Other Papers
Ukraine
On June 23, 2005 Igor Gavrilov, President of
the Dutch-Ukrainian Business club, and I arrived in Lugansk,
a town of about 500,000 people, in the eastern part of Ukraine.
We first met Vadim Torbin, the Mayor's counselor, who then took
us to the East Ukrainian National University where we met with
Professor Valentyn Goncharov and his translator Helen. Professor
Goncharov is listed in the international biographies book, he
is Head of the International Relations Department at the University
and a well-known person on campus. In 1998 he visited Texas
and lectured at several Universities there. The East Ukrainian
National University has 31,000 students studying 117 specialties
and it occupies 55 buildings. We enjoyed a few toasts of Ukrainian
Cognac and Vodka before dining and discussing some of the issues
facing the university and the city of Lugansk.
The next day Professor Goncharov took
us to see Alexander Golubenko, Rektor of the University.
He explained some of the future plans and financial needs
of the University. They want to upgrade their library
along with some other buildings on the campus and build
a new athletic building. Mr. Golubenko mentioned the possibility
of having the new building named after a benefactor who
makes a significant contribution which would pay for construction.
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Meeting
with the University Rector (above)
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After
the meeting the Professor showed us various buildings on
campus and I was able to speak with a few students including
the student of the year, who happened to be leaving the
library as we were entering. |
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In the afternoon
we met the Mayor of Lugansk, Yevgen Burlachenko.
He explained some of the problems the city is facing:
unemployment, decreasing population, deteriorating infrastructure
and the city is losing money on city services.
Meeting
with the Mayor (left)
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I reassured them that Ukraine has a bright future if they
simply avoid the mistakes being made by the US and Western
Europe. Ukraine should stay out of the European Union,
as Western Europe will degenerate into a group of squabbling
little countries trying to get more benefits from the
EU and forcing each other to accept more immigrants that
none of them want. As the face of Europe changes wealthy
people will look for a nicer place to live and if Ukraine
is ready it will prosper in the future. One city official
smiled and noted that during a visit to France he felt
like he was in an Islamic nation and in England it was
like India. He added that the current plight of the West
is caused by its imperialist past.
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The officials I met said that they would appreciate the
advice of experts at the Eurasia Center. Financial help
would also be useful but they understand that money may
be harder to get at a time like this. I said that we would
try to help.
Jim & White Flight at the
University Library (right)
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I sometimes
hear people say that one of the benefits of living in a multicultural
society is the great variety of restaurants we can choose from.
Until recently I felt that this was the best argument in favor
of immigration and really the only one that made any sense.
During my recent stay in Ukraine I enjoyed eating at many types
of restaurants in the city. Among various others, I went to
one Indian and two Japanese restaurants. These places were different
from the ones back home in one important way. There were no
Indians or Japanese working there, only Ukrainians. The Indian
food was less authentic (compared to what I get at home) and
a bit bland. But the price was low enough that I could not complain;
$2 to $3 for a light lunch. The Japanese food was excellent
and seemed authentic enough for my taste although the wasabi
was much less strong than that which I throw away in America.
Both Japanese restaurants were more expensive and better than
the Japanese places I've visited at home.
Chechens,
Tartars, Georgians, Caucasians and other people from the South
are sometimes referred to as black. They are darker and look
a little more Arabic but would probably pass for white in America.
Most westerners might not know that they are non-Russians or
non-Ukrainians. In the former Soviet Union the term Caucasian
does not refer to white people the same way it does in America.
A Russian might be offended if you ask if he is Caucasian, even
if he is one.
I only
saw a few Negroes, Arabs and Chinese during my visit. The number
of Arabs seems to be growing and someone told me that the Chinese
population is also increasing but I did not notice it from previous
trips. I always try to discuss this issue and tell people how
important it is. Most of the locals agree that these people
do not belong in Ukraine but they don't think it is a problem.
Some Ukrainians
actually don't know or care about cultural differences. They
know about Gypsies and Georgians but some of them think black
and white Americans are the same. When I told one lady that
blacks have a lower IQ and commit more crimes she said that
it is impossible, it must be a lie spread by racists.
Poverty
may be the only circumstance saving Eastern Europe from the
same immigrant invasion that is afflicting the West. Foreign
students who go to school in Ukraine and Russia usually leave
to find better jobs after they graduate. The government does
not have enough money to waste on brainwashing its citizens
to accept the unacceptable. However if they become prosperous
it could mean their demise. The pressure from immigrants wanting
to come will increase with increasing wages. There will be more
need for cheap foreign labor. It may already be starting; wages
have tripled in the last five years. If they do not make a firm
commitment to remaining a white Christian nation I fear they
will succumb. Eastern European nations will need to write it
in their constitutions to ensure survival.
We in the
West must help save Eastern Europe. It may be a refuge of last
resort if we lose our territory. When we meet people from these
places we need to remind them how lucky they are. Convince them
that the EU is bad because it is taking away freedoms of member
nations. If their leaders keep out non-European immigrants Eastern
Europe could be the richest and nicest place in the world as
early as the year 2020. Wealthy people seeking to escape the
West will bring billions of dollars into the economy.
James Schneider,
Center for Perpetual Diversity
perpetualdiversity.com
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