Thoughts from Kyiv 

Contributed by Professor Mychailo Wynnyckyj in Kyiv. He and his family are in hiding, writing and fighting from a safe(r) house outside Kyiv – Yesterday’s bombing of the maternity hospital in Mariupol was a turning point. Too many emotions. Too much evil. So much determination. This has to be the last time!

My wife and I have four children. Our house (dacha) has now become shelter to two other families, so children are everywhere. Our youngest guest is 14 months old. She is truly beautiful.

How many children will not be born because of this evil war? How many mothers will raise their young without fathers? How many children will die?

How many times in our history has that question been asked? And each time, we survive.

The window I am facing looks out at the rolling hills of Kyiv oblast. Just a dusting of snow. Soon the storks will return and the cherry trees will bloom.

This land has buried more dead in war and terror than any other. Mongols, Tsars, Holodomor, World War II… Bodies. Dead. Killed. Children unborn. Perhaps that is why the earth is so black.

The terrors and wars that Ukrainians have faced throughout our history have scattered us throughout the world. We are a global nation.

But wherever Ukrainians live, they have a home. It is here. That must never change.

Yesterday was the birthday of Taras Shevchenko – Ukraine’s national poet. Shevchenko’s figure has been recreated in 1300 monuments throughout the world. Shevchenko represents what we were and what we’ve become: serfs who gained freedom. He lived here. He is buried here. Home.

Yesterday, my friend and former student posted a call to our ancestors: simple men and women who farmed this land on which we walk, who once drank the water which now gives us life, who breathed the air of freedom that transcends our genes… You, the Cossacks of our past! We pray for your help and guidance. We ask for your strength in our battle against the evil that has attacked that which is most sacred: our unborn children and the mothers who carry them.

I write these words in English because I want the world to hear: we are dying! Death and destruction are falling from the sky, launched by Evil. Close the sky!!!

We will survive (yet again). Because this nation is invincible. But why must it always be accompanied by so much sacrifice? Why must our children die?

Why is the earth around Kyiv so black?

If you are interested in following very well written snap shots from the ground in Ukraine please check out Mike’s facebook account and share. https://www.facebook.com/mychailo.wynnyckyj

TwitterGoogle+FacebookLinkedInDiggStumbleUponBlogger PostDeliciousShare

Other News

broken-christmas-tree

Hello Holiday Readers

How many holiday editions is this now?? Twelve to be precise. The last two, amid pandemics, have been interesting. We did the giving guide last year, and this year did not get the content or … [Read More...]

cabbagetown-business-survival

Will Our Small Businesses Survive?

Contributed by Anita Bostok. As Cabbagetown residents, we know full well the advantages of downtown living. We walk down the street, and everything we need is at our fingertips. But we can’t take it … [Read More...]

don-valey-art-show

DVAC Holiday Show and Sale:

The show remains open at the Papermill Gallery until Sunday, November 20th at 4pm We are excited to be back in our favourite haunt, the Papermill Gallery at Todmorden Mills for this year’s Holiday … [Read More...]

caroline-murphy-web

Thanks a billion for your support

Thank you to my fellow candidates and you , as residents, for your commitment to the election process and being engaged. It is people like you who give me hope for all we can accomplish together and … [Read More...]

getting-to-know-you-

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood of beauty, heritage, cultural diversity and inclusion. We are Anita Bostok and Norman Hathaway and we’re proud to contribute this regular feature where you get to know … [Read More...]

CarolineMurphy-Advert

CAROLINE MURPHY

“We can do better” - Candidate for City Councillor Ward 13 - Toronto - Center Caroline Murphy In September, I wrote about why I was running to be your City Councillor for Ward 13 and since then, I … [Read More...]

Photo credits Marion Voysey

My Betty White

My Betty White Photo credits Marion Voysey Betty White– is a visual artist, living and working in downtown Toronto. Born in the US, Betty studied painting and, for a period, paper making, in a … [Read More...]

lavenue-restaurant-cabbagetown

Elora L’Avenue

Contributed by Anita Bostok - After a soft opening last summer, L’Avenue restaurant at 583 Parliament Street is now creating quite a buzz. Taking inspiration from the chic cafes and brasseries she … [Read More...]