By Miftaudeen Raji
Famous Ukrainian-African dancer and choreographer Adelina Deli said Russia has fully taken to violence instead of diplomacy.
Deli made this assertion while sharing her story and the agonizing experiences the Russian-Ukraine war has left her family with, as well as the impact of the long-running war on the African continent.
Amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Deli received a call from her father from the Republic of the Congo.
Shaken by Russia’s violence and worried about his daughter’s home country, first time in 20 years the man offered his help.
Back in Ukraine, Adelina Deli and her husband were grieving their family members.
“It was March, the Dnieper River was very cold, the boat capsized and they died. Nothing can take away this pain. Pain for innocent adults and especially children,” said Deli, referring to her husband’s little brother and grandmother who died when they tried to escape the shelling.
“I would not wish this to an enemy. War is the worst thing in the world that causes the suffering of millions. It’s above any personal conflict or differences between people. Suffering and will for survival unite people of all races and nationalities, no matter what their outlooks on life are.”
Since the first phone call back in February, Adelina Deli has kept in touch with her family in Africa, including her father she has never met in real life before.
Adelina Deli was born in Kyiv, to a mother from Zhytomyr, about 120 kilometers away from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, and grandparents from the Donetsk region, the Eastern part of Ukraine occupied by Russia since 2014. As long as she remembers herself, she has been passionate about dancing, carving her way through various dance schools.
Two times “Dancing with the Stars” in Ukraine participant, Deli has also been a choreographer for the Azerbaijani team at Eurovision 2021. Working with various Ukrainian artists, she has appeared on many international stages, including Portugal, Estonia, Spain, Dubai, Cyprus, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Egypt, and has been filmed in a large number of clips.
And all that by the age of 21.
For the last five years, she has been working with the leading Ukrainian female singer NK, performing on shows across the globe. Deli believes her success has a reason, well-rooted in her DNA – she feels grateful to her father and her African roots for creativity, a sense of rhythm, and a rare talent for dancing.
Growing up as an Afro-Ukrainian Adelina Deli has never been discriminated against, instead, she felt appreciated and was able to build a successful career.
“Ukraine is a diverse nation where people speak different languages, and have different political beliefs or faith. And that’s what makes this country strong. It opens doors to diversity, whether in culture, race, religion, or background. Ukrainians are not just white-skinned, they are people of any skin color, who are committed to forming meaningful relationships with each other.
Ukrainians are not trying to build a “pure” nation with only white people. Growing up as a black-skinned person in Ukraine, I’ve never felt discriminated against. My roots have actually helped me become who I am today.”
When talking about Africa, Deli mentioned malnourished children and a high poverty rate and said she wants to use her talent to raise awareness of the need to solve these problems.
“I’d love to have a name and the platform to talk about starving children in Africa. I also aspire to have finances myself to contribute to helping them. Maybe if I become a Goodwill Ambassador. If God rewards me and this happens, I will be very happy, because there is nothing more important in life than to bring love and kindness to the world and those in need. Especially, when you have a voice and a platform to do so, then it becomes your responsibility.
“It’s important to spread the truth about how African children are starving – and it’s equally important to let the world know that Ukrainian children are suffering too. So many of them have lost their parents, homes, and even access to education due to the war.
“They’ve been deprived of healthcare, support, and protection and become vulnerable to various crimes. If we want our rights to be ensured, we should protect the rights of others. And to do it not just at home, but wherever it’s necessary, whether it’s Ukraine, Africa, Europe, or elsewhere. We could only fight authoritarianism if we resist its practice everywhere in the world.”
Deli said in Africa many remain neutral or supportive of the war – something she finds difficult to understand.
“For Africans and people with African roots skin color acts as a unifier. That’s how we find “brothers and sisters” wherever we go. We approach people, even if we don’t know them personally, and start a conversation. And then you immediately become close. That’s what happened with me and my father – we still found each other, despite difficulties and many kilometers between us. So, I don’t understand, if Africans see that their “brothers and sisters” are suffering in Ukraine, why do they choose to turn their backs? Or even worth – support the full-scale invasion.”
Deli said being neutral also serves the aggressors and breaches global security. Oppressors only become stronger if more countries claim neutrality in the face of injustice such as the war in Ukraine, instead of supporting the country fighting for its independence.
“No one person’s suffering is more or less worthy than another’s. And why would Africans turn a blind eye to Ukraine which has always contributed to the maintenance of peace on the African continent? Today Ukraine is at anticolonial war against the Russian empire and if the aggressor is not stopped on time, any other place, including Africa, could be at risk,” Deli warns.
She thinks Russian propaganda in Africa plays a part here and asks African people to filter information as much as they can. Because through fake news Russia is spreading its own, absurd narratives.
“Something like – “Ukraine does not want peace, otherwise, it would give up territories”. Does it seem fair just to grant the aggressor any kind of concessions on the cost of the colony? Who but African people can understand better the absurdity of this idea? And when we see that Russia has chosen violence over diplomacy, to an extent that has not happened in Europe since WWII.
Deli has far-reaching career plans for the next 10 years. She wants to devote most of her time to dancing and modeling, focusing on self-realization and self-development. She wants to try new things, such as organizing events or even singing. But most importantly, she wants to promote Ukraine and Nigeria all over the world.
“My goal is to show how much Ukrainians can give to the world – they are diverse and talented, with rich culture and history. I thrive to achieve that through my work. And plan to devote my whole career to this.”
Her plans also include cooperation with colleagues in Africa and other continents. She said, unfortunately, at the moment, she does not have any connections in her industry with Africa, but she is eager to fix this!
“It would be a very cool experience for me. Ukrainians are very talented and creative musicians. And Afro-Ukrainians could bring to Africa the Ukrainian culture and vice versa. The result would be an exchange of talent and a solid basis for future cooperation. It would further build bridges between countries.”
Now Adelina’s successful career has been put on pause when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022. Life for millions of Ukrainians was changed in a matter of a day. Deli’s workload has been reduced by 90% because like all the other sectors of the country, culture has been affected as well. Many artists have gone to fight on the frontlines, some have died, while others turned their efforts to charity and joined the resistance movement through their works. Amid the war, culture helps not only gather necessary funds but keep the fighting spirit high and spread the message of resistance worldwide.
The famous Ukrainian song, “Oh, red viburnum” («Ой у лузі червона калина») is a perfect example. The song has been played not only by Ukrainian performers, but groups like Pink Floyd and a well-known South African DJ The Kiffness whose video has more than 13M views on YouTube. Adelina Deli danced to the song at NK’s charity concert in Spain, to gather donations for drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“The strongest feeling is when you stand on the stage in Spain, in a foreign country, and Ukrainians gather in the hall holding the flags of your country when your artist sings “Oh, red viburnum” and the whole hall is crying,” she said. For Deli it’s just the beginning of her charity work because she plans to promote and participate in many more events.
“Moments like these help me believe that Ukraine is winning against the aggressor who has caused the suffering of millions. I believe that when someone is in trouble, all people must come together to defeat this evil. Ukraine needs help and every penny, every voice counts!”
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