When there’s talk about Ukrainians most recognisable in Brussels, Marta Barandiy, the founder of NGO “Promote Ukraine,” is certainly among these people. She can be met at rallies and demonstrations under Ukrainian flags, at the points of humanitarian aid collection for Ukraine, at official events in European institutions, among volunteers, and also during communication with Ukrainians whom Russia’s war has torn from their homes and who were have been forced to seek refuge in Belgium.

It happened that Marta Barandiy first studied abroad, interned at the European Parliament, started a family and adopted Belgian citizenship. But she did not lose contact with her Motherland. She created the Belgium-based NGO “Promote Ukraine,” which, especially after the full-scale Russian aggression broke out, turned into Ukraine’s public voice in Brussels and other Belgian cities.

Marta Barandiy has stopped social activities, for the time being, while she continues to be engaged in political activities. This Ukrainian woman, perhaps, for the first time in history, became number one on the party list of the Flemish party in the European Parliament elections, which will be held this June. Marta Barandiy tells Ukrinform how it happened, what ideas she is going to the elections with, how she assesses her chances and whether she will continue to defend Ukraine.

UKRAINE NEEDS STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT ON THE PATH TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

- The Ukrainian community in Brussels is buzzing because you, an ethnic Ukrainian, are going to the European Parliament elections. How did you manage to self-integrate into the EU even before all of Ukraine did?

- It's quite a simple story actually. I came to Belgium in 2004 to do an internship at the European Parliament. I met there my future partner, and moved in 2006. That is, I have been in Belgium for a long time now, I gave birth to my children there, I have a family there. I became a Belgian citizen in 2017 when I gave birth to my second son. I am an international lawyer by training. I was employed with several large companies and law firms. But my biggest achievement in Belgium is that I managed to create the organization, "Promote Ukraine", with a mission to speed up the EU integration of the whole of Ukraine.

This, for the time being, I believe is my prime achievement.

DURING THE REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY, WE COULDN'T STAND ASIDE

-You are known in Brussels as the head of that organization. Where the idea came from to create it; what motivated you to keep touch with Ukraine?

- Once upon a time, when I was studying international law, I wrote a dissertation on the topic of sovereignty of the people and the state. So for me, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is, let's say it so, a professional passion. Of course, this is part of my personal beliefs. I was lucky enough to personally participate in the Orange Revolution, and when the Revolution of Dignity began, I could not stand aside. Many active Ukrainians, both in and outside of Ukraine, considered it necessary to support the EU association agreement, that Ukraine should become integrated into the EU. They did not accept Yanukovych's démarche, and, to a large extent, it was then that the movement began towards the result we have now: Ukraine is a candidate country for EU membership.

For me, Europe means freedom. Freedom of thought, freedom of a person to choose own path. And I really wanted the same freedom to be in place in Ukraine. Therefore, when Yanukovych accepted a huge bribe from Putin and failed  to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, I felt that something big and something terrible was going to happen. Because our free people will never accept such arbitrariness.

Then, in 2013-2014, I took part in demonstrations in support of the Maidan and at some point I felt that this was not enough to keep Ukraine high on the agenda. For this to happen it was necessary to communicate intensively with people, to share information about Ukraine. I wanted at first to join other public organizations, but I did not feel the desired response from them. It therefore was a logical decision to set up an organization for people willing to continue supporting a European future for Ukraine.

- That is, "Promote Ukraine" was founded in 2014, right?

- Yes, it’s true. As early as January, I was working on the organization’s statute, drawing up and elaborating the rules and regulations by myself. Then advice from friends, both in and outside of Ukraine, came in very handy. I received great support from the Ukrainian diaspora in Belgium. We created this organization with just a few like-minded people and started actively holding events - at the European Parliament, universities, across the whole of Belgium. It was difficult, but very interesting.

- How has the war affected Promote Ukraine’s activities?

- When the organization got started, the war was already underway. When I was writing the statute, there were first shootings on the Maidan. Then followed the annexation of Crimea, Donbas, MH-17. I still remember all these events and my reactions very well, I remember the pain I felt. Also, because people in Belgium could not understand what the war is, what is happening in Ukraine, and what consequences the Russian seizure of Crimea will have for the whole of Europe.

"Promote Ukraine" became a platform for me to call people to support Ukraine. Part of this was successfully achieved, but part wasn’t. Because in those days there were still a lot of people who wanted to appease Putin. It was a tragic mistake.

EUROPEANS SHOULD APPRECIATE THAT UKRAINIANS ARE PART OF THE EUROPEAN FAMILY

- Here in Brussels we saw multi-thousand people events involving "Promote Ukraine". How many people have you managed to reach with this work?

- The number is difficult to say. In the past two years alone, we have held more than 200 events, in which both members of the Ukrainian community and foreigners participated. The focus was on them, the EU citizens. Because the network of the Ukrainian diaspora’s organizations in Belgium is well developed already and it is very helpful in sharing information about Ukraine among other things.

But what we aim is to convey this information to Belgians and foreigners, especially those working at European institutions, who will, sooner or later, make decisions with respect to Ukraine. In order for them to accept us into the EU, they must understand us. Nobody says they have to love us, but they have to understand us, that's for sure.

I have always believed that Ukrainians, like Ukraine, are often perceived unfairly in Europe and the rest of the world. People don’t understand our history, culture, have no idea where this sense of dignity in Ukrainians comes from. They even don’t recognize our education. There’ve been lots of cases where Ukrainian diplomas have not been recognized here, and a person, instead of working, say, as a doctor, was forced to do driver’s work. But practice suggests that professional qualification of an average Ukrainian is even higher than of a European. I saw it during my studies in Austria and Germany, and also here in Belgium.

There is one more aspect. Ukrainians often achieve greater professional success than those born here because, unlike the latter, Ukrainians are forced to compete successfully, often under very unfavorable conditions. They have to prove their education and qualifications, most of them speak several languages, which is also very important. Ukrainians thus prove their European identity in practice.

UKRAINIAN REFUGEES RECEIVED IMMEDIATE SUPPORT IN BELGIUM

- Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Belgium since Russia launched is all-out invasion in 2022. How was Promote Ukraine able to get involved in caring for these people?

- When all-out Russian invasion began, already in the first hours, then for months I was receiving hundreds of calls from Belgians willing to help and accept Ukrainian refugees in their homes. So we compiled lists of such people, helped our citizens get in touch with them. Our people were coming here en masse, and this required some kind of organization. We set up a coordinating center for communication with the government, with local communes, with the Belgians who were ready to provide shelter for Ukrainians.

We did not plan this in advance; it happened almost "automatically". Lots of volunteers joined us from the first days of the Russian invasion. "Promote Ukraine", which previously consisted of a few enthusiasts, grew to 150 members almost overnight. Many of the volunteers were dealing specifically with support for refugees. Another area of work was organization of mass events, while the issue of humanitarian aid for Ukraine was being dealt with on a parallel track. This all had to be done simultaneously.

We were not the only organization concerned about this. That is why, over time, I put the key emphasis in our work on the yet uncovered area that could potentially bring the greatest "added value". I’m talking about the presentation and advocacy of Ukrainian interests in Belgium, in particular in the country's government, as well as in European institutions.

THE EUROPEAN CITIZEN’S PRIZE CAME ALMOST UNNOTICED IN UKRAINE

- Efforts by "Promote Ukraine" in 2022 were highly appreciated in the European Parliament; you received a special award...

- Yes, it was a European public award known as "European Citizen's Prize". This was the way the European Parliament rewarded our public activities. The prize awarding ceremony took place in November 2022. It was a great pleasure for me. Then we were let known that we became the first Ukrainian organization to be awarded this prize. We took this as a recognition of the efforts by all of our volunteers who often completely devoted themselves to public work of helping Ukrainians, working 24 hours a day, literally, sometimes sacrificing their careers and even their personal lives. I am grateful to the European Parliament for such a high assessment of the work done by our volunteers.

Truth to be told, this event went almost unnoticed in Ukraine. But we, Ukrainians, will eventually figure it out in one way or another. What matters most is that this high award of the European Parliament was noticed by Europeans; at every public event our Western partners mentioned that we are holders of an honorable award like this.

After all, the prize is not what matters much. It is necessary to make sure that we, Ukrainians, are perceived by the citizens of other countries as a worthy European nation. They cannot reach this understanding immediately; this requires painstaking and persistent work from our part, not only from "Promote Ukraine", of course. If we aspire to become part of a common European family, we must be understandable to the nations already belonging to it.

ALL DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN EUROPE SHOULD SUPPORT UKRAINE

- You suspended your work at Promote Ukraine for the duration of your election campaign to the European Parliament. Why?

- I am now running for the European Parliament as number one on the list of the Belgian party "Voor U". This campaign takes some 90 percent of my time. But the main reason why I suspended chairmanship of Promote Ukraine is that I don't want this organization to be perceived as being politically committed. If I fail the election, I will probably continue working there. But now I separate my political campaign from "Promote Ukraine". Our organization needs communication with all political forces that can support Ukraine - the "Greens", Christian Democrats, Socialists and others.

On top of that, I don’t want our volunteers to be engaged in my election campaign in any way. Of course, some of them are trying to do so. But, I reiterate, they should be focused on volunteer work for the benefit of Ukraine .

- What does "U" mean in the name of your party? Is that Ukraine?

- "Voor U" is in Flemish, translated as "For you". The coincidence with the first letter in the name of Ukraine is accidental. The party was founded by Els Ampe, a Belgian Flemish senator who strongly supports Ukraine. For two years she came to our demonstrations and promoted relevant resolutions in the Belgian Senate. It was she who suggested that I become the number one candidate on the party list for the European Parliament elections. As an interesting note, she, when proposing my candidacy, asked me to pronounce this in Flemish, U and Ukraine... That is, she probably did keep in mind this idea about the name of the party.

- What kind of political party is "Voor U"? Is it right-wing, left-wing, centrist?

- This is a liberal centrist party. When it comes to matters related to security and limiting state interference in civil liberties or business freedoms, we maintain a somewhat "right-wing" approach. On matters of social security guarantees, for example, medical care, high-quality education, we have a somewhat "left" inclination. So we remain centrists. This is a party where its every member can defend own opinions. There is a party program that connects us together. But each member of the party is free to choose the ways to achieve this, in particular in public activities.

- But you won’t be able to enter the European Parliament if the Belgians don’t vote for you?

- The Flemish, which is to say. There is a pretty complex political system in Belgium. The French-speaking region has its own parties, the Flemish region has its own. I am going to the elections for the Flemish region. This means to say  that only Flemish or EU citizens registered as voters in Flanders or Brussels are entitled to vote for me.

POLITICAL AGENDA: SECURITY, MIGRATION, AND PUBLIC SUPPORT

- What ideas are you promoting while running for the European Parliament?

- Collective security is my priority, and that’s for obvious reasons. So this is the number one issue, even though the Flemish people don't really want to hear it. Many of them take peace for granted, and they associate the word "defense" with "war". I want to convey a simple idea to them: to prevent war, one must be ready for defense, to defend own country.

The second point in my program is migration based on European values. This means that European values must be protected, and the migrants arriving in Europe, Belgium, Flanders must share and be ready to defend the values on which European society is built.

The third point deals with a wider involvement of public organizations in all spheres of public life, so that their voice is heard in the Belgian Parliament and in the European Parliament as well. Financial instruments should be created to support such organizations to enable them to maintain a small staff and office if these organizations are active and their work is beneficial to society. Such support could only be justified with respect to, say, the volunteers whose activities cannot be covered by grants only.

CITIZENS OF FLANDERS ARE GOING TO EXPRESS CONFIDENCE IN THE UKRAINIAN CANDIDATE

- How do you assess your chances of being elected to the European Parliament?

- Chances are as always 50 : 50. Our party is small, it was created as late as in December. That is, it is a very young, new party. Its leader and founder, Els Ampe left the government's Open VLD party, the prime minister's party, because she could not accept certain manifestations of particracy in relation to members. She created her own party, for which freedom and liberal values are key values. This is a party of free people.

It so happened that it all occurred just before the European elections, so there was very little time left for promoting  this political force. There is no funding, so we are forced to rely on our own resources only. But we have already entered the election campaign, collected the required number of voter signatures both in the Flemish Parliament and in Brussels, and, also for the elections to the European Parliament. That is, people have already supported us.

Then everything depends on us, on our communication. Belgium is a democratic country with strong political competition. And it is good that we have the opportunity to compete with other parties. We have a chance to get a certain percentage of the votes away from right-wing parties. In addition, we are counting on the votes of the 34 percent of Belgians who are still undecided about who to vote for in June.

Since I'm number one on the party list, there's a chance I'll make it through.

- Does the fact that you are ethnic Ukrainian reduce or increase your chances?

- When it was announced that a Belgian Ukrainian woman is number one on the party list, it somewhat confused a certain part of the voters who wondered how a Ukrainian woman could represent the interests of Flanders in the European Parliament. These people were convinced that my first priority in parliament will be to represent the interests of Ukraine there.

In view of this, I had to communicate more intensively and be very cautious when conveying information about Ukraine to potential voters. It is clear that Ukraine is defending European values. But it is important that this idea is effectively and consistently conveyed to the citizens of Belgium, particularly in Flanders, so as not to scare them away. Because if that happens, we risk that our potential voters shift their support in favor of far-right forces.

As for the Ukrainians…If they tell their Belgian friends that I am going to the elections, it will be a benefit.

EUROPEANS’ SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE SHOULD BE FOUGHT FOR DAILY

- What do you think of the possibility to preserve the Ukraine-friendly majority in the European Parliament after the election in June?

- I treat this with caution, if not with apprehension. If efforts are not made to restrain the right-wing forces, they may form a new majority where Ukraine may lose a significant part of support not only at the level of the European Parliament, but also where it comes to government obligations. This is true not only for Belgium; radical forces, both right- and left-wing are becoming stronger and stronger.

So only one conclusion is left: the upcoming European elections are not something far off from Ukraine. The elections are going to have an impact both on Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression and on its European perspective. The EU's support for Ukraine should under no circumstances be taken for granted, it should be fought for at all levels - from the Ukrainian government to the general public.

Interviewed by Dmytro Shkurko, Brussels

Photo: Marta Barandiy's Facebook