SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Sofiya Silfies, Schuylkill Haven, has been monitoring the turmoil in her native Ukraine and experiences the sadness of what is happening in her beloved homeland.
In addition to watching news broadcasts of Russian special forces entering the Crimean section of the country, Silfies reads printed accounts in newspapers locally and available on the Internet. She also speaks with her mother, Nataliya Kyrdan, twice a week from central Ukraine and receives emails from cousins who live in the European country bordering Russia.
Silfies, 32, spoke about the Ukrainian situation on Monday in a meeting room at Prudential Landis Homesale Services, Schuylkill Haven, where she works as a licensed realtor.
Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov was appointed on Feb. 22 after the Ukrainian parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who then left Ukraine and went to Russia, where he is supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A special election has been scheduled on May 25 to elect a new president.
Demonstrations and large public protests began on Nov. 21, 2013, in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after Yanukovych changed his mind on Ukraine having closer ties with the European Union and instead make stronger ties with Russia. The protests and the civil unrest have led to bloodshed over time, and, in recent days, the situation has escalated with Russia sending 16,000 troops to Crimea, a section of Ukraine, under the reasoning to protect Russian nationals and those who speak Russian.
"It was like a revolution," Silfies said about the people protesting for Ukrainian independence.
She read from a news report the following, "On Feb. 22, there was change in Ukraine in government that gives signs of a national revolution. The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) dismissed Viktor Yanukovych, changed the constitution and gave the obligations of the president to the speaker, Oleksandr Turchynov. He has taken the duties of the president for now."
Sofiya Nazarenko came to the United States in January 2005. She was raised in Dnipropetrovsk, the fourth largest city in Ukraine, located in central Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province). She studied at Gorlivka (Horlivka) State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages, located in the Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. She studied English, German and Ukrainian, and was already fluent in Russian. She is qualified to teach English, German and foreign literature, and is also a translator.
Silfies has an interesting story about her coming to America.
"I met a young man on an Internet website, and we were talking since April 2002," Silfies said, referring to Harold Silfies Jr., Palo Alto. "We were young and looking for romantic love. It was a good relationship. We were communicating for three years before we met. I came to the United States in an au pair program to be a nanny to take care of a little child in a family in Phoenix, Arizona, and then four months in Stockville, Mississippi, when the family moved. I then came to Pennsylvania to get married in 2005."
The couple were married in the county in August 2005.
Silfies spoke of her knowledge of Russian, which she learned growing up.
"Since Ukraine became independent in 1991, the Ukrainian language is officially the national language of Ukraine, but the eastern regions are the Russian-speaking regions. My mother, Nataliya Kyrdan, was a teacher of the Russian language and literature in school when it was part of the USSR. In our family, we spoke Russian. They (family) wanted me to know Russian well at that time when I was growing up. I was a bilingual child knowing Ukrainian and Russian. In our region, people speak dialects, like here, such as Pennsylvania Dutch."
Silfies spoke to the Pottsville Kiwanis Club on Feb. 25 and provided an overview of Kyiv and of the latest political events in Ukraine.
With her knowledge of Russian and Ukrainian, Silfies can read news reports from Ukraine and Russia in the original languages, allowing for a direct way of learning what is going on rather than go through translations into languages such as English.
"I have been actively watching what has been going on for at least the past month," Silfies said. "It was when the events started to become dramatic. I call my mother at least two times a week, but she pretty much tells me it is a difficult situation right now. That's what she says, but she doesn't go into politics. I try to research all of the websites, listen on the radio and everywhere possible where I can obtain news. I don't know everything. Just the best that I can."
Silfies said there was no violence of any kind where her mother lives when the protests were happening in Kyiv.
"She told me when there was violence and people were being killed (in Kyiv), people in all towns were coming together in the central square of each town and showing their support for the families who were being killed," Silfies said.
Silfies had some pages printed from Russian websites showing photos of the Crimean occupation.
"You can see the (Russian) military right out on the streets in Crimea," she said.
Silfies said the advantages of knowing the different languages is that she can not only read the stories, but also read the opinions posted with them.
"In the latest updates, for example, there is more border control by the Ukrainian government, such as at railroad stations," she said. "The railroads cross into Ukraine and Russia and are a very popular means of transportation. Railroad personnel are being questioned on knowledge about individuals who might be traveling into Ukraine with the purpose to cause chaos and destabilization. Every train station has additional security in case when someone is detected in giving false purpose about traveling into Ukraine, border control officers do not allow entry to the country. On March 2, three Russian citizens were denied access into Ukraine for different reasons."
She spoke briefly about the reported "ultimatum" from Russia's military that Ukrainian military forces surrender by 5 a.m. Ukrainian time Tuesday (10 p.m. Monday locally) or face military action. However, published reports from some news agencies stated no ultimatum was declared.
Reading from one of the Russian language news reports, Silfies said, "The United States says that threat made to the Ukrainian navy would be a dangerous escalation. The Associated Press reports that Moscow would be responsible. So it's a very tense situation right now and it looks like something might be happening tomorrow morning. I'll be checking the news. Different people in the military in Ukraine say that they will not allow any violent actions causing civilians to be killed and that it will not come to that. I personally hope and believe that it won't."
Silfies was asked about her opinion about international support for Ukraine. She said the people of Ukraine know that the many countries support the Ukraine right to sovereignty.
"My mother said there is big support from European countries and the United States," Silfies said. "There is big support and is being reported in the news. It gives them hope. A lot of countries understand that it is an independent country and have rights to fight for its independence and freedom."
Silfies said freedom and independence are important to the Ukrainian people.
"Ukraine fought for centuries for freedom," she said. "We were always under the oppression of different political leaders of neighboring countries mostly. And there was a process in schools of 'Russification' where everybody was supposed to speak Russian and nothing of Ukrainian national origin was allowed, such as Ukrainian literature. People fought for it and it's in their hearts. They want to see Ukraine as an independent country. Because of different political reasons and economic instability, I know that some might see that Russia can offer better protection. In my opinion, Ukraine is one nation and people have to remember that. This is one country and they cannot do anything that would break that unity."
Silfies understands the reason for Russia's interest in Ukraine and the connection with some sections of the population with Russia.
"Ukraine is an important strategic point. It's very convenient to have them as their ally with Russia," she said. "I understand, but it should not be the basis for their actions. It shouldn't bring actual war and Russia intervening in Ukrainian affairs."
As of Tuesday morning, Russia's ultimatum deadline had come and gone with no military fighting. Silfies was called about her views on the situation.
"Well, it looks like the president of Russia has his people for peace and protection. That's what they're basically trying to say, but they're not going to just start a war or anything like that," Silfies said.
Silfies said it's now a matter of waiting to see if the situation stabilizes and conflict can be avoided.