In rural Ukraine, Olga Nenya is a foster mother to twenty orphans, among them sixteen biracial children who were abandoned by their Caucasian mothers because they represented unacceptable relations with African students in a society where 99 percent of the population (according to the 2001 Census) is white. Left in orphanages, these mixed race kids would likely have remained unadopted. The film’s opening features local neo-Nazis declaring that white people produce “imbeciles” when they mix with “subhumans” (namely, anybody who is not white) and bragging that the police let them beat up black people with impunity. One African student, describing the high level of racism to which Africans are subjected, says, “Living in Ukraine as an African is quite difficult. [Skinheads] want to harass you, anytime they see you. They see us as people who shouldn’t be here.”
Hence, this is certainly not the ideal environment for these unwanted children. Yet because Ukraine is the only place they can call home, they simply do not have a choice. They live in a village, where their neighbors do not perceive them as “100 percent Ukrainians,” though these orphans can only think of themselves as Ukrainians. Sometimes they even adopt the local racist views on Africa and Africans, as is the case with Sashka, aged fourteen. He is certainly the most patriotic one in the family. He willingly tells how much he loves his homeland, and how much he wants to live there. He even turns out to be just as prejudiced as ethnic Ukrainians, especially against Arabs and Africans. He refuses to talk to blacks on the streets, declaring, “What would I have in common with those niggers! Those foreigners come in [to our country] to sleep with our Ukrainian chicks!” Ironically, a couple of years later even Sashka admits that he is aware of the racism and is getting tired of it. He knows that people feel that he does not belong there, which is why he hopes to leave Ukraine when he turns eighteen.
With Olga, too, it seems that the children have no choice, as she is the only one who volunteered to care for them. She took them in when they were just young toddlers, and raised them as the only mother the majority of them would ever know. Julia Ivanova followed this atypical family over the course of three years and offers a very interesting portrait of their improbable matriarch. Olga is presented at first as a positive, kindhearted person who sacrifices herself to provide a home for the children, whom she calls “precious diamonds.” Then Ivanova slowly casts some shadow over her heroine. For instance, every year the children are sent to spend the summer with host families in other European countries. Over time, they establish strong ties with these second families, many of whom wish to adopt them. But Olga always refuses to sign the adoption papers. Her pretext is that she does not believe in international adoptions, that Ukraine needs these kids, and that they already have a home.
Another tragic example of Olga’s neglect or malfeasance is her treatment of Andrey, one of her foster sons who most likely has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). In Ukraine, the state does not diagnose such conditions, and instead has him enrolled in a boarding school for children with severe mental disabilities. Olga makes no attempt to get Andrey out of the institution and she simply accepts what the “system” has decided what to do with the child. When the school’s principal claims that “Andrey has inherited his temperament from his biological parents,” we can only fear for the worst. It is heartbreaking to see the emotionally devastated boy repeatedly begging Olga to take him home.
On the official website of the film (www.familyportraitthefilm.com), Ivanova explains that Olga decided to raise the mixed-race children together “so that they could support and protect each another.” But in light of the racial culture of the country, we cannot but question her motivations and judgment. Actually, it appears as if Olga is taking advantage of those children, as they take care of her farm, help with her animals, and perform their housekeeping duties. The poor children have no one else to turn to, and are emotionally and legally dependent on her. Julia Ivanova manages to track down the father of one of the orphan, a Ugandan student, who explains that he has two biological sons, Roman and Erik, both living with Olga. Yet according Ukrainian law they are not his children unless he can prove paternity with a DNA test. The test costs $5,000 per child, which he cannot afford. Consequently, the kids must stay with Olga until they turn eighteen. Thus, for those orphans, Olga may still be all they have. We are left to wonder what is worse: having a mother like Olga, or having no parent at all.
