McEwen Farming and Family Stuff

Tuesday, 2nd July

`War = Money’ and `Money =War.’
Much to contemplate around that statement. We are mulling over what we heard this morning.
We are in Vinnitsa in central Ukraine and we have visited the Refugee English School. The Ukraine Aid and Education Fund (based in Donald) has made this provision for children of refugee families possible. They call it the English Club. In enquiring how we could help in the refugee crisis in Ukraine, the suggestion was made to pay a teacher to teach English to children whose schooling was interrupted suddenly by the Russian incursion into the oblasts* of Donezk and Luhansk. English is taught as the 2nd language in Ukrainian schools. However, for children to be fluent in English they need extra curriculum classes, as well. The parents believe that education is the best way forward for a better future. There are over 1 million displaced persons in Ukraine resulting from the war in the south east.
We were speaking to Svetlana and Youriy, who themselves are refugees and are heading up the NGO providing services to the refugees in this region of Ukraine. On asking their story, we heard firsthand the events leading up to their forced departure from their home and city. Prior to the Russian military crossing the border, there had been so called protests and demonstrations to incite pro- Russian sympathy. Svetlana’s husband was working for a Ukrainian TV company as a cameraman. While covering the demonstrations and unrest, he came under pressure with threats to break his camera, to harm him, and even experienced spitting in his face. After the central city office was blown up, the family decided to leave and stay in Kiev for 2 weeks. This was August, 2014. However, the border closed and they were unable to return to their home and parents. Svetlana’s husband was assigned to cover the war and was away weeks without contact. Finally, after 5 months, Svetlana was able to return to find her city demolished, amazingly their apartment building survived and her mother coping. The first month there was no food, no electricity, no money – some humanitarian aid got through – the community supported each other. Svetlana was able to pack 2 suitcases of belongings and leave. For months, the family had very little, Svetlana was serving in a shop wearing shorts, light top and thongs in the cold summer days.
In 2016, Svetlana returned for a visit to find a very changed society. Separatists military (supported by the Russian military) everywhere. Russian propaganda turning the people into `zombies’, quote Svetlana. There is no UKR or world news or general information getting through. The future will be very bleak while Russia is supporting the Separatists. Men are under pressure to serve in military service in the occupational forces as they need a salary to support their families, knowing at the same time the UKR intelligence is noting who is loyal to UKR and who is not. Many people are scared. If they are sorry that they supported the pro Russian demonstrations they cannot `change sides’, the equivalent of the KGB is watching and reporting. A `Stalin’ regime is now in place. A taxi driver noting Svetlana was not one of the local people opened up to her telling her that he cannot talk to anyone, taking the opportunity to share how severe it had become to live in the occupied SE.
What was hard to hear- was the question was this war engineered for the financial gain and power control of a few? Svetlana’s mother observed the UKR army in the oblast and not long before the incursion it withdrew. On whose orders? If action had been taken earlier in Crimea, Donezk and Luhansk would not have been invaded. These are the questions the people of the occupied territories and the refugees are asking.

Yourily’s story is of being a foreman in the mines. Donesk is the centre of Ukraine’s black coal industry. He came home from work one day to see on TV that the central Police Station had been taken over. There were 800 police in the city and 30 `nobodies’ had taken over, how did that happen? He phoned his uncle who was assistant to the senior Police Commissioner who told him that they had barricaded themselves in and shot back. He escaped and with Yourily’s help left his apartment/home and reached Ukraine territory a few days later. Was there an undermining policy in the police force prior to the take over? There were pro Russian demonstrations and protests all over Ukraine at this time but they were not successful, only in Donezk and Luhansk who had a large population of people with strong Russian ties, was the movement successful. The separatists destroyed the mines – taking the machinery, or turning other machinery into scrap and hence allowing the flooding of the mines. This is causing the gas to escape which may in turn infiltrate the chemical storages causing explosions. In the 1950s, there was a very deep underground nucleur testing explosion. The pumping of the water out of the mines has prevented radiation polluting the water table. However, with the flooding of the mines, now, there is a real danger of radiation pollution.
Unknown is how many Ukrainians left not only for other parts of Ukraine but into Russia and how many became insane as a result of the bombings. Many older people had lived through the bombing of the 2nd WW and could not cope with the bombing of the incursion.
What of the future? If the occupational forces leave and UKR regains control, will the Govt send the refugees back to rebuild the cities and the economy? Taking billions of dollars to do so – the situation would be worse for them, then than now!
Asking how can we help? The suggestions were to increase the number of teachers to accommodate the 30 children on the waiting list for the English club and include adult classes as well. To apply for international grants, the staff need to have a high level of English to write the submissions. Another request was for sewing machines, overlocker, washing machine for the older ladies to turn unsuitable humanitarian aid clothes into craft items to sell in a shop they would establish. This would all be possible with a relative small amount of finance and yet make a significant difference for many lives.
This is only one of the challenges we have observed on our visit to this richly endowed country. Rich in natural resources but making very slow progress changing from totalitarian government to a private capitalisation business system with its accompanying accountable political system. The Government is yet to understand that it is there to serve the people not the other way round.
Ian and Alison McEwen
*Oblasts are smaller than our States and larger than our Shires