.
When we went to Shchyrets, it was winter and very cold. Our daughter in law was pregnant with their second child, and their other son was barely two years old. We dragged them all out to the small village where my husband’s ancestors had lived so long ago, and we were warmly welcomed by people in the nearby village. My husband found the very street where his family had lived and the well they drew for their water!
Kyiv itself was very different from the village. A modern capital city with fancy restaurants, movie theaters, wealthy Ukrainians driving around in cars with black tinted windows, gorgeous women dressed in fur from head to toe skimming over the icy pavement in their high heeled boots with graceful ease. Getting to know ordinary people was a bit more difficult. While Ukrainians with whom our son worked were friendly and gracious, talking to people on the street or in a cafe was a lot more difficult, because we didn’t speak the language. Maybe it was the weather, but I never got a single smile from any Ukrainian I passed on the street. There were not that many tourists in Kyiv at the time, and grinning foreigners were probably just considered a bit weird! I made it my mission to make one of the “babuschkas”, as the older women were called, smile back, but I never succeeded. They glanced at me in surprise but always hurried on their way. I didn’t take it personally!
The hospital where our second grandson was born was the most spotless, modern building you could ever imagine. I joked that you could eat off the floors, because someone was constantly mopping and cleaning them. When our daughter in law went into labor, since it was their second child, she and our son went right to the hospital. My husband and I followed later in a rickety cab with our oldest grandson (no seat belts then!), sliding and slipping through the icy and snowy streets of Kviv. We brought our oldest grandson into the hospital room to meet his new brother, and this was his reaction.
No matter what happens in Ukraine, we know that the people there will fight with everything they have. We worry about our current friends there, whose neighborhoods are being shelled indiscriminately. You may want to support the people of Ukraine but wonder what is the safest and most reliable way to do that? I would suggest Matthew25: Ministries, which is providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine. This relief organization was recommended by my friend, Matthew Lehman, who has lived and worked in Ukraine and is running for Congress from Kentucky (against one of only three Republicans who voted AGAINST the Ukraine resolution of support). The donation site for the relief is https://m25m.org/donate/
As we watch and wait for the outcome in Ukraine, my takeaway message is that all of our democracies are at risk, either from war or apathy. This is the first war that has been televised so extensively and communicated so aggressively via social media. My hope is that we will learn how to defend democracies more effectively around the world, not with weapons of war but weapons of words and collective action. Our main weapon in the U.S. is the Vote, which we have taken for granted and is being attacked now in almost every state. The vote is a legitimate “weapon” that each one of us can and must use if we want to save our democracy.
Linda:
Thank you for sharing these thoughts and memories. It was touching to recall these family events. And it is heartbreaking now to watch innocent people being bullied into a war no one wants. I admire Ukraine’s citizens and their love for their country. I pray everyday that they can prevail.
Thanks Nanci and all of you who have commented! It’s a personal story but it applies to so many who have a similar experience with Ukraine. Stay strong!??
Thank you, Nanci. And thanks to all of you for reading and commenting. The situation in Ukraine haunts us every day!
Thank you Linda for sharing about your experiences and friends in the Ukraine.
I appreciate your writing. Pam Roby
It’s unconscionable that a democratic peace loving country is being destroyed, and her citizens being murdered, with no provocation.
Linda,
Moving and a reminder of better times, Kathryn
Thanks Linda for bringing back those memories of your visit to Ukraine in 2007. I had forgotten about the Bergthold connection to that part of the world. We are indeed all connected in some way.
Thank you all for your interest and support! It’s hard to watch this play out every day, and even harder to actually know people there who are experiencing it every hour. Anything you can do to support Ukraine will help. It’s the reason I mentioned the nonprofit I did. You never know if your donation actually makes it to the intended audience, but I am confident that Matthew25 Ministries can do that.
Thanks, Linda. This post really brings home the horrors I am seeing on the news. Hard to believe the Ukranians were living ordinary lives like we are less than 2 weeks ago.
Being Gary’s cousin I’m more than casually interested in the Ukraine situation. It’s so difficult to even imagine what those people are going through with a minimum of support from the United States and other nearby countries. Taking in the immigrants and refugees is certainly admirable but watching their country be destroyed by a ruthless tyrant is tough to watch. I only hope and pray that someone is able to find a reasonable solution to this tragic event in our history.
Very interesting to learn more about you, Linda. This war is even more horrifying to you and your family. Very sad.
Heartbreaking to see the images and not be there, in Poland or Romania to help with refugees. We were in Romania, near the Ukraine border, just a few months ago. Happy people enjoying life. How quickly one’s way of life can change and democracy threatened at the whim of lunatics. Slava Ukraini!