This conversation is difficult, but it is opening up new prospects for understanding. What do we still lack to better understand each other?
The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites you to a conversation at the PEN Ukraine / UkraineWorld event “Ukraine, South Africa, India: How can we better understand each other?” The conversation took place in Kyiv, at PEN Ukraine space, on May 2nd, 2024.
Guests:
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Anjan Sundaram and Damon Galgut discussed how Ukraine’s current struggle against Russian aggression resonates with the histories of colonization in South Africa, India, and beyond.
"Colonial discourse is such a complicated thing, and different power structures use it in different ways. In India, for example, in the south of India, we see the north as a colonial force. And the imposition of Hindi as the national language, which is Hindi, is a language from the north. They see this as an internal colonialism. The solution is that if I meet an Indian from north India, we'll often speak to them in English. We'd prefer to speak in English than to speak an Indigenous Indian language because, you know, the animosity is greater with the neighbor, and you prefer to pick the language of an outsider," told Anjan Sundaram.
Damon Galgut shared his reflections on visiting Ukraine, describing how experiencing the realities firsthand fosters a more profound sense of solidarity with those facing hardships.
“Solidarity in this situation means putting yourself, for a very brief time, into the same position as the other people who are living through this experience,” — Damon Galgut.
Galgut warned that BRICS might create new divisions or allegiances rather than bridge existing ones, particularly in its geopolitical stance. As he noted, the historical ties some BRICS countries have with Russia influence their stance on global issues, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
"It brings new divisions and maybe new allegiances... It's not accidental... that the countries in the BRICS grouping seem to me to be the countries that have taken a neutral or non-aligned stance where Ukraine is concerned."
Sundaram highlighted: “Part of the work of journalists is to tell stories and create myths that challenge the imperial myths.”
Anjan noted the disparity in global media coverage between Ukraine and conflicts in the Global South: "Western media often overlooks major conflicts and crises in the global south. Establishing local media allows for more comprehensive and truthful coverage of these regions."
Speakers criticized Russia’s false positioning as a decolonizing force, comparing it to actual imperial histories. “Russia is just hypocritically playing with this [colonial discourse], promoting recolonization while talking about decolonization,” — Anjan Sundaram.
UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.
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This podcast episode is produced with the support of the Ukrainian Institute. This is a recording of a conversation done by PEN Ukraine and UkraineWorld within a project In Solidarity with Ukraine.
The full episode is available for UkraineWorld’s patrons at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld.
