Innocents Abroad No Longer

I wondered how they would react to the keynote speech I had prepared, the main thrust of which was why Ukraine has so many problems and cannot seem to solve any of them. I thought I might even get lynched, but somebody had to tell the truth, and I had accepted the invitation.

As it turned out, only the Ukrainian ambassador seemed truly perturbed. People came up to me afterward, saying that they already knew about all the problems I had mentioned, but that they had never heard anybody try to explain them systematically.

One said, "Good for you; they need a good kick in the pants." Former Justice Minister Serhiy Holovaty told me that he had been asked by one Canadian-Ukrainian whether he thought I might have laid it on a bit thick, to which he replied, "No, he's being diplomatic. I'd have been more blunt." And later, in his presentation, he was just that, as also was former State Property Fund Chairman Volodymyr Lanovy. The "former" status of two such competent figures is part of the problem I talked about.

The Ukrainian emigration has come a long way from the enthusiasm with which it greeted this nation's independence. They are sick of all the corruption, indecision, and general floundering around. Ukraine has not at all been the country they expected it to be, and there are few things they will support here. And the fact that the government of independent Ukraine has alienated even those who once kneeled down and with tears in their eyes prayed for Ukraine's freedom is a graphic illustration of just how badly that government has done.