About herself, work, education
Hello. I’m Iryna Soroka. Journalist and editor on the TV channel “Suspline Kultura’. I really love my work, it flows through my veins, I`m solely devoted to it. How did I get to this point? Let’s look a little into the past.
I was born in Cherkasy region, yes, that’s where Bohdan and Taras are from (just in case, I’m talking about Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Taras Shevchenko). So, I was born and grew up in the Dzenzelivka village. After the 11th grade, I entered NAU at the Faculty of Journalism. From the first year, I started looking for myself in journalism. I wanted to occupy exactly “my” niche as soon as possible, the close and dear one to my heart. But to find it, I had to be diligent. What does it mean? I tried myself in different fields, I started with written journalism, the Internet, continued on the radio, then tried out PR a little, and yet in 2019 I found my comfortable and so far unfathomable space — television journalism. I`m still amazed by the possibilities of my profession. The work opens up a lot of interesting things. I boldly implement all my ideas, tell stories, explore everything that is interesting to the viewer. I came to such bold and confident conclusions, because I see the feedback on my materials, and they are pleasing to the eye. However, I`m not going to stop at this point, so I work more and more every day. My topic is culture. I like digging up a lot of information, and to be aware of all the cultural news of the country and the world. However, my goal is to find my own direction and gain expertise in that field. Actually, it’s rather for myself. So, you may get the impression that I live to work, because the story about myself began with it, but no, I also have a personal life. I`m particularly interested in the following things: books, music, life itself. Definitely getting to know different people.
How I experienced the beginning of a full-scale war
The first days of the war were like complete darkness. The TV was on 24/7 at home, constant scrolling of the news feed, insomnia, long nights, short days, stress, fear. I remember how at 5 in the morning a friend called and told me about the start of a full-scale invasion. I got out of bed, started packing things (although there was also an emergency suitcase), and called my family and friends at the same time. At one point it seemed to me that I would never return home, but there were no tears or panic at that moment. I worked every day. I volunteered for various information resources, at the same time wove camouflage nets (offline), collected volunteer aid for Kyiv. I understood that I have to work, I have to do something, because if you just sit in front of the TV (as it was the first two days), you can lose your common sense. I cried for the first time during the entire war when I returned to Kyiv in April, after that I didn’t leave it.
Are you used to a war that lasts more than 10 months?
I can’t get used to the fact that I wake up to explosions, because they are not systematic. I`m scared, actually, like everyone. I believe that everyone who shouts about the absence of fear is either stupid or … stupid. Fear for your own life is a normal reaction. The thing that worries me the most is a constant lack of water, no light, although you can find a way out of any “problem”. The losses of the Russian Federation at the front don`t delight me anymore. I don’t think that it’s worth our attention at all. I don’t read what “locals say in their swamps”. Not interested. I don’t immerse myself in most of the clashes between Ukrainians. I don`t support language discussions, not because I consider that it’s not the right time for it, but because this is also one of the manipulations of the russian federation. It`s profitable for them to sow discord among us, but we are already coping with that. I read only important information for myself, primary sources and appeals of the first persons who really decide something and know what they do. I communicate with the military.
Do you like working at Suspilne? How did the war affect your work today?
I like working at Suspilne. The war radically changed my working life. I changed my job during the war, (a very unpopular and, as many acquaintances said, a “risky” decision). However, I don’t regret it, because I believe that it was precisely by means of culture that the enemy poured dirt into the heads of not only russians, but also Ukrainians. Therefore, with my materials, I want to convey the following theses: culture is always on time, culture is a soft weapon, culture is the fundamental basis of the nation’s consciousness.
”Suspilne Kultura” often tells stories about, for example, Nobel Prizes, and we know that the first Ukrainian laureate of this prize was Oleksandra Matviychuk, this year she received the Nobel Peace Prize (or rather, the laureate was the Center for Civil Liberties organization). Her work is directly related to this war, the investigation of the crimes of the rashists. Have you had the opportunity to talk with Alexandra and others who specifically cover the events of the war for a wide audience?
Personally, I talked with Oleksandra not only about her and “Center for Civil Liberties” receiving the “Nobel Prize”, but we also talked about the “For the Right Way of Life” prize (which is also called the alternative Nobel Prize). This prize is also awarded for active civic work, in particular in the field of human rights protection. Yes, almost every day we communicate with cultural and artistic figures who, on their cultural front, tirelessly tell the whole world about life in Ukraine during the war, and actually about the war itself.
I saw on your Facebook page that you and the Suspilne team had a great opportunity to go to Sweden, Stockholm, and during this business trip you met a lot of cool people and saw a lot of things. Can you describe what you remember most from that trip? What did you see? Maybe they asked you about the war, Ukraine?
The camerawoman and I went to Stockholm. It was my first experience of a foreign business trip, thanks to the support of a colleague, for whom it wasn’t the first one.Therefore, yes, we boldly and confidently told everyone about Ukraine, and also asked what they know about what is happening in our country now. It’s extremely difficult to single out what was most memorable from the trip, because every moment is a separate story that converges to one thing — Ukraine, war, support, friends, home. It was nice to meet representatives of different countries (continents), in particular, human rights defenders from Uganda, Somalia and Venezuela. They told us about their problems and ways to solve them. It was also nice and highly informative to talk with the organizers of the award. It was interesting to find out through which prism they see the war in Ukraine, life in Ukraine. No less impressive was the fact that Ukrainian flags were flying in Stockholm, but it was not the flags that surprised, but the responses of the locals. Everyone knew that a Ukrainian flag was hanging on this or that building, and clearly explained why it was there. To the question: “Do you know which country’s flag this is and why it is hanging here?” we heard: “This is the flag of Ukraine. It is here as a sign of support for the Ukrainian people. We know about the war in Ukraine and sympathize with Ukrainians.”
Even on the way to Stockholm, the taxi driver told us that he knows about Ukraine and all the events that are happening. In general, it is worth concluding that, in general, our information work is at a high level, but it’ll always be insufficient. After all, “Ukraine” should be heard every moment, in every corner, in every news. No one has the right to get used to war! We must not get used to war. War is not “stepping out of the comfort zone”, war is death, pain and fear, we must end it once and for all.
What was the general situation in your city during this war, were there any missile attacks, especially at the very beginning? What is the current situation in your area?
I was with my parents in Cherkasy region, I flew to Uman (30 km away) and to neighboring villages, which are much closer. However, now, there are no critical infrastructures, there are no flights. Parents live according to the yellow/green schedule of outage. There is always water, fortunately. But since I live in Kyiv, I just don’t see the point in listing how many hours I have no electricity or water. There is no stability, but it’s not terrible, it’s not critical for me personally, because it’s not a complete blackout, and it’s not the russian federation.
Has your vision changed after February 24? I think that events of such a scale must change something psychologically in people, do you observe it yourself?
Undoubtedly, views have changed. Things that used to make sense have now lost them, and things that she didn’t pay attention to before have risen in value. First of all, life itself made sense, the understanding that you are not eternal, and every day is a lottery became important. So why waste your possibly last day on unnecessary work? Despite this, I learned to set the right goals and plan. Unfortunately, there are no long-term plans yet, but even so, I definitely have more sense of life and survival today. Both work and personal life have changed substantially. This period opened the eyes of most people, there was simply a total “cleansing”, as it turned out now, of conditional friends, loved ones and relatives. Many changes have taken place, but not all of them are negative, many positive ones can be singled out. In particular, confidence, lack of fear of changing something. We will definitely not be the same as yesterday, we change every day. It’s a pity that mental health is already mutilated forever.
Recently, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who heads our Armed Forces, said in an interview with The Economist that he considers a new potential Russian attack on Kyiv as very likely, and that the Russians are now actively training new people for this, having already gathered 200,000 of them. What is your personal assumption about the course of these events?
I believe it’s an exaggeration. February 24, 2022 will definitely not happen, and if the alleged attack happens, it will be a completely different scenario. Let’s start with the fact that the Ukrainian people and the army have become 1000 times stronger, this is not only about morale, but also about weapons. Well, the Western partners won`t wait for “us to be occupied”, they will help somehow.
What do you do in your spare time?
I prepare breakfasts, photograph them; I do exercises, stretches (I didn’t do this before, so this is my modest achievement); I read books, watch movies; I take care of indoor plants; I keep quiet, resting from people.
What are your goals for 2023, what would you like to achieve most personally?
1) improve my English level to B2 (now it’s just A2, and I think it should be better);
2) read three to four books a month (because now the maximum is two and a half);
3) go on more than one foreign business trip;
4) get a driver’s license (I passed the theory, the rest is practice);
5) plant a few more flower pots;
6) and definitely develop in my profession (I won’t put it first, because placement makes no sense, this is my primary task — constant development).
Translator: Bohdana-Nikolietta Terekhina
