Ukraine trip, August 2000

Ukraine might seem an odd place to go for a holiday but our trip was more than just a summer holiday.

Most people will remember the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl which put an otherwise unknown power station in the world headlines back in 1986 but, like me, know little else about the country or the problems faced by those who live there.

To set the scene, I got in touch with a charity called "British Humanitarian Aid", based locally to us here in East Kent. This charity organises regular monthly convoys of aid to Ukraine and Kosovo, volunteers with suitable vehicles are encouraged to take part in these convoys, and this is basically what we did. My son and I took part because I feel it never does any harm to help people and also because we had never been to Ukraine before and we probably wouldn't go as tourists, (at present the country is not exactly geared up for tourism as we know it in the west anyway).

On this occasion there were five vehicles under the guidance of BHA's convoy manager, CB radio was used to keep in touch. As we were carrying goods we were subject to the transit formalities as applied to the movement of goods, this started with the T Form (£10) at Dover (which covered us to the German / Polish Border)

From Calais we took the motorway to Antwerp, Hannover, Berlin, Frankfurt/Oder (into Poland, another Transit form, £6 this time), Warsaw, Lublin, Chelm, then to the Ukranian border at Dorohusk, this was altogether more time consuming and in all it took six hours in the freight compound to get the all important paperwork sorted, this was because we were carrying goods & would not apply to tourists although the queue of private cars still looked several hours long! This is apparently to be expected at borders outside EEC and people just resign themselves to the wait, every so often getting out and pushing their cars forward a few more feet. We were on a schedule on the outbound trip so there was no time for sightseeing! This was to come later.

Ukraine roadside stop

We stayed overnight in the customs compound and left early next morning (day4) heading east towards Kiev.

Prior to the collapse of Communism this was a military road so the usual roadside services were still under construction and the road itself was undergoing repair in many places. Indeed many of the roads east from the German / Polish border were enough to make for a challenging drive. Most are not dual carriageway and run through every town & village, often with ruts up to 4" deep in places caused by the almost continuous stream of heavy lorries using this main east - west highway.

Travelling east, into Ukraine, one begins to get an impression of the enormous distances one has to cover just to get to the next town, form the border to Kiev is 400 miles with very few towns of any size in between. The scenery is very flat, mainly wheat fields and pine forests. Very little traffic along this road, even the lorries seemed to thin out, those that we did see on local work were well past their sell by date, some by a long way!

Car park in Cernigiv

We arrived at our destination, a town called Cernigiv, about 80 miles North of Kiev in the evening of day 4, having travelled there from the Polish border in one day. Apparently "wild camping" is not recommended although there are service stations along the road, many with truck stops, some in the form of guarded compounds. That is not to say the place was teeming with bandits, indeed I saw no evidence of any form of criminal activity (although we were warned) it's just that in a country whose economic situation is as difficult as it is in Ukraine at present, any commodity instantly becomes a potential target.

Arriving fairly late in the evening in Cernigiv we were at once made to feel very welcome.

At this point it is probably worth explaining how BHA organises its work in Cerinigiv. The charity supports a community centre, called "Aratta" in Cernigiv, this centre supports and offers practical help to some 90 families, about 250 people in all, who are in need or who are particularly vulnerable. The centre is entirely supported by aid from UK and, apart from its manager, is run by entirely by volunteer helpers, mainly professional people with skills to offer (teachers, doctors, nurses etc.).

Offering assistance to some ninety families out of a whole city may not seem much, but for those people it does make a real difference, not only to their material well being but to their self confidence and self esteem. It should be remembered that this is a society where there is no one living who knows anything other than the Communist system and during the last 10 years many have had to come to terms with unemployment (previously unheard of) rising prices, irregular wage payments and a general erosion in their standard of living. On top of all this there is the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl (40 km from Cernigiv) to take into account and all problems for the future that may be storing up. We were told that the suicide rate among the under tens was causing concern, which gives an indication of the hopelessness of the situation some people find themselves in.

Unloading

The volunteer helpers at the community centre not only work together at the centre but also help each other which, in turn, improves their lives. I felt this is something we could learn from them.

It was with these families that we stayed and spent the week, sight seeing, visiting institutions and other community projects in the town.

Everybody we met was extremely welcoming and hospitable, those of us who hadn't been before were really overwhelmed by the reception we received, especially given the difficult economic situation in the country.

The countries of the former Soviet Union are still, unlike the rest of Eastern Europe not yet regularly visited by people from the west, they are not, as I've said really geared up for tourists. I felt there were advantages in travelling there as part of a convoy (apart from the fact that you were actually making a contribution, rather than just looking and moving on, as most visitors to a country do). One could always use a trip such as this as a starting point for further eastward travel, Moscow was signposted (only about another 500 miles NE but another border to cross) The Crimea (600 miles SE) or Odessa (600 miles S). You would need to be fairly determined to travel there independently although I'm sure people do. I would now!

Red Square, Cernigiv

You still need a visa and you are required to outline your itinerary on the visa application form. Entry formalities are laboured, to say the least. There are still checkpoints along the road where you can be stopped and your papers examined (although, it must be said they seem to be in the process of changing this system as many checkpoints and their attendant observation posts were closed, some even being turned into roadside café's!). The traffic police, known as DAI, will stop you for things you didn't even know you'd done and have the power to levy on the spot fines, there would be little point in arguing, even if you could. A western registered vehicle could be perceived as being a "soft" target for this kind of attention. We were stopped on a few occasions, but I felt more out of curiosity than anything else, we were not fined. It was pointed out by the convoy leader, who spoke a little Russian that we were carrying humanitarian aid, this may have helped!

Your breakdown insurance does not operate in Ukraine, nor does your motor insurance (or Green Card), this alone may be off putting to some.

We didn't see any of the usual "tourist facilities". There were no campsites along the roads we took and to stop overnight, other than where the truckers, do would be to run the risk of attracting unwelcome attention, possibly just curios local children in towns but some places are very remote and you would make an attractive target.

I was told there are campsites further south, along the Black Sea coast but I will have to wait for another time to check those out!

All these factors, for me however, make for a more interesting overall experience, a lot more than just a holiday on the beach somewhere, although we did that too, on a tributary of the Dneipr!

We were sorry to leave!

Riverside picnic

Some fact and figures:
The distance to Cernigiv is 1500 miles, outbound, the trip took four days (although we were told that three is more the norm). The fuel for my Transit motorcaravan cost £200 (@ 30mpg) and we paid for the ferry crossing and customs paperwork at Dover and Frankfurt / Oder (£16) ourselves.

One final thought, the conversation inevitably got round to costs of living, salaries etc. and, whilst the cost of living in Ukraine seems amazingly cheap to us (Diesel at 78p/ gallon, for example) the salary for professional people, doctors, teachers and the like, is $30 (about £20) per month. This rather puts things into perspective and equates to me, working as a teacher in UK, having to pay £13 for a loaf of bread.

Any further information, please feel free to contact the writer:

martin@eastry.screaming.net

British Humanitarian Aid, the organiser of the Aid convoy can be contacted on: BHA@netcomuk.co.uk

Editor's Note
We do pay a small fee for articles - in this case, at the author's request, we have sent it to British Humanitarian Aid