Leaving Lviv again...

We spent a year in Lviv from June 2022, and we did some good work at the refugee centre in Striskyi Park - helping people who wanted to move to the UK with finding sponsors and learning English, and distributing fresh fruit. Eventually, we left because we felt that we would be of more value living in Odesa, taking aid and teaching in Kherson.

And now the time has come to leave Lviv again. I've done some useful work here...camouflage netting, making energy bars, including developing a less sweet recipe, as requested by soldiers, and a little English teaching.

But there's always a greater need where people experience the consequences of this brutal war directly, which is why I'm going to Kharkiv - to volunteer in the wonderful Hell's Kitchen and other projects, and maybe teach English.

Yesterday morning was the last of my English conversation groups. As usual, there was a lively and stimulating discussion, this time around improvements people would like to see in Ukraine.

Bob made a guest appearance and talked about his experience of delivering aid, particularly to Kherson, which, he says, is where his heart lies. He mentioned the corruption that he has encountered...an arbitrary speeding fine that Police said they weren't going to record, instances of valuable aid 'disappearing,' being asked if he wanted to sell the aid in his van...

All the group members had examples of bribes being expected or offered, e.g. for a driving licence or a university placement, and they want to see an end to this post-Soviet culture of corruption.

There were other desired improvements: for renovating the crumbling buildings in Lviv, for better public transport and bicycle lanes, and for a more equal society, including real, not just written, equality between men and women. It was interesting to hear that women have taken over many of the jobs that men did, now that they are away fighting, much as happened in the UK during the Second World War, which was a catalyst for change there.

We agreed that the improvements we discussed will likely take decades and will require a strong will from Ukrainians, particularly the younger generation. It was suggested that it should be part of the school curriculum for children to understand what corruption is; for example, the difference between a present and a bribe.

I will miss this group of people...

Yesterday was the Orthodox Christian equivalent of Palm Sunday, called Flower Sunday, which is celebrated in a big way. Many people wear traditional embroidered clothing - Vishivankas - and wait outside the church for the priest to bless them with holy water.

There is a particular Lviv tradition of carrying woven bouquets of leaves, pussy willow and dried flowers on Flower Sunday. When you meet someone you know, you 'beat' them with this bouquet - really just a gentle tap!...for good luck and health.

And so to Kharkiv, where we hear from volunteers in Hell's Kitchen that the level of danger is being exaggerated, to the extent that foreign journalists won't even stay overnight. Such scaremongering can create panic, stockpiling of goods, mass exodus, etc.,...and ultimately play into the hands of the Russian aggressors, who want to create exactly such an ongoing state of terror.

Risk is a relative concept. Kharkiv is more dangerous than Lviv but, compared to Kherson and other frontline communities, it's relatively safe. And the issue for journalists, as pointed out by Franklin in Hell's Kitchen, is that, about 5 months ago, two different places where foreign journalists were staying were struck by missiles, a few days' apart. But for a team of foreign journalists or any other targetted groups, it would be wise to sleep in different places. 

We always said that the biggest danger for us comes from the crazy drivers who seem to think that it's OK to overtake on a bend on a single track road. 

The reality of Kharkiv, currently, remains to be experienced and, as always, I'll try to reflect truthfully on it. For me, part of the decision to volunteer somewhere that's considered a 'medium risk' is not only because the need for humanitarian work and volunteers is greater. I think there's a need to document what's happening, raise awareness and show people that they are not being abandoned or forgotten.

A comment by one of the Hell's Kitchen volunteers made me chuckle. He had been following a guy on Instagram, who was reporting from Kharkiv during an air raid alarm, saying that he was going to go and lie in the bath to be safe. The  volunteer messaged him, saying that if they had to do that for every siren they wouldn’t get anything done. Bob commented that they would also be very clean!

As we were walking through the local park we saw this...

In a time of war, it's nice to see that the ordinary, beautiful things of life can continue...a string quartet playing in a park on a Sunday afternoon.