Report from a Ukraine Friend

It’s no secret— especially to writers— that the invitation to organize the whirlwind of fleeting thoughts and line them up into some sense of orderly coherence is precisely what brings me back day after day to this Blogpost. But sometimes the wind is so fierce and the thoughts so unruly that there simply isn’t time to bring them into language. Especially not a language publicly shared. 

 

There is so much to say about the new traumas and insanities leashed by a man of stone wreaking havoc with his heavy shoulders of power that I can simply say nothing at the moment. Except for the realization that these images of tanks and bombs and innocent civilians sheltered or fleeing or dead in the streets is familiar to me in the long-ago-and-far-away world of World War II movies, but not something I ever imagined happening in the 21^stcentury. And certainly not to people I know personally. 

Some posts back, I shared some words from a Russian friend who confirmed that these actions were “not in her name.” The other day, I heard from a Ukranian friend and what is heartbreaking to see on the news is tripled by the personal connection. Since I don’t have the words, I’ll let her speak. Take them in, feel the pain, double your compassion and let’s keep working on all levels— financial, politically, spiritually, in the very cells of our body and blood in the heart and nerve pathways in the brain— to stop the madness. 

Unfortunately, the situation is still very difficult. Сities are being destroyed, bombs are being dropped on my city of Chernihiv. Schools, hospitals, kindergartens and houses of civilians were destroyed. Children and adults are dying. People have been sitting in cellars for 10 days already. I can't even imagine how this will affect future generations. Тhey are now children of war.

 

We could not even imagine that this is possible in the 21 century. There is no one who has not been touched by this war. Someone lost loved ones, someone lost their home, someone lost their life's work, business. I don't think my studio will be the same either. Unless, of course, it is bombed. My children were evacuated, basically. Everything stopped. 

 

At the moment I miraculously managed to leave Chernigov. And I'm going to see my son in Warsaw. There is no more music in my head. There is a siren wailing and bombs exploding... I hope I will recover and dream of a speedy end, The support of friends around the world, is very powerful. We are touched to the core! Keep us in your prayers.