I am a temporary migrant, I don’t break connections with my country

Oleh is 29 years old and was born in Volodymyr, a medium-sized city located in the western part of Ukraine near Poland. He speaks Ukrainian, English, Polish, a little Italian and Portuguese.

He first came to Italy, specifically to Rome, in 2016 as part of an Erasmus Program that provided semester-long study stays in different cities.

Since 2019 Oleh has been in Turin for his doctoral research on “Ancient Glass,” a study of glassmaking among the ancient Etruscans that he is conducting in collaboration with the University’s Department of Chemistry. Since this is an international research project financed by European funds, which mainly affects the northern region of Lazio and Tuscany, he attends museums and workshops scattered throughout Italy, finding himself traveling between Rome, Reggio Emilia, Bari and other places.

In Ukraine Oleh studied history at the University of Odessa, a port city near the Black Sea.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, he attended an interdisciplinary master’s degree program in Archaeological Materials Science, gaining knowledge in chemistry, physics and biology to study and “interrogate” ancient artefacts by drawing as much information as possible.

During his studies he became interested in the findings of Etruscan glass tombs; therefore, to further his research he chose Italy, which boasts a large number of archaeological sites and museums, as well as experts in the field of cultural heritage.

“Italy is a very rich field for my studies!”

“The scientific question we are asking is whether the ancient artisans produced the glass locally or whether it came from other countries, such as Egypt for example, and they just made it into objects”.

The first difficulty Oleh faced in Italy was the inability to interact with others because almost two months after his arrival, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

He did, however, try to take online courses to learn Italian, so he found it useful to have studied some Latin in the past: “When you learn a new language all the ones you know are useful!”

He views himself as lucky and is happy to be in Italy, which he considers a beautiful country and Turin a very welcoming city with lovely scenery and fantastic mountains.

Oleh is also constantly trying to develop his research in Ukraine, including the thesis of an Italian student. For this reason, he says smilingly:

“I do not consider myself a migrant, or rather I am a temporary migrant: I do not sever connections with my country”.

He makes no plans beyond the completion of his doctorate, but in any case, he hopes to return to Ukraine soon, partly to enjoy his favourite dishes such as Boršč (a beet and meat soup) and Varenikes (dumplings). At first, he felt devastated by the situation in his country; now he understands it better and has also organized fundraisers for his compatriots.

In conclusion, he really hopes that his studies and work can be appreciated by the scientific community and considered his cultural contribution to Italy.