Ukrainian author and historian, Olesya Khromeychuk, stands to read an excerpt from her book The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister. You can hear a pin drop as she reads out how she took on the task of buying her brother's army boots before he would leave to fight for his country. “They arrived quickly, I gave them a wipe, stroked them gently, whispered, ‘good luck’ to them and put them in the khaki bag.”
Her brother was not a professional soldier when he volunteered to join the fight in 2015. He was an artist. In 2017, he was killed in action just outside Donbas in Ukraine. Olesya tells the story of when the bag returned to her after her brother's death. There were things in the bag that she hadn’t packed, such as army paperwork and a handwritten autobiography, as well as pictures of the sun and rainbows, drawn by school kids for soldiers. But then she saw his boots. “I took them into the hallway, I cried for the first time since I’d received the bag. My tears started to roll down my cheeks and onto the boots. I stroked them as I had done two years ago, and I whispered to them, ‘good luck, you can keep someone else dry and warm now.’” She finishes the reading and there is a poignant pause from the audience before applause erupts.
There were talks like this going on all throughout Tuesday as Cheltenham Literature Festival hosted its Ukraine Day, celebrating Ukrainian writers, poets, musicians, and filmmakers. On Monday morning news broke of missiles hitting the capital city of Kyiv during rush hour, accelerating the Russian invasion that broke out on February 24th 2022.
Ukrainian author and poet, Oksana Zabuchko, speaks about how she feels she is now a 'mobilised soldier'. She began her book tour in Poland and awoke to a phone call from her husband that would change everything, “Honey, it’s started, they are bombing us.” She's been on the same tour ever since and is yet to return to her home and family in Ukraine. "It's no longer about the writing, it's about helping my country win this war in the best way that I, a writer, can." She has written a book of essays, in an attempt to explain to the Western leadership what we have all missed about this war and how it came to be. "Through this, there comes a satisfaction that I am doing something."
There is a question about the relationship between Ukraine and literature, and how words and language can be weaponised. "There is a very complex relationship between truth and fiction. This is a war of words, it's all about correcting the lopsided narration that has been dominating western media and mentality and making sure the correct narrative is released. Literature can be deadly lethal if it is misused."
What can WE do:
Our lives are lived through social media, and we see every day how it can be used for good. In an exclusive interview with Angle News, we asked Olesya Khromeychuk what young people can do to support Ukraine and its people, "befriend Ukrainian students, lots of them are here in Europe now. A lot of the content on social media is funny, Ukrainians deal with trauma through humour and the memes have been amazing, so share them and amplify Ukrainian voices. Help them feel like they're not alone."
Other ways to help, you can donate to the United24 - charity founded by the Ukrainian President - and stay engaged in the developments however you get your news.
FOLLOW US ON:
How have you been keeping up with the war in Ukraine?
0%Twitter
0%TikTok
0%Instagram
0%TV News
Comments