“What would be the meaning of my life if I stayed here?” In a few weeks, Vartan Davtian, Canadian-Ukrainian, liquidated fourteen years of life in Canada to return to Europe and defend the country that saw him grow up.
Wednesday morning, they are a handful to accompany him for his farewell to the airport of Winnipeg, in the center of Canada. With him, 13 oversized bags, all full to bursting and covered with yellow and blue ribbons, the colors of Ukraine.
Putting his life on hold, not standing idly by when the bombs fall on his country, where his whole family still lives, it seemed obvious to him.
“It’s unbelievable what Russia is doing, unbelievable that other countries are watching what is happening without doing anything. This whole situation is incredible,” the 37-year-old man told AFP, wearing a khaki t-shirt on his back and a cross around his neck.
For this man born in Armenia, who spent all his youth in Ukraine before immigrating to Canada in 2008 after his studies, life has changed. He left his job in the oil sector a few days after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army on February 24.
“I could watch all of this without interfering, but what would it get me? What is the meaning of my life?” says Vartan, admitting to feeling great guilt at being safe on Canadian soil while his sister, nieces, cousins, relatives and friends live in a country at war.
“I never really fought, but when I see what is happening on the news, I will not hesitate,” says the man who initially hoped that the nightmare of the Russian invasion was fake news. Vartan, who speaks Ukrainian and Russian, says he still struggles to direct.
The first stop on his long journey to Europe, for him who hasn’t returned for about three years due to the COVID pandemic, will be Warsaw, Poland. From there, he intends to cross the border to reach Ukraine.
In his luggage, kilos of provisions collected by members of the Ukrainian community in his region in recent days: medical equipment, drones, batteries and even baby items.
Vartan also carries with him a bandana in the colors of Ukraine which was recently given to him by his friend Liudmyla Artemchuk. “She made me promise to bring it back to her,” insists Vartan, who explains that he feels “anger” but not afraid.
At the time of saying goodbye, the atmosphere is dark. Especially since the 37-year-old Ukrainian, who has lived in Canada for several years, has just learned of the death of a childhood friend in a Russian bombardment. Since the start of the war, civilians have paid a heavy price.
“I think Vartan is brave and it’s essential what he does, people need help,” she slips, pale, her eyes marked by fatigue and tears.
The large Ukrainian diaspora in Canada (1.4 million people, making it the second largest in the world), very present in the center and west of the country, has been mobilized since the first day of the Russian invasion to send supplies, money…
It was within this community, in the house of one of his compatriots, that Vartan chose to spend his last night in Canada.
“He is my hero,” his friend Maryna Prystaiko told AFP, as she carefully buckled the bags that will take the road to Ukraine. The 37-year-old woman with the blonde bun continues: “It’s easy to be in a calm and peaceful place, but he is going to war”.
Vartan does not see himself as a hero. He sees his departure as a “liberation”, after weeks of seeing his country bombarded by feeling useless.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca