Sitting at the center table at Zarzour’s Cafe enjoying their first taste of an American hamburger, fries, sweet tea and banana pudding, husband and wife Victoria Kalaichi and Denis Sarazhin occasionally struggle to find the words to describe what is happening in their homeland of Ukraine.
Sometimes they search for the proper word in English, and sometimes they simply struggle to explain what is happening and why Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to bomb parts of their country, especially those occupied by non-military personnel.
“It’s crazy,” Kalaichi said several times throughout an interview.
Later, Sarazhin picked up his phone to look up the translation for “revenge,” the only explanation the pair can conceive of for Putin’s motivation.
“He seems to want revenge for Ukraine leaving Russia,” Sarazhin said.
The pair left the country on Feb. 24 for a planned 10-day trip to Chattanooga that included a gallery exhibit of her work and a workshop at Townsend Atelier. She has sold about half of the 30 pieces in the exhibit, according to Peggy Townsend, and the remaining works will be on display through the end of March.
It was only after the couple arrived here that they learned that Russia had, in fact, sent troops into Ukraine and was waging war against their country.
“We didn’t believe it would happen,” Sarazhin said. “Nobody did.”
How to help
— Ringgold High School students will be staging an encore presentation of “Catch Me If You Can,” to raise funds for Save the Children’s Ukraine relief effort on at 7 p.m. Monday, March 28, in the Robin L. Christian Performing Arts Theater at the school. Tickets are $10.— A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up for Ukrainian artists Victoria Kalaichi and Denis Sarazhin who traveled to Chattanooga days before war broke out in their homeland.— The International Ukrainian Crisis Fund was started by former Chattanoogan Vlada Galan, a native of Odessa, Ukraine.— The Better Business Bureau has accredited the following charities that are providing relief to Ukrainians in need:Catholic Relief ServicesDirect ReliefGlobalGivingInternational Rescue CommitteeSave the Children
Kalaichi on Tuesday said that her mother, who lives in Russia-occupied Crimea in Southern Ukraine, still doesn’t quite grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“She doesn’t believe that we lost our home perhaps, and she was sending me funny messages on my phone the other day,” Kalaichi said with a look of disbelief on her face.
She said that Russian propaganda and lack of information from trusted news sources has some believing there are no bombings or that Russian soldiers have peacefully entered the country as they did in Crimea more than eight years ago.
“For some people, it is comfortable to ignore the TV and believe what they want,” she said.
Kalaichi and Sarazhin are the guests of friends Melissa Hefferlin and Daud Akhriev, but have lined up a new place to live in North Chattanooga in the coming days and perhaps a studio space where they can both paint while they figure out what the future holds.
“Would we go back tomorrow if everything was settled?” Sarazhin asks. “Of course, but we don’t know what we would be going back to. When you go on vacation, you don’t take all your money or your clothes. We don’t know if our apartment or studio are still there, and we can’t ask friends or family to go and see. It is too dangerous.”
The original plan was to stay here for 10 days and then return home where Sarazhin was preparing for his own gallery exhibit in Stuttgart, Germany, which was to begin around the first of April. His paintings were left behind in the studio.
The two are constantly checking with their friends and family who post video of the bombings taken on their phones via social media.
“We are watching things happen in real-time,” she said. “We’ve seen things like the corner near where we live and would eat at a cafe, but not our own apartment.”
This past weekend, they saw the bombed-out building of friends of friends and were struck by the pictures and paintings hanging on the interior walls now exposed by the shellings.
Sarazhin said he talks with his family almost daily and that only a couple of the males venture out of their homes to buy what groceries they can. He is certain he has friends and family who have joined in the fighting, but they do so in secrecy to avoid bringing attention to themselves or their families.
When asked how the images of Ukrainian citizens making Molotov cocktails in preparation of fighting against invading Russian soldiers make him feel, he simply shook his head and said, “What else can they do?”
It’s a question for the couple as well. For now, all they can do is try to make the best of things while keeping up with and worrying about their friends and family. Between getting news from home and figuring out their next move, Kalaichi said they’ve enjoyed sampling America.
Sweet tea, they both agree, is reminiscent of a drink they enjoyed as children, and the banana pudding brings big smiles and groans of pleasure to both of them.
“Everyone has been so nice,” Kalaichi said.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC