In the 5th year of the Russian invasion on a full scale, how is civilian society in Ukraine presently doing? Is Ukrainian identity under pressure? How does war affect people’s intellectual health, especially children? And what should we know about paganism? Leszek Jażdżewski talks to Anna Zakletska, Ukrainian tv and radio presenter, leading social events and singer, public person, choreographer, director, model, vocalist of Ukrainian band “Vroda”. He conducts a historical performance “Bezviz” and holds the title of Deserved Artist of Ukraine. She is besides a associate of the NGO Business Ukrainian Women.
Leszek Jażdżewski (LJ): Can you tell us about your activities, including your work as a social and political activist and your activities Your non-governmental organization, whose goal is to support soldiers at the front in Ukraine?
Anna Zakletska (AZ): Let's start with my education. First, I received a degree in political discipline at the Kiev-Mohylan Academy. erstwhile we first met, I was not only a political activist, but I besides worked as a secretary for global relations in a liberal Ukrainian organization then known as “Ukraine of the Future”. In Ukraine, liberal issues are inactive delicate due to the fact that the impact of conservatism is very profound. Being a liberal activist in Ukraine at the time was much more hard than today.
As for my another diplomas, I received the second 1 from psychotherapy, the 3rd from theatre directing, and the 4th from choreography. Besides, my mom started a children's band thirty-five years ago, where I sang and danced my full life. That's why I'm a singer. I am presently a dance teacher for the next generations of this household band, which focuses mainly on folklore, traditions and stories. This is simply a very valuable experience for me due to the fact that my household has always been pagan. 10 years ago, it was hard to talk about it, but it is much easier to talk about the importance of our roots.
As a continuation of my work with my household and squad (who is called Zernyatko, meaning “little grain”, which is put into the ground to make something grow), I created an Ukrainian clothing brand called Striy. This task is not just about fashion; it is about pagan ideas and traditions.
The pagan paradigm was greatly influenced by propaganda. People frequently think that pagan culture is about something brutal or wild, but it is simply a consequence of propaganda to break our bond with harmony and nature. My grandmother, who taught me these things, only graduated 3 classes of school due to the fact that she was the oldest of 9 children and had to work in the field. erstwhile you hear a “ghanish culture”, it is not about aggression or stereotypes. For me, all my activity is about love, which is fundamental to the conventional Ukrainian worldview.
LJ: Can it be said that the natural liberalism of Ukrainians is due to these deep cultural roots and the pursuit of surviving according to their own will?
AZ: Deep down, we are definitely a very liberal nation. We can't imagine anyone subjugating us and subjecting us to their will. Our communicative was not happy, but this conflict and the natural liberalism of the Ukrainians have their origin in a circumstantial concept: we do not want anything that we do not deserve, but we require others to stay distant from our freedoms, our land and our freedom to live in their own way.
I believe we are very close to these rules. As my grandma utilized to say, if you want to see your flower bloom, you gotta water its roots. According to the pagan paradigm of my family, everything is simple if you look around you. If you learn how the stone lies underwater, how the seed grows out of the ground, how the seasons change and what happens erstwhile the sun and water meet, you will realize a lot about how people communicate. You'll realize how they live together, what their conflicts are, and how to find a way out. Ultimately, this is about harmony in the space around us and in the space inside ourselves.
LJ: Could you describe the situation in Kiev during the last winter and the moods of the people of the capital who have been at war for over a decade?
AZ: Although the full-scale invasion began comparatively recently, we have been at war for more than 10 years. I was raised in a cultural bubble created by my parents, who were profoundly active in Ukrainian heritage. As a result, erstwhile the invasion began, my father noticed that he expected this from the minute we gained independence. This conflict has a highly hybrid form – although the military aspect is more recent, economical dependence on gas and the ubiquitous cultural war have long existed.
This cultural war is inactive highly severe. After independence, Ukraine experienced a renaissance of music and poetry, but the "fifth column" systematically put force on artists to start utilizing Russian. I remember surviving in my own language bubble, in which I spoke Ukrainian, and I struggled to find local artists who were not broken or "successed" by this system. We have many examples of this phenomenon, specified as vocalist Irina Bilyk, who was a charismatic Ukrainian star before being forced to control to Russian, which yet led to her increasing everything.
It was a systematic, long-term strategy that reflected the repression of the early 20th century, including the famine in 1932–1933 and the persecution of Ukrainian speakers in the 1960s and 1970s. I profoundly feel this story; it is simply a long-standing conflict of forbidden language that does not want to die. I can't imagine abandoning my home or forgetting the victims that have already been made. Our conflict is not due to hatred, but due to love for our land and traditions.
Last winter was highly difficult. It is hard to accept the fact that while pensioners transfer 2 dollars a day to drones, any of the highest levels of power inactive let themselves to be stolen millions. However, we have foreseen a strategy for attacks on heating and water supply infrastructure. all Ukrainian household had to adapt; my husband and I bought a generator before the full-scale war broke out due to the fact that my father taught me that life in Ukraine requires complete independency in terms of energy and water. We were besides helped by global friends from Croatia and Poland who helped us get wood and equip the school shelters with heating and ventilation.
For me, this process involves increasing up. We decision distant from the post-Soviet way of thinking, which is to wait for individual else to solve our problems. We are now adults and must be liable for our own destiny and security. We drew a painful lesson from the 1994 Budapeszten Memorandum in which we gave up atomic weapons and military aircraft in exchange for a warrant of sovereignty that was not kept. I remember archive recordings on which our planes were cut into pieces – we gave them in exchange for a warrant that we would not request them.
Now we see that many global organizations neglect due to the fact that there is besides much debate, while people die. Both my brothers are on the front line and there's no 1 to replace them. We're not running. I personally took a drone piloting course to make certain that I could be useful to the army erstwhile my time came. However, the top tragedy is the impact of war on children. My six-year-old daughter, Eva, can't remember a life without a war. I was shocked to hear him play with his dolls and describe in a factual way that her doll is simply a parent killed by the Russians, and prays with her dolls. It's average for her. This is simply a real tragedy.
LJ: Can you tell us about your psychotherapy projects and activities Your organization to support the intellectual wellness of those affected by the war?
AZ: Since the start of the war in 2014, I have frequently rode the front line as a singer, but I have besides conducted sessions with soldiers to aid them stay as calm as possible under these circumstances. erstwhile the full-scale war broke out, my colleague and I founded an authoritative organization. Initially, we worked with men, but we rapidly realized that their current precedence was mobilisation; they must stay strong and they cannot afford a deeper reflection at the moment. Therefore, we have focused on those waiting for our defenders at home.
This is how the organization “Women and War” was created. Our main conviction is that, while the reconstruction of physical infrastructure, specified as houses or roads, is comparatively easy, neglecting the issue of intellectual wellness is highly dangerous. Currently, 1 100 percent of the Ukrainian population is experiencing any form of trauma. For example, home relationships, which were trivial 10 years ago, can now trigger utmost reactions specified as divorce or physical aggression. The situation is aggravated by deficiency of sleep and inability to travel. While women can go abroad to Poland from time to time to rest, our men do not have specified an opportunity. Whether they're on the front or keeping their economy in the country, they wake up all night at the sound of alarm sirens. The level of aggression and impatience has changed dramatically.
Our organization helps people to stay in harmony with themselves so that they can give themselves “first intellectual aid” in the case of problems specified as panic attacks that affect people of all ages. Unfortunately, we are presently closing the organisation due to a deficiency of funding, especially due to changes in the USAID.
We besides worked with victims of sexual force from Russian soldiers. frequently these are young girls under fourteen. If we do not work with these women and children, their trauma will have a disastrous and lasting impact on both the victims themselves and our full society. Of all my studies, psychotherapy is most crucial to me due to the fact that it develops a sense of responsibility. He forces me to ask myself, ‘Do I choose to be a victim or to be responsible?’ It besides helps me to separate between what comes from my heart and what comes from television.
Our work besides concerns the improvement of critical reasoning and safety on the network. We must learn to admit what is behind the media actors in question: who owns them, who funds them and what kind of transmission they are geared towards. Our enemy does not want us to be prudent or conscious – he wants us to be like a flock.
Because of this disaster, we have learned to appreciate all moment, all gathering and touch. It is highly crucial that we stay human. Although we are not yet seeing the end of this war, we realize that with further financial and intellectual assistance we will last and win.
This podcast was produced by the European Liberal Forum in collaboration with the Movieno Liberal Social and the Liberté Foundation!, with the financial support of the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum are liable for the content nor for any usage of this podcast.
Podcast is besides available on platforms Sound, Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Spotify
Dr. Olga Łabendowicz translated from English
Read English at 4liberty.eu
