Love is in the air
Funny even if you try and ignore Valentine's Day it hits you over the head. My special gift today was the arrival of 50 Hofer cards! Thank you! An update on news more broadly and here in Wien.
One of the many Hofer card requests I received this week (“money is tight”) was from a Ukrainian man with one leg (not due to the war, he lost it in a car accident years ago) who has been living for a long time at the refugee hotel in Vienna. Now I understood the context of “money is tight” both because where he lives they only receive €40 per month, and he is unlikely to be hired for any manual labor jobs without German knowledge, but also because a friend of mine, who works in the NGO sector, was a volunteer photographer at his recent wedding to a Ukrainian woman who is nearly blind. They met here in Vienna and love blossomed, despite, well, everything. I like to think about stories like that on this day when we are bombarded with pink and red and kitsch. The wedding was held at a Evangelical church here in Vienna that cooperates with a Ukrainian version of the same faith.
The world is small enough that a few days after my friend showed me some of the photos she took, the husband himself wrote me. So I will send a card to him and his new bride from the 50 (!) I have just received from Mario thanks to all of your generous donations. I do not take it for granted for one second that we are able to keep helping, and I can assure you I really am prioritising the elderly, sick, and moms with kids, using the motto that those who can work, should.
In other news this week, I was just contacted this morning by a Ukrainian whose car (very normal small budget sedan, nothing flashing at all) was vandalised last summer (if you remember the “Z” graffiti). We stayed in touch, and he helped me out with a lift the other day moving some stuff from A to B. Today he read in a “car” chat for Ukrainians in Austria that some owners of cars with Ukrainian plates are now being stopped by police and warned they must switch over to Austrian license plates or risk being fined, etc. Now this is contradictory to the official guidance (which, as per usual here, doesn’t exist in print on an easy to find website or link). And it is a big deal because a lot of ordinary people came in their cars which they cannot afford to drive on a daily basis, use only for select trips, and the cost of switching plates and paying local insurance rates etc. would be prohibitive for many. I am not talking about the Range Rovers (even they do not switch eagerly due to the horsepower tax in Austria).
I did what I usually do and recommended contacting the authorities directly and provided and email. I have learned by now not to play telephone between two groups. Sometimes you find people complain very loudly in chats but then you ask them to take their problem to those who might actually fix it, and they get cold feet.
I received another message this morning, and eight minute long monologue from a mom in Lower Austria with a teenage daughter. The gist of it is a perfect metaphor for what happens when Ukrainians try to reinvent their own way of doing things while ignoring what is considered to be the correct path here in Austria. It is fine to self-determine in areas related to your personal life, but when it comes to education or professional development, it would be best in most cases to listen to what the locals tell you. This was a perfect example.
Daughter is 16. Luckily, with help from a local charity and a local volunteer who is helping refugees of many nationalities, the daughter was able to swtich from a polytechical school at 15 (usually a dead end, education-wise) to a pre-professional school (website here) with really cool programs, and three or five-year tracks. In fact, the daughter was even told she could take a five-year track. In short, this is fantastic news. But this is not what the mom called me about. She called me because they (she and daughter) had come up with a plan to take an extra German course (“B1”) for which she wanted to miss school (as expected director said no way can you miss school on a regular basis) and then they decided she would take a train to Vienna one hour each direction to come to a class late (!) and hear 40 minutes of German and then an hour back. The mom’s complaint? The German teacher told her daughter not to come back.
Of course she did.
So then I took a deep breath and explained that when a child is in school the language process happens within the school. You should not need to take extra German lessons on top. Furthermore, it is a huge privilege to be in an educational institution training you for a future profession, with the luxury of five years to get your German into shape! I urged the mom to not take the lens with which Ukrainian adults experience learning German and put it on her daughter. I also said what I find myself saying so often — I speak German, with grammatical errors, but I can say what I want to say, and I understand nearly everything, almost always, and I didn’t attend a single day of German classes. There are other ways.
Another thing on my mind this week is our upcoming meeting this Friday with the ministry in charge of “integration” and “women”. Ironic combination. One Ukrainian woman wrote me a long message with point by point feedback and commentary. I will share it here as I think it touches on many of the main issues. We did get some good news yesterday in that Austria’s labor minister was quoted as saying he supports a permanent residency card status post-2025 for all Ukrainians who are working. The big open question is what will happen to those who cannot or have chosen not to work.
Below is the message I received from “Oksana”. I share it with the caveat it is just one woman’s point of view. But when bringing this argument to bureaucrats who have a reputation (perhaps unfounded, we will see) of being against “all foreigners”, I will see if they view all groups equally or are willing to acknowledge some of these differences.
Good evening, Tanja! First of all, I respect your enthusiasm. Even after two years you continue to support and help Ukrainians, and I really appreciate that. Regarding your upcoming meeting with Austrian authorities, I am happy you will have the opportunity to discuss the problems and highlight the main challenges.
In addition to what was said on the chat, regarding reviews of educators of how Ukrainian students are coping here, I would like to share my opinion, point by point, which might help you in the discussion.
Important differences between Ukrainians with temporary protection and refugees from other countries:
1. Historical influence and Roman law
- Ukraine has a long history of ties with Austria, including period when part of Ukraine was in the Austro-Hungarian empire. This influence was formalized through Roman law and representatives in the Austrian parliament.
2. Religious roots and moral principles
- The religious roots of Christianity in Ukraine formed the moral education, passed from generation to generation, which for the value set amongst many Ukrainians today.
3. Historical tragedies and diaspora
- After the tragedies of the Holodomor and the repressions of the 1930s, many Ukrainians who emigrated built new diaspora in Canada and the U.S., it is an example of our high potential to adapt and our striving for building better lives.
4. The new wave of immigration
- At present those Ukrainians leaving Ukraine can be characterised as being highly educated, active citizens, including women with higher education and successful businesses, and also those who sought to bring their children to safety.
5. Intellectual potential and economic activity
- Ukrainians have a really remarkable intellectual ability, they are hard-workers and determined, which could be really valued by Austria, which at times would benefit from a more dynamic approach to organising the labor market.
Necessary Steps and Recommendations:
Educational support:
- Developing effective educational programs for kids, including the transition from “integration” classes to more intensive learning of German, to support their adaptation to the new school system and language.
Financial support during the study period:
- Providing financial support during the period of learning the language, to make it easier for new arrivals.
Professional development:
- The creation of programs for newly-arrived women and men with a focus on professional development and future employment, taking into account their economic activity.
Economic integration and re-allocation of financing
- Re-allocation of funds from social benefits to support with the condition of being employed, this will raise the number of Ukrainian families with legal employment.
Support for the poorest members of society
- Provide support for poorer groups, including the elderly, taking into consideration their important role in helping in family life and caring for grandchildren.
It would be possible to come up with additional suggestions, if necessary. I hope that my observations will be helpful to your discussions. If you need anything else, please just ask!
What Oksana wrote is very interesting, even if with rose-colored glasses. What I have been hearing a lot of recently, for all different reasons, but the end result is the same, is a concerted effort to try and “push” Ukrainians off of social benefits through whatever means possible. Oh, you left the country for one week? You got on an airplane? You are not poor. You no longer need benefits. Oh, you bought a used car because an Austrian loaned you €2k and you lived in the middle of nowhere and needed a car? You are not poor. You no longer need benefits. Oh, you took on some part-time work and earned slightly over the allowed limit? You are not poor. You no longer need benefits. We will now spend two months calculating and in the meantime you get nothing.
In other words, to be frank — the window of opportunity is shutting. I keep stressing in the Telegram group that the best guarantee of being able to stay here long-term is two-pronged: find legal employment and take some German classes for which you will have a certificate that you passed exams of some level. For everyone else (and that is a lot of people who are not yet working for a whole variety of reasons), at the moment their future seems unclear at best.
It is important, and I keep stressing this, to see all of this in the context of Austrian and global politics 2024. For a great summary of what is going on here in Austria, do read this (German only, sorry): Die Lage: Inside Austria. Everyone is waiting with baited breath, paralysed, for the elections in September. All parties, including those who bear partial responsibility for legitimising the far right by entering into coalition governments with them on the state level, now start to get anxious about a far right consistently polling at over 30%. Last night my kid was at a ball for teenagers. A leading Austrian politician was there. He told the kids over small talk “vote for whoever you want, please just not the FPÖ”. The Kurz government opened Pandora's box, and we still cannot shut the lid. There are now ridiculous esoteric debates about without Kickl as if that would make any difference. The far right the world over, and we can include Trump and Putin and Orban in this bunch, have the same set of values and the same set of guiding principles, and it does not matter which name is on top.
So that’s Austria. Meanwhile, the Estonian government put out a stark warning about long-term Russian troop build-ups on borders with the Baltic states and Finland.
“In the Kremlin’s mindset, they are not only fighting Ukrainians, but their chosen path involves a long-term confrontation with the entire ‘collective West,’” said Kaupo Rosin, head of the Estonian clandestine body.
I’m not one for reading in-depth military analysis, but I came across this yesterday and I do think it is worth your time from an “academic” perspective. This is clearly not a “man on the street” view, and I do not think many Ukrainians were consulted in the writing of it. However, technical analysis is also useful.
The other day a Ukrainian started talking politics with me, and used the phrase “diktatura” to refer to Zelensky’s government, he said he sees similarities with Putin’s early regime, the 1-2 with Medvedev (Yermak), and said he would not be surprised if one day in the not-so-distant future Zaluzhny is imprisoned. Now I am fairly used to having Ukrainians tell me all sorts of theories, but this was the most severe of those I have heard. But to say men are not happy with the new mobilisation and everything else is to put it mildly. I asked another, what will you do if your bank account is blocked, to which I got the answer “I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes”.
It is one thing to fight to defend Ukraine’s land. But one must not forget about its people, who have been through so incredibly much these past two years, and one wonders for how much longer can they take it all. Some very important reporting on soldiers and their families by Sarah Rainsford of the BBC (a long-time reporter in the region who was kicked out of Russia by its government before the war even started), I really recommend taking the time to read this harrowing reporting:
Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line
Finally, I did see just recently that there will be a big event in Berlin on Monday, Cafe Kyiv. One the one hand, I was kind of sad I am so far away and could not attend a gathering like that in person. On the other hand, I start to question the distance (which must be widening by the month) between these pro-Ukraine events held in the west under safe skies and the reality on the ground in Ukraine: the war, economic anxiety, political frustrations, just daily life struggles.
What continues to give me little pings of satisfaction is dropping Hofer cards in the mail. I will send out about two dozen now, primarily to pensioners. Thank you for still making this possible. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but we can control what actions we take today.