Irina works as a receptionist in Zhytomyr. She is divorced but she has a daughter who is twenty years old. She would like to live in the Czech Republic for a longer stretch of time but she needs to pass a Czech exam in order she could apply for a permanent residence. For this reason, she goes on language study trips.
Nina KOPEČKOVÁ (74)
Nina takes care of a small farm in the village Malinovka situated near Chernobyl. She lives with her son and hopes that she will not have to go back to her “old country” one day, like her daughters, who seized the opportunity after the Chernobyl disaster. She is afraid of war and hopes that the Czech government will help in the case of need.
Míla DENYSUK (66)
Mila likes to sing. She sang in an Orthodox Church, as well as in the Czech church in Krosno, which is a part of Zhytomyr. Her grandmother was brought from Bohemia, when she was one year old. She would like to return to the Czech Republic but she does not know how. She does not have much money and lives alone as a widow in one room. She visits folk festivals often.
Raisa STOLAREVIČ (77)
Raisa remembers the time when the Czechs were about to return to their homeland in 1947. Her husband was a war veteran and he boasted of many honours. Her father was killed fighting under the Russian army. She has a daughter Svetlana, who lives in Germany, and helps her to survive with a small pension. She longs for the Czech Republic and often talks about how beautiful Prague is.
Vladimír Čech (61)
Vladimir knows that if there were no Czech Legions, there would be no Czechoslovakia. His great-grandfather came from Moravia. He himself lives in Malín village, which experienced wartime massacres when it was razed to the ground by the German troups.
Stanislav SLÁMA
He is the main soul of a music group in which he plays harmonica and writes songs in Czech, Polish and Ukrainian. He does not think about going back to the Czech Republic. He looks after his wife’s sister and teaches at a technical school in Zhytomyr. Earlier he worked as an aircraft mechanic. He is the living memory of Volhynian Czechs.
Vita MARKOVÁ (35)
Vita works in a bank in Zhytomyr. Her brother Ivan is a school inspector. She has two children and she wishes there was no war. She is not going back to the Czech Republic since she is rebuilding her apartment. Her parents live in Malinovka, a village in which there is far less Czechs than before the Chernobyl disaster.