Easter one year on


My memory is of the food tent we were working in last year. Easter, the Ukrainian one, as today. Thousands of people passing through the food tent with little knowledge of what the future might hold for them. In other circumstances it could be you or me.
At one point a young girl got up and played the Ukrainian national anthem. A solo violin. First a quiet voice joined in from the tent. People stood up, shushing people around them. More people joined in. It was not a raucous singing of a national anthem, but one filled with much sorrow. Still, it felt a moment of defiance. 
Here, one year later, for many that defiance goes on. But in the central square in Lviv, new pictures of young men, killed before their time, bring home the enormity of their sacrifice. 

And this hope and sacrifice were heard in a church we entered, celebrating Easter. A priest incantating phrases and songs, with the congregation and choir responding in beautiful harmony. Most of the music in minor keys, if I'm not mistaken. The whole of the service was sung. I was so moved by this. A church packed to the rafters. An Easter in Ukraine. One year on.

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