Apotheosis In Dublin

The administrator of the Jeanie Johnston refugee ship from the potato famine era welcomes Bohdan, a 13-year-old Ukrainian refugee, to Ireland

Returned home last night from Dublin deeply moved by the enormous kindness of the Irish people toward the people of Ukraine in their hour of need. Over the past six weeks as many as 30,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland, a country of about 5 million. During our stay of eight days, we heard nothing but expressions of solidarity, compassion and love expressed toward the new arrivals;  often directly to Tanya ‘s sister Nila and her 13 year old son Bohdan who arrived in Ireland in early March and whom we were visiting. We heard not a word in conversations, or in the Irish media, of any indication of resentment toward the new arrivals or toward the generous package of social benefits the government is providing them. What a contrast to the situation in the US, where, despite promises by Biden to take in 100,000 Ukrainians, the U.S. has barely begun the intake process—a sad outgrowth of the overall demonization of immigrants here that has been negatively impacting our politics since at least 2016. 

Nila, Bohdan, Tanya and I experienced a deeply emotional moment during a visit to the Jeanie Johnston, the replica of a ship by that name that brought desperately poor Irish refugees to Canada and America during the Potato Famine of the 1840’s. As we were waiting to board the ship—floating on the Liffey River--for a tour, I mentioned to one of the administrators that the visit was meaningful for all of us because Nila and Bohdan were newly arrived Ukrainian refugees struggling to find their feet in a new land. I also asked him for a recommendation of a good restaurant nearby where we could celebrate Bohdan’s upcoming birthday. In any case, 20 minutes later as the tour began for us and about 30 other tourists from the US, France, Spain, Hungary and elsewhere; the administrator and tour guide made a point of welcoming Nila and Bohdan to Ireland. The administrator, with tears in his eyes, praised them for their courage and steadfastness in making the difficult trip to safety and freedom and expressing the hope and belief that they will quickly find their feet. The two men then presented Bohdan with a birthday card with a fold-out image of the ship. Bohdan is a newly minted teenager who keeps his emotions under control, but as he responded with a heartfelt, emphatic "thank you so much!" I could see how powerful the moment was for him and am sure he will remember it for his entire life. 

Certainly, it is clear to us that the incredibly warm welcome Nila and Bohdan have received from the O’Reilly family—Hugh, Ursula, Adam and Leon---who have taken them into their home and hearts and from the principal, teachers and students in the Irish school Bohdan is attending---is helping them to recover and heal from the massive trauma they suffered in having their lives abruptly turned upside down; being abruptly forced out of their home in Kyiv, separated from their loved ones still in Ukraine and fearing deeply for their safety. Nila and Bohdan have no idea what the future will bring and when they will be able to return home, but they DO already have a solid support structure of love and acceptance in Dublin---and that is a very big deal. For our part, Tanya and I are doing what we can to help support Nila and Bohdan from America and feel uplifted to have spent a beautiful week with them enjoying Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains—allowing them to articulate and sharing in all of the complicated emotions they are experiencing. 

As we begin our observance of Passover, we are deeply moved to be connected these beautiful people who have taken the journey to freedom in Ireland and to all the people of Ukraine who are fighting valiantly against Pharaoh Putin who seeks to destroy their nationhood and reduce them to slave status. Ukrainians are upholding the torch of freedom for all of us and taking horrific human losses in the process. We owe it to them to be by their side in this terrible hour.