that is, you can only say “beep beep beep” well because.

How does your past experience affect you, that you changed the country, about life? If you are now living parallel to the war that is taking place in your country, tell us about this experience.
What do you mean? My past experience? Which one?

How does this experience change you, since you lived in the Ukraine, now live here, adapt, how much have you changed in these two years, at the beginning of your move here? Have you changed?
I think I’ve probably changed, but.

Have you not thought about it?
Probably not. Because changes occur somehow every day. And you have to adapt to some new realities, to learn something constantly new here. I don’t even know how to find a way to the subway. A lot of things, of course, you will learn and. I don’t know. 

Okay, let’s move on. What did you dream about as a child?
I dreamed of being an actress. 

And in principle, this dream remained. You have now became an actress.
Yes, this dream, it does not leave me.

And when you left your home, what did you dream about for the future? and you can answer “I dreamed that” in a full sentence.
When I left my house, I dreamed and I dream that I will reach great creative heights in the world. And I will definitely return to my home. And I will be a very happy person.
There’s still a little bit left.

I like it. I even like it.
Such a reflection.
It’s very interesting, very. 

Before you left Ukraine, what would you call your strengths? Did you manage to keep them?
I think my strongest point is being able to communicate with people. I am quite an open person, I love to communicate. Probably. Sometimes I love to, sometimes not at all so this is my greatest skill, “skill” as they like to say here. What else? I’m easy-going. In fact, I’m very, honestly, I quickly adapt and adapt to new realities. Of course, if only a little bit, it’s more complicated here. But in general, it seems to me that it is not so difficult for me, because I know many friends, who have come over and they get down and depressed. They can’t get out of bed. Sometimes I can’t, but I still get up.

Do you think you grew up? Do you feel that you grew up as a result of your experience that you had?
One hundred percent I have grown in something, but still have some growing left to do. 

And what did you grow up in?
Probably, in my Inner Strength and in my Faith. Despite the fact that you will be told that it is impossible, everything in life is possible. And I actually really love that phrase that Americans like to say and many others “Never ever give up” I love it and it always sometimes goes with me in life. So in my life I remember the phrase often. Yes, that’s it! Never ever give up and I keep going.

I love that you pause and really think about how to answer questions like that. Thank you for such frankness. What are your hopes and dreams for the future? And also please say “my dream” Maybe you already said that, maybe something else.
well. My dream for the future is that I will become a world-famous actress. I’ll even repeat my dream for the future. Hear it all! The world, begin to listen: My dream for the future. I know very well that I have to say, “I have become. I became a world-famous actress.” And my overall biggest, biggest goal of any kind is again about what I said about helping people. And the people who have helped me. I really want to help in response. And I believe that I will definitely have the opportunity to help people, to the world and to help Ukraine. And that’s the biggest thing I want to do. 

Wonderful, thank you, ambitious and altruistic.
Yes yes.

Thank you very much for answering the questions, that’s almost everything. Would you like to add something else to help people better understand and accept the experience of migrants?
In fact, a person who has not had this experience, they will never understand you, and they will never be able to feel what you are going through because. For example, now Ukrainians who have arrived, they are worried about two such global issues as immigration. And the second one is they are all the time in the news. There’s a double load on them that happens. If you are just migrating, it’s one story, but when you are emigrating from such events, especially when, well, in general, for people who are in a very difficult situation, well, it is, of course, extremely difficult. Therefore, in general, people can understand others only when they go through the same experience. And if you do not live it, you will never truly understand this person completely. 

I Agree. We already had this question but can you say in one sentence what was the hardest for you?
When I arrived?

When you arrived, when you were travelling, when the war started. If we add it all up. When there wasn’t a massive war.
Did I already say that?

We just talked a little bit about it, but in one sentence you did not talk so specifically about the difficulties.
the hardest thing for me was when I came here myself or what?

In general, what was the most difficult thing for you when the war started, when you were moving here or after you moved here?
The hardest thing for me was to leave the theater, to leave my friends, my family. this is probably the hardest. Everything else. The rest can be overcome.

You have already said what your strength is, would you like to add anything?
My strength is in my strength, in my belief in myself, my strength is in my belief in myself. Yes.

Cool, thank you very much.