Kyiv

I spent the past weekend in Kyiv (Kiev) attending a series of very imformative meetings at the Fulbright office and the U.S. Embassy.  I've posted below some of my impressons and what I learned during my meetings. For starters, here a few views of the city.

Here is a view of Podil along the Dnieper
River.  Podil is the oldest part of Kyiv 

Another view of Podil from the top of the hill separating
Podil, the Lower City, from Pechers'k, the Upper City.



Another view of Podil

St. Andrews Church, built 1747-1754.  
St. Andrews is located in the Upper City. 

A typical open air meat market.

Our meetings started rather gaily with a party on Friday night.  It was an opportunity to meet and network with the other Fulbrighters and members of the Department of State at the U.S. Embassy.  I won't bore anyone with details other than to note that was really enjoyable and helpful to meet my fellow Americans who are here with the Fulbright program.

The other great thing about the evening was the food.  It was a massive spread of very traditional Ukrainian salads, first courses, meat dishes, desserts and drinks.  Everything was delicious.  I wish I had taken a few photos and wish I knew the names for the dishes we were served.

All of the meetings were very informative, and once again, I will not delve into a  bunch of dull details.  I do want to begin by briefly the describing the Fulbright program.  For individuals interesting in participating, there are a multitude of opportunities for students, scholars, and specialists.  Every year there are thousands of opportunities for Americans to study or work abroad or for individuals from other countries to go to the U.S.  I also want to stress that one does not have to be a student or a professor with an advanced graduate degree to participate.  There are a diversity of opportunities for experts in a wide range of fields to work with programs in other countries with the goal improving the lives of others.  The best place to start is to go here: http://www.iie.org/.

We also received informative and interesting briefings from U.S. Embassy officials on the current, political, economic and security situation in Ukraine.  I will discuss the economic situation, given the significant implications on my work here.  First, just a brief word about the security briefing:  never before have I been handed documents that instruct, "Destroy after use."  I thought that was kind of cool and interesting.  Yes, I destroyed them. :)

 

The Ukrainian Economy: 

The Ukrainian people are highly educated, and there is immense potential in this great country.  Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe and has the 5^th largest GDP.  There are also considerable reserves of natural resources and Ukraine is poised to be a major agricultural producer.  There are serious impediments to economic development and prosperity, however.

For starters, there is a serious problem in human trafficking, and unfortunately, the situation is not being addressed proactively.  Secondly, the banking industry failed during the economic collapse, and the Ukrainian government has been slow in responding.  One serious problem is that strong banks are not lending money to small businesses and farmers, which is delaying the economic recovery.

Reforms needed:

Diversification of Energy -  Ukraine needs to develop natural gas resources to increase its independence.  It should also diversify the importation of natural gas to reduce its dependence on Russia by obtaining gas supplies from other countries.  Additionally, Ukraine must increase exploration and exploitation of its own natural gas, coal and oil resources. That I agree with.

Economic development – The Party of Regions is failing to initiate critical reforms or take assertive steps to develop the economy.  A significant obstacle is theft of public funds; government ministers at the helm of the economy are lining their pockets with total abandon.

Additionally, farmers are not being extended credit, so they cannot make improvements to their farms, replace dated and worn out equipment, or even buy seed.  The next harvest is expected to be poor. 

Another concern is a moratorium on the sale of farmland.  This has the disastrous effect of severely depressing land prices, which hurts farmers.  Consequently, large tracts of land are going untilled, because no one can afford to plant seeds.  The impetus for this policy appears to be to allow Yanukovych’s cohorts to buy depressed land cheaply, so they can ultimately sell it high.

Finally, strict export quotas are having a severe impact on the economy.  Farmers are being forced to sell their grain at a loss, which drives them even deeper into debt.  Unsold grain will ultimately spoil, because Ukraine does not currently have enough effective and safe storage facilities.  Additionally, due to the quotas, Ukraine losses opportunities to sell grain to a world which desperately needs food.  The sale of grain on open world market would create considerable income and substantial goodwill for Ukraine in the eyes of its neighbors and trading partners.  If Ukraine initiated serious economic and agrarian reform, it would once again be a major food producer and regain the title of “Breadbasket of Europe.” 

When asked why Ukraine is refusing to sell its grain, the embassy official replied that apparently the grain is being held to intentionally depress its price, so Yanukovych’s friends can buy it cheaply.  Then when they think they have horded enough, Yanukovych will lift the quotas so his buddies can make a ton of money. 

Due to the current economic practices cite above, the Party of Regions is absolutely wrecking the Ukrainian economy.  Ukraine as immense potential, but it is being wasted right and left.

In my talks with young people, most of them say they want to leave Ukraine and settle in the U.S. or Europe.  I try to suggest that if too many bright young professionals leave, the country will suffer.  But responses are always the same:  If the current government continues to strangle the economy, young people here have no other choice but to seek opportunity elsewhere. 

All of these issues are highly pertinent to me and my work here in Luhans’k.  The current policies and practices of the sitting government make things so much harder for my colleagues at the university and local schools.  The list of negative effects of government incompetence and corruption is long:  facilities are poorly maintained, salaries are low, scholarly research and writing get neglected, and scholarships and stipends to students are reduced.  In our program at V. Dahl EUNU, there is not enough funding to provide support to the deaf and hard of hearing students who will be admitted.  There are needs for academic support services, audiological services, assistive listening devices, environment modifications to classrooms, emergency alert systems (flashing fire alarms), and access to TTYs.  These are just some of the services and supports needed by Deaf and hard of hearing students at the university.  I have even touched about the multitude of other critical modifications, supports and services needed by other students with disabilities. 

To address these needs, Dr. Krsek and I are writing a series of grants to obtain the critical funding for the inclusion program at the university.  It is not enough to simply allow students with disabilities to enroll.  Success will not automatically happen by putting these students in classrooms.  They need support, and that requires substantial resources, as well as commitment by university faculty and administration.