Observations and warnings
Eric FRANKE, General Director, UMC Mobile Communication Operator:
“Few have the courage to come and work in Ukraine. But I’ve been here three years and got used to it. I even like it here. Now whenever I mention my home I mean my place in Kyiv. Ukraine has very pleasant, sincere, and emotional people and gorgeous women. I like it that Ukrainian women look beautiful no matter what. Despite the new realities, women do not become rough and do not resemble men in their behavior, attitudes, and values. You would never be able to meet and begin a conversation with a Dutch woman right on the street.
“Each year I see positive changes, above all in people’s psychology, which was formerly a consumer psychology. Before relocating to Ukraine I had worked in Russia for six years. Both there and here I encountered the so-called Soviet style management, with employees lacking their own opinion and creative approach and mechanically acting on instructions from those on top. I prefer professional relationships on an equal footing. Mind you, the boss-employee relationship has changed and not at UMC alone.”
“Recent years have seen the mushrooming of huge supermarkets with a wide array of goods. Many new shops and boutiques with designer wear have opened.
“During my visits to our regional divisions I saw that life in different Ukrainian towns is different from that in the capital. Just walk Kyiv’s central streets. In the morning people hurry in all directions and go to cafes for lunch. On weekends couples stroll, teenagers glide on roller skates, and the little ones play with balloons. All of this is typical of big European cites. In other Ukrainian towns people’s means are more modest, and the level of service is lower in general. Also in Western Europe roads are of a much better quality.
“Last year I realized that I like Ukrainian music. It is very original. My large collection of CDs has added albums by Okean Elzy and VV. In general, life in Ukraine makes me an unconventional Dutchman, and when I come to Holland, for the first few days I look at everything through the eyes of a Ukrainian.”
Yury LOHUSH, Kraft Foods General Director for Ukraine and Moldova:
“In 1992 I moved from the USA to live and work in Ukraine. Over these years Ukraine has seen changes for better and for worse. In the early nineties I brought significant investment to Ukraine and introduced such famous international companies as beer trademarks developer Suninterbrew, accounting and audit company KPMG, cigarette maker RG Reynolds Tobacco, and others to the Ukrainian market.
“Over six billion in investment funds is now working in Ukraine. Quite obviously, this figure could have been ten times higher, if it weren’t for Ukraine’s infamous multi-vector policy, which causes ironical distrust among foreign investors. And when they have to choose between investing in Ukraine or Poland, the Czech Republic, or Slovakia, they opt for one of the latter, taking into account their definitive foreign policy and a shaped vision of their national idea, which shows itself every day in culture, politics, and industry.
“After visiting Kyiv and other towns across Ukraine, my friends businessmen and commercial attachОs with embassies in Ukraine ask whether this is in fact Ukraine or Russia, because of the omnipresent Russian language and culture overflowing with Russian singers, actors, writers, and publications.
“Recently I heard a foreigner ask his lady interpreter to please explain once again the difference between Ukraine and Russia. Mind you, once again.
“In schools and universities students study Ukrainian, but once outside they won’t hear Ukrainian on radio or television, neither will they read Ukrainian books or magazines. Ukrainian FM stations do not broadcast songs by Ukrainian singers and groups, because they allegedly do not suit their format.
“In many cases one can reproach specific persons, managers, and leaders, but the absence of patriotic upbringing is quite obvious. Isn’t this the reason why Iryna Bilyk, for example, began to sing in Russian? Of course, I’m glad that we have VV, Okean Elzy, Ani Lorak, Mariya Burmaka, and Dmytro and Nazariy Yaremchuk. But they are mere crumbs in the vast cultural space filled with all things Russian.
“Undeniably, there are improvements. Salaries and wages have increased, although mostly in the big cities. It means that the consumers’ buying power has increased. Industrial output is growing. Granted, improvements are underway, but aren’t they taking too long? Meanwhile, they could have occurred much faster had the completely fantastic potential of our economy been utilized. We must actively develop and attract domestic and foreign investment. To this end Ukraine must become more developed and expressive.”
Olha BOHOMOLETS, MD, European Laser Dermatology Association and coordinator for Eastern Europe, chief physician of the Kyiv Laser Medicine Clinic:
“It seems that now that passersby smile more than they used to. We have learned how to rejoice, dress nicely, plan their budget, be more careful in trusting advertisements, and have their property and life insured.
“In Ukraine there is a wide gap between living standards in the big cities and towns and villages. In the megalopolises, Ukrainians’ buying power has increased. Yet it has not improved enough for the person to feel comfortable and afford the costs of medical services, cultural development, recreation, and education for one’s children.
“The gap between living standards and costs of medical services has also widened. The mushrooming esthetic medicine clinics for the affluent contrast sharply with the minimal financial capabilities of the village population as far as medical costs are concerned. I often attend exhibitions of medical equipment, which sometimes offer obsolete foreign-made equipment or unsuccessful imitations made in Ukraine. Often there are cases when foreign pharmaceuticals companies offer for clinical trials medicines that have not yet been allowed in the manufacturing country, and the consequences of their application and their side effects have not been thoroughly studied.
“Speaking of the level of professional medical education, now it is higher in Europe and the US. Formerly, our medical specialists were rated highly. Now that education is not free, not all those whose calling is medicine can become doctors. When we announce an opening for a nurse in our clinic, we select from among 300 applicants. We are happy to find at least one applicant that could satisfy our requirements. The applicant must have good professional education, be cultivated, know how to behave, talk, be a loyal employee and a decent person, and also be ready to continue learning. We create a network of clinics to meet the current demand, if it weren’t for the lack of skilled doctors with a conscientious attitude toward work.
“Now Ukrainians live in an interesting time when their state is undergoing moral formation and is maturing, I hope.
“In the country in general and in Kyiv in particular a construction boom is underway. Yet disregard of the history and architectural integrity of the capital also catches the eye. People are imbued with a feeling of pride in their country without respect to their political leaders. Manipulations of mass consciousness continue, while no one bothers to forecast the consequences of such manipulations. The worst thing that can happen to a country is when the people destroys its own roots.”
