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I have been traveling around Ukraine for more than 10 months with "On the Rift" exhibition, while talking with Ukrainians about the changes in the life of the civilian population after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Lysychansk, Sloviansk, Dnipro, Cherkasy are just a few cities from the extensive geography of the exhibition's presentations. Some of the journeys between the cities took more than five hours, allowing me to hear what the views of Ukrainians about the war and how they are going through the severe changes that has affected their lives. I am going to describe the dialogues with Ihor from Kramatorsk and Mykola from Cherkasy, who have become a role models of drivers with whom I managed to talk frankly, while travelling.
The discussion usually started with the questions: "What are you carrying?", "How is your work?" Only after an hour's journey, which is interesting, the drivers dared to ask about the cargo - what the exhibition was about, why about Donbas. It caused further reflections on the war; sometimes it was strange how they could share similar ideas about the conflict.
“I had one friend, who had been at war in the beginning. He was on Ukrainian side. He said that he did not understand at all who was fighting whom. They earn money, you know, this is the whole point,” - shared his thoughts Ihor from Sloviansk, Donetsk region, .
“What do you want - look at them [authorities]. They earn money, trade goes on, and they push a bunch of young boys to die... for what? This war is just a curtain that covers somebody`s business,” - said Mykola from Cherkasy.
The drivers shared more and more thoughts kilometer by kilometer. After they heard that the stands depicted human stories, they started telling about their "rifts" that arose as a result of the war.
“I have nothing against Ukraine, but also against “DPR”. There are my relatives, for example, those who live in Makiivka at the moment ... they hate Ukraine. They say they will never return because Ukrainians have killed several of their friends. And I understand them,” - said Ihor.
Ihor was not into the topic of the war. It is another conspiracy of the elites, he believes, carried out with the aim of "genocide" of the Ukrainian people. He had repeatedly stressed that he loved Ukraine for its beauty, but did not hide his sympathy for Russia.
- Do you think we will win?
- Actually, I do not care whether there will be "DPR" or Ukraine. The main thing, you understand, is to live wihtout war. These breakdowns, econommy falls, nobody needs this.
- But Russia attacked us.
- I would understand If it was Poland, Germany ... Then I would have taken the machine gun myself, we would have them ..! But Russia, we were together in the Union. What kind of war is this, how could it happen? I don’t understand.
The one might think it was a 50 or 60 year old man who said it, but no. Ihor was only 35. I learned this from a scan of his passport, which the company sent me by email a few days before the trip.
In contrast, Mykola was an active volunteer and organized the delivery of supplies for the military when the active phase of the war began in the Donetsk region. He is against "DPR" and believes that the people who remained there "need to be isolated." I heard this opinion after the presentations of the exhibition. Despite his volunteer experience, Mykola himself was nostalgic for the discipline of Soviet times: “We had the order - as soon as you went against people, you would have the execution”.
It would seem strange how a volunteer, a person who helped to fight for the country's independence, can combine such opposites? As it turned out, Mykola is deeply disappointed by the lack of changes after 2014. “You see, I had hopes that in 2014 we would make reforms and get on our feet. Now what? I can't even be an example for my son; I bring nothing to my family. They continue to steal everything. "
The driver Ihor also spoke about his trip to ORLO in 2018. It seemed that he himself did not believe how close the region was to decline.
“I went there on a minibus between one village and Alchevsk. The fare for a ride in a bus is six rubles, do you believe! You ride on something that does not look like a bus, there is a hole in the floor, you can see how the gimbal rotates."
Ihor voiced new memories kilometer by kilometer. He tried to stick to his own, slightly sarcastic manner of speaking, although it was easy to notice his regret for the total devastation of his homeland.
“One guy, I knew him before, guarded a steel plant. Well, his salary is now 1,500 rubles. Two children, wife. I asked him how he survives. And he answered that my father was a former miner, he received a pension from "DPR" and Ukraine. They saod, it helped them to make ends meet. Well, I started laughing and said that your father was feeding you, not helping!"
It was Igor who turned out to be the one who was lucky to see the cargo with his own eyes. At one point, it seemed that surprise, disbelief and enlightenment were strangely combined in his eyes.
“You know, I didn't even think that this could be like that. These people have gone through very big troubles, ”the driver said after watching several stories about illegal imprisonment and the severing of family ties.
“Good luck with your work,” he said with a smile and drove along the barely snow-covered road back to Kramatorsk.
***
It was an opportunity to gather "vox populi" and to freely communicate about the war and its perception of ordinary citizens who were suddenly caught by uncertainty and hostilities. Everyday conversations with Ukrainians have shown that work on informing and developing a culture of dialogue about the war should overcome stereotypical, and sometimes inspired by Russian propaganda ideas about the war in Donbas. There is a lack of communication among people themselves since many borrowed cliché phrases from television or online resources.
Sometimes it seems that we live in a society of untold stories as everyone is trying to live in their own virtual bubble and to protect themselves from information with a completely different point of view or additional contact with reality. A reality, where the citizens of Ukraine have been fighting for freedom for the sixth year, for the right to be heard, for the right to dignity. Living in a war requires empathy and understanding, a currency that cannot be bought in an exchange office, a shopping center, that cannot be seen on a TV screen. We should hope that the number of platforms for dialogue and understanding will frow in numbers; sometimes you need to find time and immerse yourself in silence in order to hear and understand the “other” who actually lives next to you.
Заглавное фото: frg-law.com
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On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders presented the publication "City, where the war had started" about...
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders presented the publication "City, where the war had started" about human rights violations that took place during the occupation of Sloviansk from April 12, 2014 to July 5, 2014. The presentation was attended by former detainees and victims of the war in the Donbas, IDPs, media and representatives of the cultural sphere.
The speakers of the presentation were:
The seizure of Sloviansk by illegal armed formations was possible due to the inaction of local authorities and local law enforcement agencies. “Our task as human rights defenders is to remind the public about the crimes and the persons responsible for them. We cannot but say that the local authorities were not responsible for the events of 2014 in the city. Unfortunately, we do not see any progress in the investigations. Moreover, some of the politicians, who participated in the events of the "Russian spring", are aiming for the positions in local power," - stressed Anton Udovenko.
Andrii Moskalenko spoke about the functioning of illegal prisons and human trafficking during the occupation of the city. "Civilians were very often transferred between illegal groups that forced detainees to dig trenches during shelling. In fact, people turned into some kind of goods," - said the lawyer. "We also worked on the part about mining and, I must note, the illegal formations mined virtually everything in Sloviansk: schools, the city council, the building of the SBU, thereby endangering the lives of innocent people."
Hanna Kurovska worked on a section about children and adolescents and their experience during the occupation of the city. She also mentioned the cases of involving minors in illegal armed groups. "Therefore, the upbringing of children needs special attention. Unfortunately, many respondents noted the intensified militarization of young people, which took place during the occupation of the city and is ongoing in the self-proclaimed republics."
"Everyone`s story is special, and our task is to preserve it and present to the public in order to rethink the traumatic experience that innocent people went through in 2014," - said Maria Biliakova. "In the process of documenting, we saw several ways how people can work on reconciliation. The basis for it is the ability to listen to the opinion of another, grassroots initiatives and respect for human life and dignity. That is why the volunteers had a high level of trust right after the release of the city".
Former prisoner of the "DPR" Iryna Boiko testified during the presentation about what she saw while being held in one of the illegal prisons. "The locals were thrown into the basement for 15 days. They said either you pay a huge "fine", or you join us, or we will kill you. And, of course, many went to illegal formations in order to survive. And I have to say that these people deserve to be forgiven ", - said Iryna Boiko. "I also saw many children, these were teenagers of 14-17 years old, who settled at the prosecutor's office. I heard how they were brainwashed. It was a very strong pressure on the child's psyche".
Facebook translation of the event: https://www.facebook.com/jfp.org/videos/1030542370717977/
The publication "City, where the war had started" was prepared by the Eastern Ukrainian Center of Civic Initiatives, the CF "Vostok SOS", the Human Rights Center for Public Research, Moloda Prosvita Prykarpattya, the Public Committee for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Citizens, which are members of the Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbass ”, supported by Kurve Wustrow - Center for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action within the framework of the Civil Peace Service program funded by the German Federal Government.
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders will present the publication "City, where the war had started" ab...
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders will present the publication "City, where the war had started" about human rights violations that took place during the occupation of Sloviansk from April 12, 2014 to July 5, 2014.
Sloviansk became not just a city where the war in the East of Ukraine had begun - the events in the city became a role model for seizure of other cities of Donbas. During the presentation, human rights defenders will discuss civilians survived and adapted to life under occupation, the activities of illegal armed formations controlled by the Russian Federation, and the direct commander Igor Girkin; persecution of residents for their religious beliefs; involvement of minors in illegal armed groups; problems of shelling and mining of civilian infrastructure. Also, the authors of the publication will highlight the issue of pro-Russian propaganda in the city and the problem of finding ways of reconciliation in society after the restoration of government control over Sloviansk.
The Coalition members are going to explain why the experience of Sloviansk is so important for understanding the war and reconciliation processes in the East of Ukraine:
The presentation will be broadcasted on the page of Coalition "Justice for Peace in Donbas".
For any questions regarding organization, please contact Iryna Boiko: +380503051284.
The event will be organized in compliance with all anti-epidemic recommendations of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The publication "City, where the war had started" was prepared by the Eastern Ukrainian Center of Civic Initiatives, the CF "Vostok SOS", the Human Rights Center for Public Research, Moloda Prosvita Prykarpattya, the Public Committee for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Citizens, which are members of the Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbass ”, supported by Kurve Wustrow - Center for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action within the framework of the Civil Peace Service program funded by the German Federal Government.
Interactive exhibition of testimonies "On the Rift" about the violation of rights of civilians during the war in Donbas was presente...
Interactive exhibition of testimonies "On the Rift" about the violation of rights of civilians during the war in Donbas was presented to public on September 17 at 15:00 in the Regional Universal Scientific Library in Khmelnytsky. It is the 12th city where the exhibition is being shown. Among the guests of the presentation were representatives of public organizations, former detainess and witnesses of the war from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, volunteers, and representatives of culture and media.
"On the Rift" reveals the essence of the changes that the civilian population faced in 2014 on 14 stands, and 5 of the are interactive. The last stand "What do we have in common?" works also as an interactive review book, where the viewer has the opportunity to leave a comment about the exhibition.
"We chose the name "On the Rift" because it clearly shows the irreversibility of changes that have taken place in people's lives because of the chaos created by "L / DPR" illegal formations. Key themes are human fear, family separation, atomization of society, uncertainty, despair, horror experienced by prisoners, sexual and gender-based violence in illegal prisons in Donbas. We demonstrate thorough research the answers to the questions: “When have the war started?”, “What is restoration of justice for you?", - noted Anton Udovenko, project manager of the Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives.
The exhibition "On the Rift" was also created as a discussion platform for discussing the problems of war victims. “We can once again be convinced that art can serve as a tool for change when there is strong polarization in society. Thanks to the testimonies of these people who are mentioned in the exhibition, we can feel their stories and understand the severity of the challenges they have faced because of war. This is an exhibition of empathy. It shows that it is worth learning to understand each other in order to prevent events like in 2014," - said Olga Bauer, head of the NGO "Eco-Culture," local co-organizer of the exhibition.
Former prisoners and witnesses of hostilities in the East of Ukraine also had the opportunity to speak: Halyna Haiova, who was a prisoner of the illegal prison "Izolyatsia" for 16 months, and Kateryna Kramskova, an IDP and the wife of a militaryman who witnessed the seizure of Luhansk.
During the presentation, between the participants arose a discussion regarding the vision of reintegration of the occupied territories. Some of those present underlines impossibility of reintagration in the future.
"How could you say that we need to clear that territory? People live there, it is devoid of respect for them", - noted Ivan, a former resident of Luhansk.
"There are still people in Luhansk, who support Ukraine. They hung yellow and blue T-shirts alongside on Flag Day to show their position. Don't forget about it", - noted Anastasia, also a former resident of Luhansk, head of the local Center for Tolerance.
Facebook translation of the event: https://www.facebook.com/jfp.org/videos/338672117469868
The presentation and creation of the exhibition "On the Rift" was possible within the framework of the project "Empowering Civil Society to Transform the Culture of Memory - Nonviolent Ways to Resolve the Cruel Past of Donbas", implemented by public organizations Kurve Wustrow (Germany) and Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives (Ukraine) together with NGO "Eco-Culture" and partners supported by the German Federal Government.
The Secretariat of the Coalition «Justice for Peace in Donbas»
