There aren’t even pharmacies anymore
WIf you happened to come to Kiev as an alien, you probably wouldn’t even notice that there was a war going on here. The city is quite busy, there are a lot of people moving around, there are traffic jams. But air raid sirens and shelling remind us that there is war. And people are constantly discussing the war. In the subway you can see that almost everyone is reading the news from the front on their smartphone. It is clear to everyone that the war will last a long time and it is our job to persevere, be strong and help.
My friends are mostly fine. But this does not apply to my family in the occupied territory in the south. Recently my grandmother became ill and it was terrible. The Russians have destroyed all infrastructure outside of the major cities. According to my mother, the local people no longer have access to health care, there are no ambulances and not even pharmacies. The Russians have replaced the cell phone network and it is really difficult to call anywhere because the network works very poorly. Many seniors die from minor illnesses because they cannot reach a hospital or cannot get the simplest tablets. Luckily, my mother was able to visit my grandparents and help them.
I work, sometimes go to the gym and try to donate to help the boys on the front lines. All my thoughts revolve around the family in the occupied zone and during the war. Overall, my life looks the same as it has for the past two years.
Nikita, 27, years, Kiev
afraid of the future
The last year was crazy. I lived a life between constant power outages and shaking nights in a bomb shelter on the one hand. On the other hand, I toured Europe, I DJed at my favorite festivals and clubs in Kiev – and fell in love. All this is only possible because the Ukrainian army defends us at the front.
Over the past two years, the world has failed to find an adequate response to Russian aggression. Actually, she should have given it much earlier, because history shows us that hesitation usually leads to worse results. Our people continue to fight in very difficult conditions and give their lives for the freedom of the democratic world. We need much more support from the countries that promised we would stay safe if we gave up our nuclear weapons.
This text comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
To be honest, it’s a bit difficult to answer how I’m feeling right now. The last two years have been stressful. At the beginning of the war I fled from Kiev to the Netherlands, then to Berlin, and now I have been living in Kiev again for almost nine months. And politically and militarily things are also turbulent. I felt like I needed a break and am currently on a short vacation in the Ukrainian Carpathians.
Through my work as an artist and DJ, I continue to travel around Europe a lot and also play gigs in Berlin, for example. Last week we completed a four-month educational project that we organized with a feminist artist collective and a Kiev club. Now I’m trying to work on my upcoming EP. I am afraid of the future. It doesn’t look rosy. To survive, it is better to remain optimistic. But that’s difficult.
Margareta, 24 years old, Kyiv
Halfway under control
I have recently been working as a student assistant at the professorship for political science at the University of Giessen. After many months of standstill, this is a huge success for me. Exactly how I will continue my master’s degree in political science at the University of Giessen is still uncertain, because I skipped a lot due to the circumstances. I hope I can now manage to go regularly and integrate myself into the academic space. I’m feeling much better than in the past few months, it feels like I’ve got my life back on track. My everyday life is characterized by small joys such as meeting friends, going to university and doing yoga. I’m enjoying all of this a lot more since the therapy I started in the fall.
Wlad, at an event in Berlin this week
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Image: private
My mother has provisionally been accepted for training as a dental assistant in Marburg. There are still some bureaucratic things to sort out, but we are both very determined to get this sorted out as quickly as possible. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the story of the move of my mother and my 14-year-old sister from Saxony to Hesse, which has been going on for a long time, will hopefully come to an end. Then we’ll be together again.
My friends and family in Ukraine are currently doing well given the circumstances. However, many say that their mental health has been severely compromised, which is completely understandable. My father is also doing well, as he is still at the front and a rotation would help him enormously.
I have a lot planned for this year. I’m looking for a new shared apartment, a job in a café – and I want to meet new people. Less political theory work and more social engagement – not just to brighten up my CV, but to fill the gaps in my knowledge and life with content.
Wlad, 22 years old, Giessen
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