As the intensified bombardment of major Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, continues, more than one and a half million people have fled the country so far yesterday, making this the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. According to police data, 381 Ukrainian citizens have so far submitted an application for international protection in Slovenia. Members of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine arrived in Slovenia this morning. The Slovenian Youth Orchestra assisted them in their evacuation.
Following Russia's attack on Ukraine, many organisations and associations are responding to requests for help. The Slovenian Youth Orchestra has also joined in, helping members of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU). With the help of the Ljubljana Municipality, which helped with transport and accommodation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provided logistical and administrative assistance, and Perutnina Ptuj, which helped with food and financial resources, two buses with 67 young artists arrived in Ljubljana early this morning from the western part of Ukraine, the town of Chop.
"We picked them up in Čop, and they have a journey of two and a half days behind them," Živa Ploj Peršuh, artistic director and conductor of the Slovenian Youth Orchestra, explained on N1 STUDIO. Although they had planned to evacuate 95 artists in the first batch, they were not able to help everyone across the border. The reasons for this lie in extremely difficult communication, coordination of the various border crossings and bureaucratic hurdles, which, according to Ploj Peršuh, are procedurally extremely burdensome. "So far, 67 young members have arrived in Slovenia with accompanying persons. There are 300 more waiting on the other side," she added.
Children are exhausted and quiet
Ploj Peršuh continued with a presentation on how the evacuation of the young musicians took place. Although it may seem difficult to imagine, the evacuation was quick, also thanks to the help offered by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry and the police. "On the other hand, their youth orchestra leader and producer were extremely up-to-date. They are extremely responsive people. With the help of phones and apps like WhatsApp and Facebook, we managed to get organised," she stressed, adding that this would not have been possible without diplomatic ties. "We simply had no choice but to organise ourselves extremely quickly," Ploj Peršuh pointed out.
On who took the initiative to evacuate the Ukrainian artists, the artistic director of the Slovenian Youth Orchestra said that they were following the rest of the orchestras in Europe and around the world and that they were also following with concern the developments in Ukraine. "We have been following the events since the beginning of the conflict. We asked Oksana, their conductor, who is also my guild colleague, if we could help them, what we could send. They sent an appeal for help, that they wanted to leave the country as soon as possible, and of course we respected that," she explained.
Artists have a long way to go, so they are understandably very exhausted and quiet. "Their thoughts are focused on their homeland, on their parents and relatives. We hear stories from them: for example, a mother drops her two underage children at the train station, says goodbye to them and returns to the battle lines. These are extremely difficult stories. They want to work as musicians themselves, to feel decent as soon as possible," said Ploj Peršuh. Although the artists' desire to return to their homeland is strong, the reality is unfortunately different.
Integrating young artists, not refugees
To make young people feel as welcome and safe as possible in Slovenia, the Slovenian Youth Orchestra strives to make this possible. "These children need a safe environment, maybe a peer to talk to. That's why we are asking everyone to offer us accommodation in a home environment. There is also a form on our website where they can indicate the capacity of their accommodation and the age of their children," Ploj Peršuh appealed for help. She expressed her wish and hope that the children would be placed in environments where they would feel dignified, as young people, not as refugees.
Although the future is uncertain, according to the conductor of the Slovenian Youth Orchestra, they are already working on a plan to offer young Ukrainians their knowledge and advice for a better future. "How to mobilise musicians, how to offer them a working environment, activities that will take their minds off the conflict, off the problems," Ploj Peršuh said, adding that they want to connect even more with the Ukrainian orchestra. The orchestra is already reaching out to some other European orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bavarian Opera, individuals and others, to provide them with music education and creative opportunities through monetary donations and human capacity. "That's what counts," she added.
They will make sure that young people have a regular status. "For now, we will have to equip them bureaucratically, empower them with things; help them get the documents they need, advise them where they can go, where they can call if they are in need, give them guidance on how to move around Slovenia, what is allowed and what is not. We should probably offer them psychosocial support, we organise all this," she said.
Although education is the long-term plan, the most important thing now is to find accommodation for the young people and to help other artists who have not yet arrived in Slovenia. "I believe that with our knowledge and in conjunction with the Ukrainian Youth Orchestra and the European Career Centre for Artists, we will be able to provide them with an environment that is rich in language, education and music in the long term. To integrate them as young artists, not as refugees," concluded Živa Ploj Peršuh.
Medium: N1info.si
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Date: Mon, 7 March 2022
Link: N1 STUDIO: "Let's integrate them as young artists, not as refugees" - N1 (n1info.si)