JUNE 2 • 2022 | 17

Federation’s director, who 
said that if at least one per-
son from Mariupol could get 
through to us, we could send 
a bus to pick that person up. 
Getting involved with this 
cause has allowed me to find 
strength in myself to help 
those who need it most. It’s 
not always possible to help 
everyone, but if you can help 
one person, I believe the 
world becomes a better place.

HUMANITY AT ITS 
GREATEST
It’s been two months since I 
learned what it’s like to leave 
your home, lose all your 
goals and dreams, and part 
with your loved ones and 
friends. I constantly draw 
parallels in my head to the 
stories of my grandparents 
with renewed vigor. In these 
stories, I find my present self. 
Previously, I never under-
stood. Now, when my grand-
parents are no longer around, 
I am able to feel their stories 
inside of me, where they con-
tinue to live.
If I ever get to tell my story 
to my children or grandchil-
dren, I will tell them that war 
is not just a fate in life that 
a person experiences. It’s a 
huge loss, especially a human 
loss. Behind every story told 
about war is a mass of desti-
nies that are all intertwined 
and imprinted in history. 
I will tell them that war is 
scary and painful, that it is 
the unknown, but that it is 
also something in which you 
begin to appreciate seemingly 
simple things.
In war, you appreciate 
being able to hear the birds 
singing, not the sound of 
artillery or missiles flying by. 
You enjoy the opportunity 
to sleep, at home, in bed and 
in silence. You are thankful 
for light, heat and water. 
You appreciate the life of 
every person that is next to 

you, really appreciate it. I 
will tell my descendants that 
evacuation is when you gather 
your essentials in a hurry 
and run away to the sounds 
of shelling of your home and 
city, when you can’t stop the 
flow of tears. Every day, you 
dream of your old life.
Yet, on the other side of a 
complex web of emotions, 
it’s not about losses. Instead, 
it’s about what you gain. 
The evacuation, no matter 
how painful it is, shows the 
support of people you don’t 
know. There is solidarity 
and mutual assistance. This 
is humanity at its greatest, 
which in peacetime is often 
invisible. Now, it shines with 
great strength.
I understand what my 
grandparents were trying 
to say when they said that 
the most powerful memory 
about evacuation is the 
kindness of people. It’s not 
about being alone. Strangers 
help you find a new home, 
provide you with food and 
medicine. You are constantly 
taken care of. They are ready 
to support you for as long 
as you need. I felt this same 
feeling myself. The kindness 
of people gave me back my 
strength. It multiplied my 
desire to survive in order to 
become a beacon of strength 
for other people.
However, I hope that my 
stories will remain that way 
for my descendants: just 
stories. That these terrible 
words will never take on 
a real form for them. If 
they’re asked the question, 
“What is your mother or 
grandmother’s strongest 
memory of the war?” I 
want them to answer, “The 
kindness of people.” After all, 
despite the fact that my heart 
is torn to pieces, it is held 
together by a large number of 
hands from different parts of 
our big world. 

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