National Post (National Edition)
Why I took $33,000 in cash to Ukraine
Iarrived here a couple nights ago, armed with a pen, a notebook ... and $33,000 in hard cash.
The money was given to me in envelopes by Ukrainian Canadians who had friends and family in this war-torn country. At first I thought it would be a small amount, but it quickly grew as more and more people heard of my plan to travel here.
I was a little reluctant at first but fortunately there are no restrictions on the amount of money you can take out of Canada, all you must do is declare anything over $10,000. That was the easy part.
Bringing all that money into Poland was somewhat illicit but for compassionate reasons I had to try. The Polish government allows visitors to bring in a maximum of 10,000 Euros, about $13,500.
Luckily, the customs agent seemed overwhelmed, as there were a lot of people en route to Ukraine and lines were endless. Asked if there was anything to declare I shrugged my shoulders, smiled and she stamped my passport.
From there I jumped on a bus for the 10-hour trip to Lviv. Incredibly, it was packed with Ukrainian women and children heading back home. The Ukrainian army has just liberated a large area of territory near Kyiv and they were returning to their homes — or what's left of them.
I reached the Ukrainian border at 5 a.m. and was greeted by a customs agent with a Glock handgun. He took my passport, gave me the once over and returned it a few minutes later. I have to admit it was scary.
The following day a man who would be my fixer picked me up at the hotel and drove to homes where I dispersed the cash. In return I received perogies, homemade wine and lots of hugs. One older woman wept with joy when I gave her an envelope. She had a serious illness and required medicine that she could not afford.
For that moment in time, I knew I had done the right thing.
I imagine I'm not alone in bringing money to Ukraine but when I asked the recipients if anyone else had brought cash from relatives in Canada they said no, this was the first time.
The non-government agencies operating in Ukraine: UNICEF, Red Cross, UN World Food Programme and many others are doing their best to help in this crisis. Unfortunately, logistics are a problem. It is next to impossible to get to some communities and people in them do not expect help from anyone soon.
To put this into context, there are about seven million people displaced in Ukraine, including an astonishing three million children. There are few hospitals operating in the northeastern part of the country and government services are stretched to capacity trying to offer basic services. The NGOs are raising hundreds of millions of dollars so what little money I brought here is a drop in the bucket. But it did improve a few lives.
Some folks might ask why I chose to come to Ukraine with death and destruction almost everywhere. It's quite simple — we are all Ukrainians right now.
I live in Winnipeg where there is a fairly large Ukrainian population and over the years, I have made friends with many of them. We Indigenous people have forged strong ties with Ukrainian people that go back to the early part of the last century when they were escaping the Holodomor. This was the last time the Russians (then Soviets) inflicted genocide on the Ukrainian people. Some estimate as many as eight to 10 million people died of starvation and disease in a place they call the “breadbasket” of Europe.
Many Ukrainians came to Manitoba where they settled in the Interlake region. The soil was rocky and not very fertile. Hence, they were called rock farmers. The federal government gave us Indigenous people land in the same area and Ukrainians and Indigenous people became neighbours. It was difficult for all of us as it was either feast or famine, but we got through it together. That friendship has endured, as we shared our cultures and values. Marriages between us became common place.
In the end, Russian President Vladimir Putin can say what he wants about this war he started in Ukraine. But it is all about money. The spoils of this war will bring in huge dividends to Russia as Ukraine is a powerhouse in the agricultural sector and produces enormous amounts of coal, electric power (nuclear), metals, machinery, transport equipment, chemicals and food processing.
Ironically, money is how the West wants to stop this war and by putting sweeping sanctions on Russia and providing billions of dollars of military hardware, the Ukrainians may just win Putin's war.