Photographs taken for the July 7, 2023 NY Times Opinion Section, “Witness: Portraits of People Living the News.”
Location: Novyi Sokil Ukrainian Summer Camp in North Collins, NY.
Editor: Sara Barrett
Natalya comes from a half Ukrainian family at home, and gets to learn about her Ukrainian heritage, history and language annually by attending camp, surrounded by her Ukrainian friends that she has had since she’s been six years old.
Danylo has been running this camp for many years with his wife, Darka. This is the first camp established in the USA: his grandmother was one of the first head counselors and his dad was a camper at the first camp.
Larysa is super aware at how lucky she is to be able to concentrate on keeping Ukrainians traditions alive in the diaspora, as Ukrainians living with the war are forced to focus on staying alive. Her roots are at this camp, it’s a magical place for friendships and culture.
Nina, is super aware of how important it to protect Ukrainian culture, and coming to Novyi Sokil feels like a safe space. Back home, other friends could never understand the depth of how it feels to be part of such a strong diaspora.
Ruslan and Lukash take time off from their day jobs every summer to vacation at camp, where they instruct youth how to be counselors in the future. The refugee mindset is engrained in them already, as their grandparents fled during WW2, and this has been passed down: the importance of creating a sense of unity as Ukrainians.