Ukraine’s national day – this is how the day has changed shape for the refugees in Norway – news Vestland

– After the Russian full-scale invasion, National Day has become a day where we can show our Ukrainian identity and our path to freedom, says Nataliia Korchagina. In recent days, she has had a tight program of organizing the national day celebration. Together with Liliya Trofimchuk, she has invited both Ukrainians and Norwegians to mark the important day in their new hometown, Førde in Sunnfjord. Liliya Trofimchuk and Nataliia Korchagina prepare traditional Ukrainian dolls to be sold on National Day. Photo: Malene Laura Solheim / news Ukrainian handmade dolls, traditional bread, embroidered blouses and herbal tea. There is a lot that needs to be done before the big day. But the day that used to be celebrated with large parades throughout Ukraine is not what it used to be. – Tomorrow we will share Ukrainian culture with the Norwegian people and show gratitude for everything Norway has done for Ukraine. We will also sell goods for income for the Ukrainian army, says Korchagina. Liliya Trofimchuk has made several traditional dolls for the day. This is wearing a military uniform and holding a dove of peace in his hand. Photo: Malene Laura Solheim / news A new interpretation National Day was introduced after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Today it is 913 days since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This has changed the meaning Ukrainians attach to the words ‘freedom’ and ‘independence’. A study from the International Institute of Sociology in Kyiv, Ukraine, shows that National Day has become very popular since 2013. Then only 12 percent had National Day as their favorite holiday, and just as few thought it was important. Today, this figure is 64 percent, and it has doubled since the invasion in 2022. – We took our freedom for granted. Now we fight for it with our lives as an effort. National Day shows our fight back to freedom. That’s what the deputy head of the Ukrainian association in Norway, Natalia Ravn-Christensen, says. – It is difficult to call today a celebration. Nobody in Ukraine is celebrating today. Our people are dying every day. Ukrainian tones in Sunnfjord Since Russia invaded Ukraine, 76,000 Ukrainians have come to Norway as refugees. 5,000 have moved out of Norway. They are now the largest refugee group in Norway. Figures from Statistics Norway show this. One of them is Yev Kovalenko, who fled Ukraine with his wife and children when the war broke out. A year ago they came to Førde. Since Yevhen and Julia Kovalenko came to Norway, they have had a child. Photo: Malene Laura Solheim / news – For me, National Day is an opportunity to show Norway and the world that we are here. We are alive. We are here, tell Yev. He and his wife Julia have started the music duo “zhivi”, which is Ukrainian for living. On Saturday morning, they will perform soul, rock and Ukrainian music in the center of Førde. They hope their music can be a joy for Ukrainians in the same situation as themselves. – Every day I enter with great sadness. I try not to show it to my children, says Julia Kovalenko. She continues: – For the third year in a row, we will celebrate our freedom, but we have no freedom. Published 24/08/2024, at 08.24



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