Mayor Steve Patterson traveled to Ukraine to visit Athens’ sister city, Ostroh, to further develop the cities’ relationship and find more ways to collaborate.
During his six-day trip, from Feb. 17-24, in Ostroh, Patterson was accompanied by three interpreters who also provided logistical and cultural context. Each interpreter took shifts interpreting for the mayor, Svitlana Ramer, one of the interpreters traveling with Patterson, said.
“I helped navigate certain cultural norms, and we did a nightly briefing to make sure all meetings went as planned, and I could explain some of the finer aspects of what went on during certain engagements,” Ramer wrote in an email.
Patterson had an itinerary planned for him before arriving in Ukraine, which included several events and meetings.
One event was to speak and engage with students at Ostroh Academy, one of the world’s oldest higher education institutions. But, the lecture was moved to an underground crypt after air raid sirens began. Patterson said he and around 50-60 students were in the fallout shelter for an hour discussing Ohio, Ohio University and the U.S.
Patterson also had the opportunity to speak with academy administration and faculty, who he said were interested in growing a relationship between Ostroh Academy and OU.
“There was a psychology professor that was there, and they were very interested in learning more about how the psych department in Porter Hall created their psychological services center, their clinic,” Patterson said.
To help foster this relationship, Patterson said upon his return to Athens, he would connect Julie Suhr, professor and director of clinical training in OU’s psychology department, with the professor at Ostroh Academy.
In addition to visiting an institution of higher education in Ukraine, Patterson also visited a K-12 school, where he said he had the most emotional experiences.
As soon as he arrived at the school, he was greeted with a dance from about eight students, and a part of the dance involved an air raid siren.
“The air raid siren goes off, but it was part of what they were doing, and they all crouched down on the floor with their hands over their head as part of the routine,” Patterson said. “These are young people, but in their daily lives (the air raids are) what they live with.”
He said he saw the air raids become a reality when the school's principal took him to the safety room; the safety room’s purpose is to teach the students how to remain safe during an air raid.
Patterson said in the safety room, he was shown a bookshelf full of replica bombs that were meant to resemble kids' toys. These deadly explosives inside children's toys are a form of Russia’s war tactics against Ukraine.
“He really felt what it is like to live in Ukraine,” Ramer wrote in an email. “It deeply affected him, and he is fired up to get the cities working together for the benefit of both communities.”
Patterson also spoke with a forestry club associated with the school, and he introduced the club to pawpaw seeds. He brought a pound of the seed and gave the bag to the club for them to grow.
Patterson attended a rally Feb. 24 that the city hosted in honor of the two-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A local newspaper in Ostroh, Zamkova Gora, which translates to The Castle Mountain, wrote about the rally, reporting, “On Svobody Square in Ostroh, the country began to learn more and more names of heroes. Each story evoked intense pain, overwhelming anger and powerlessness.”
Patterson said he shared the stories he learned in Ukraine when he was in Washington D.C. from March 9-13 for the National League of Cities conference. He said the people he spoke to in Ukraine were concerned Congress would stop authorizing money to the country and he relayed those concerns.
“I had the great fortune of getting to briefly speak with President Biden, and I quickly shared my story … about my experience over in Ukraine, and gave the thank you from the people that I engaged with, but also they also really need more continued funding, so please continue your efforts, Patterson said. “He didn’t disagree with me at all.”
Ramer said she believes the two cities are a perfect pair and that the in-person visit was a pivotal step in the cities’ relationship.
“This trip was a critical launchpoint for multiple levels of partnership. Businesses, universities, schools,” Ramer wrote in an email. “The mayor now has so many ideas and concrete plans that he is already implementing now that he is back.”
