Alina Shklyarenko turned 6 on Sept. 11, 2001. At the time,
she lived in Odessa, Ukraine. Odessa lies in the most southern region of Ukraine
that opens up to the Black sea.
Odessa, a “port city” as Alina recalled, holds just over a
million people at the moment. As Odessa’s official website states, “Odessa
economics is dominated by the establishments dealing with the sea business” and
has “the largest city port in Ukraine.”
Ukraine is sandwiched between Russia on its eastern border
and Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland on its western border. Belarus sits
on top of Ukraine. The country is “slightly smaller than the size of Texas” as
The World Factbook coins it.
Alina was excited that day. It was her birthday.
When she woke up, she checked under her pillow. On special days
like a birthday, Alina’s parents always put something under it, similar
to the American “tooth fairy” tradition. On this day, Alina awoke to find a Barbie-like doll waiting for her.
Upon finding her gift, she jumped out of bed and began to run around her room
as she remembered doing so many times in the apartment she grew up in.
Alina is the only child in the Shklyarenko family. In Odessa,
she had a “big room” all to herself in their apartment with the exception of Kesha,
her pet bird. Right outside Alina’s room was a balcony. While her view wasn’t
spectacular, Alina remembers the balcony fondly. She sometimes “messed around
with people walking below by pouring water on them” similar to the American
water balloon prank.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Alina ran into her parents’
room and jumped on their bed. It was time to start the birthday preparations.
Alina’s family liked to have two birthday celebrations. One
was intended for the adults where close family and friends come over to drink
and eat all day. The other occasion was for the “kids”, similar to a typical
American kid’s birthday party. The party for the adults happened on Sept. 11,
2001, since it was a weekday. The kids’ party was planned for the weekend.
Party preparation began for the women of the Shklyarenko
family. In Ukraine, it was considered the women’s job.
But Alina didn’t care; she liked helping her mom get ready
for the celebration.
Throughout the day, the Shklyarenko’s received “birthday
calls”, as friends of the family wished them well.
The party for the adults revolves around the meal. When
family and friends come over, the Shklyarenko’s fill their table end
to end with food. It “shows off how good our cooking is” as Alina recalled. Everything
comes out at the same time, except for desert which is saved for the end like
Americans do.
Alina and her mother focused continuously on preparing the
food for the celebration. Alina remembered having “Seledka pod Shubay”, a Ukrainian dish that’s loosely translated in
English as “fish in a fur coat”; or a salad with pickled herring. While Alina
loves the food her family makes, she always stays away from that particular
dish.
During this preparation, the Shklyarenko’s didn’t check the
news or turn the television on. If they had at 3:46 in the afternoon that day, since
Ukraine is 7 hours ahead of U.S. time, they would have heard that a plane just
crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
But they didn’t turn on the news; it was Alina’s birthday.
The Shklyarenko’s learned of the terrorist attacks in the US when
family and friends arrived for the festivities.
“Vi slishali shto proizoshlo v
Amerike?” “Did you
hear what happened in America?”, they were asked.
The Shklyarenko’s turned on the television. Alina remembers
“everyone watched intently.”
For Alina, her family and their friends, it was “crazy to
see…..a ‘world power’ getting attacked.”
They watched the television for ten minutes. Alina’s mother shut
it off. This was Alina’s day; not to be spoiled by an event so distant.
The party continued as they ate and drank throughout the
night. When the party came to an end, Alina helped her mom clean up. The World
Trade Center never crossed their minds.
The terrorist attacks in America were merely a “passing
moment” at that time.
It was not until 3 years later when Alina moved to Brookline,
Mass. that she realized her birthdate was so significant.
“No one cared about the actual date of my birthday in
Ukraine, but people noticed in America.”
In Ukraine, Sept. 11 was Alina’s day, her birthday.
In the United States, it is now a day she must recognize
along with other Americans. But it’s still Alina Shklyarenko’s birthday.
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End Notes
Interview with Alina Shklyarenko
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html
(The World Factbook, used for information on Ukraine)
http://www.odessa.ua/en/history/ (Odessa’s official webpage
used for information on Odessa)
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/chronology.attack/ (Used
to determine when towers would been hit in Ukrainian time)
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