SUSI2015_Cultural Visit to Sugarcreek

Some unexpected and even strange things happen. Now I understand that it was necessary for me to cover Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the eastern part of the USA to realize what I am and where I live. I had to cover 9,000 km to understand the people who live within 200 km in my region.

We, the scholars of SUSI 2015 on Media and Journalism, have just arrived home (yes, already home – River Park at Athens, Ohio). We have spent some unforgettable days at Cleveland, Sugarcreek, Columbus.   

During this three-day trip I found a lot of things, facts and people interesting and even inspiring. But among them our visit to the Amish people was of great interest.

Before paying a visit to these people in Sugarcreek I was aware of their life style as well as some periods in the Mennonite development.

The fact is that Dnipropetrovsk region (Ukraine), where I am from, used to be the place of the Mennonite settlements in the XVIII-XIX-th centuries before their massive movement to Canada and Americas. And it was the Mennonite people’s influence that enabled as well as encouraged the development of my native city – Dnipropetrovsk – and Dnipropetrovsk region as an industrial and business region.         

Dnipropetrovsk Oles Honchar National University has organized some academic events on the peculiarities of the Mennonites’ life in Dnipropetrovsk region, made the range of researches about the Mennonite settlements, conducted the number of conferences and even invited some scholars, writers and journalists whose ancestors left Ukraine for Americas in the XVIII-XIX-th centuries.

I have never deeply thought over the peculiarities of the Mennonite people’s life – frankly speaking I had no time as well as intention to do that. I was always sure that their way of living was only the way to escape the real problems of the contemporary life. Before watching their life style and listening to them, inspired by the God’s word, I used to think: “Surely, it is easier to explain their children that any technical device is of evil than earn money to buy such a device and give them a chance to make their own choice; it is much easier to convince their daughters that their best function is to be a housewife and housekeeper than give them possibility to enter a higher educational institution and financially support them for all their studying till the graduation and make a professional career”. I used to be even aggressive to some extend towards such people who refuse to protect their native land because of their unwilling to be armed and get violent concerning others.

Now I have totally changed my opinion about their lifestyle. I have no intention to support them and convince others that the Mennonite do the right things. The only thing which I have understood is the following: it is their choice. Their lifestyle differs from mine. However whether their lifestyle is good or bad is a matter of opinion. They can be wrong or right in their beliefs but it is the choice that they made themselves – under various circumstances and under various influence – but it is of their responsibility. Despite threat and persecution (as the cyclorama in Sugarcreek depicted their development) they have survived. And if they exist in this world, it is the God’s will to let them exist.

In order to realize who lives near me I had to cover the half of the world and reach the USA. Thanks to SUSI.