By Eva Borsuk

NEW YORK, March 12 - With a Tryzub around his neck, armed with a computer, figure skater and Director Matej Silecky is fighting for Ukraine.

Matej was born in Verona, New Jersey to a Ukrainian father and American mother. Raised between New Jersey and Kyiv, Matej represented both countries in his skating career.

A proud Ukrainian-American, Matej often faced discrimination for his roots.

Silecky recalls an instance at the University of California Berkeley when a professor rejected a paper he wrote about Russian and Soviet history because he cited Orest Subtelny, a Harvard educated Ukrainian-Canadian historian and respected academic. The Professor said Subtelny was not a credible source, “because he’s Ukrainian.”

Matej did not let this experience discourage him, and instead used it to create a documentary film that tells the story of World War II as experienced by Ukrainian children.

The film, Baba Babee Skazala: Grandmother told Grandmother, has won several awards internationally and just recently became a PBS Learning Media Resource.

Now, to support Ukraine, Matej has taught himself coding and created the Kozak Foxever NFT. Kozak Foxever can be minted using the Solana blockchain, and net proceeds will be donated to the Ukrainian World Congress. If all of the NFTs are minted, $25,000 will be donated to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

As for post-war plans, Matej hopes to return to his beloved Kyiv, and rebuild Ukrainian figure skating. “Our people are incredibly talented. I think skating and dance is in their DNA. There’s a lot of potential, and I think we can build something beautiful.” He has not ruled out a return to competitive figure skating for himself either.

When asked what Ukraine means to him, Matej says it’s home. When asked what it means to be Ukrainian, Matej says it means to help people. To be kind. To be passionate. To have a sense of justice. To be fiercely loyal. And brave. Very, very brave. (eb/ez)