Authors

Kateryna Rudenko¹;  ¹ Dalhousie University, Canada

Discussion

The white stork, Ciconia ciconia, transcends the boundaries of the real and the imagined, becoming a profound symbol across many cultures along its far-reaching migration route. From Europe to North Africa, where it spends the winter, the white stork is welcomed as a sacred messenger in every place it visits. In Ukraine, it is believed to symbolize love, happiness, and prosperity, and its nests are often found in rural areas atop telegraph poles, streetlights, and electricity pylons. I recall the white storks frequently visiting our field back home in Ukraine. One day, when I got too close, one of them slowly flapped its massive wings and, with great force, lifted its body into the air. A feather, as long as my forearm, drifted down slowly, and I caught it. I kept it for years, but when war forced me to flee, it became one of those impractical things I could not take with me. My autoethnographic research explores my experiences as a Ukrainian graduate student abroad during Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which forced me to flee and resulted in the loss of my home and familial gardens. I specifically examine the sense of belonging to the land from afar, reflecting on how distance influences my connection to the land and studying the home landscapes of my imagination. The findings show that the white stork traverses the migrant's liminal space because of the strong connection between the sacred bird and the previous life. Characterized by half-immersion into the imagined, liminal space has a creative function of re-establishing the sense of self abroad in the face of disruption. While nostalgia and grief may cause mental and emotional exhaustion, confronting them through personal reflection or continuing cultural practice can lead to acceptance and healing. Thus, my reverence for the white stork guides me through the ambivalence of life abroad and building a relationship with the new land.