She fled her country at war with her family, carrying only the bare minimum in her suitcases. Arriving in Rennes in April 2022, Lana Shchegel quickly acclimatized to her new life. Has a new language too which she continues to learn. But “a natural need” quickly made itself felt once in France. “I looked but there was no book in the Ukrainian language here, says this mother. It was frustrating because reading is a passion in my family. My daughter asked me for a story in the evening but I only had a book in French and I didn’t master the language at that time. A lack of literature that the 4,500 Ukrainian refugees welcomed since the start of the conflict in Brittany have surely also experienced.
To make up for it, a library in the Ukrainian language, “the largest in France”, has just opened its doors in the associative cultural café L’Antre-2, located rue Papu in Rennes. The initiative is carried by the association Solidarité Bretagne-Ukraine, founded in 2014 at the start of hostilities in the Donbass. Its members provide legal support to refugees, helping them with their administrative procedures. The association also organizes rallies for peace in the Breton capital and has recently undertaken cultural actions. “It’s our identity and our language that we cultivate,” says Ivanna Kushnir-Baron, president of the association. And in times of war, culture is the last bulwark against barbarism. »
“Keep a link with our country”
In addition to the cooking workshops and the choir, these Ukrainian mothers have therefore taken it into their heads to build up a stock of books to satisfy the reading desires of these adults and children displaced by the war. “It’s important to keep this link with our country and for the children to keep in touch with their mother tongue”, assures Natalina Khomenko, head of the library within the association.
In all, nearly 500 books were purchased in Ukraine, thanks in particular to the financial support of the departmental council of Ille-et-Vilaine and the Foundation of the Grand Orient of France, and transported by truck. We find in the catalog of books of the Ukrainian school program, traditional tales but also translations of great classics of literature such as Harry Potter Or The little Prince.
Barely inaugurated, the library, open every Sunday and one Wednesday a month, is however already looking for a new place. “We knew that the solution to L’Antre-2 was temporary,” says Ivanna Kushnir-Baron. We are therefore looking for a media library or a library that could accommodate us or a room. Ultimately, their dream would be to open a House of Ukraine in the Breton capital to further strengthen the ties between their country and their new adopted region.