The delegation included journalist Sérgio Utsch, chief editor of Meio online media Flávia Tavares, and filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer Guto Pasko.
On day one of the visit, the delegates met Ukrainian cultural and human rights activists, namely the representatives of Truth Hounds (an NGO in charge of investigating war crimes) and Human Rights Center ZMINA. Additionally, they visited the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and had a talk with the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva, and the first deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, journalist and ex-political prisoner Nariman Celal. Later, Utsch, Tavares, and Pasko met filmmaker and poet Iryna Tsilyk and director general of the Dovzhenko Center Olena Honcharuk.
On the next day, Brazilian delegates went to Kharkiv and Izium. This trip was aimed at showing them the consequences of Russian military aggression against Ukraine and displaying the resilience of Ukrainians who live under everyday shelling. For the same purpose, they went also to the towns of Bucha, Borodianka, and Irpin in the Kyiv region as well as to the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region.
During the visit, the delegates participated in the public talk Brazil and Ukraine: Is There a Possibility of Common Ground, moderated by philosopher and president of PEN Ukraine Volodymyr Yermolenko. Together, they were attempting to answer the question of whether the Brazilian and Ukrainian societies can adjust a dialogue.
Journalist Sérgio Utsch who has been covering the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014 says that there is some misunderstanding between Ukrainians and Brazilians. He is convinced that there is still plenty of work to do.
“This last trip gave me new perspectives, such as the wonderful and surprising story of how Ukrainians are selling and reading more books today than before the large-scale invasion in a fierce battle for identity. However, understanding and communicating is a two-way road. I guess for you to be understood better, you also need to understand more about Brazil,” says Sérgio Utsch.For Guto Pasko, filmmaker of Ukrainian origin, this is already the fifth visit to Ukraine. He had made and produced films about Ukrainians for Brazilian audience. Nevertheless, he points out that none of his previous trips can be compared to this experience that gave him a chance to be a part of history in the making.
“What impressed me most was the resilience and resistance of the Ukrainian people, a people who never give up. t was very interesting to see how people try to maintain a “normal” life in the midst of all this. Life goes on. It has to go on,” says Pasko.Guto Pasko is planning to make a documentary about his last visit to Ukraine. other delegates, after having received a clearer perspective during the trip, also express their wish to continue covering the Russian-Ukrainian war for a Brazilian audience.
