“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.” – Robert Flatt
It has been a while since last I wrote to you about Finding Warcoffee and about Finding Consolation. Since then, I have had the privilege of meeting one of warcoffee’s brave and amazing friends, Florence. Allow me to tell you a little about this encounter, and about some recent personal thoughts and experiences before turning to a specific request regarding Inna and her family, the heart of this story.
It’s Easter time. The celebration of Christ’s resurrection, or a season for renewed hope. As we eagerly await the foliage to return to the trees in the Northern hemisphere, I’ve noticed shrubs have started exhibiting fresh leaves, while buds have also appeared on the naked branches of the trees. When I look up, in between the branches, I still see plenty of sky. Usually grey, and believe me, in this part of the world there are various tones of grey to be seen. Occasionally there are white, or even blue skies. When the sunlight comes through, it is a sign of hope.
Recently, on one such fine blue-skied day, I was walking to the place my sister and I were to have lunch. I heard a loud roaring thunder approaching and within a minute I saw two fighter jets flying past at low altitude. Somewhat stirred by the enormous noise, I immediately thought of what it must sound like in a war zone. My sister was on her bicycle when the jets flew past, and when I met her, she told me the sound vibrated deep inside her body. We see images and hear of war on TV, in the papers, on twitter or other platforms, but we see or hear from a distance, from the comforts of our daily routines. In Ukraine when the noise flies overhead, it must be completely different; deafening, frightening, and infinitely more impactful on the body and the mind.
Sometime last fall, I noticed Florence as part of the warcoffee family and I was triggered by something written on her profile: “Optimism is a duty. And kindness, always.” I could not help but think she must be interesting to meet.
Fast forward a few months. In January, I saw tweets of Florence driving one of the trucks she had helped fundraise for as part of a mission of the “Belgian Battalion of NAFO’s 69th Sniffing Brigade” (the name alone is priceless). These vehicles are intended for the Ukrainian front line, and are brought to Kyiv by volunteers after successful fundraisers. Seeing these tweets, I could not contain a sense of elation and, at the same time, amazement of Florence’s commitment and courage.
Soon after, I wrote her a message asking her if she would be open to the suggestion of having a coffee or lunch someday. As we live in the same small country near the Western bounds of Europe, I thought perhaps that might be possible. She immediately accepted. After her return from Kyiv, we decided on lunch. We live relatively close to one another, but with traffic being gruesome at times, we decided to meet in a small, quiet town somewhere in between.
Following an enormously friendly, bubbly appearance on the restaurant doorstep, we finally met. It was a lunch filled with wonderful warmth and kindness, one to be remembered for the ages. She clearly lives up to the “kindness, always” ideal.
After introductions, Florence started telling me about how she discovered and got involved with NAFO, and particularly the 69th Sniffing Brigade, an Estonian NGO which has accomplished many trustworthy and successful fundraisers in support of Ukraine. She further told me about being invited to join the journey of bringing the vehicles to Ukraine, and about taking some time off work to help do so. She said that after the convoy arrived in Kyiv, a serene “thanksgiving” ceremony was held with the volunteers when the trucks were handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Movingly, she also told me of her visit to Bucha, the memorial there, and the heartrending pictures lined up in the church next to where the mass grave was discovered after the Russians had retreated. She showed me pictures of the destruction of houses, cars and bridges.
When we exchanged our experiences of finding Yaroslava and warcoffee on Twitter, our love and support for Ukraine, Florence indicated to me that she felt the need to do something concrete, something of tangible use to the country. Being a “keyboard warrior” is one thing, coming out of one’s comfort zone, as clearly she had, was another. Her commitment and goodwill resonated with me and made me reflect. What a deep and inspiring sense of connection and solidarity with Ukraine.
In the week prior to another NAFO convoy leaving for Ukraine, Odesa was heavily attacked. The bombing of the 9-storey residential building, and another horrific double-tap strike, which we heard of in the days after, left many dead and injured, including infants. In the distance, it wounded me too. Seeing a heap of colourful teddy bears set up as a makeshift memorial on the street in front of burnt out, destroyed buildings, hit home. In between emotions, I came across another (warcoffee) friend’s tweet which contained a kind reminder of the possibility to donate to the Safe Skies programme under President Zelensky’s United24 fundraising platform. Being angry at what the Russians had done, I made a donation then and there. Children’s teddy bears and toys should be in children’s hands while they are safely walking, playing or sleeping. They should not be in the midst of rubble, or on the street, or part of a memorial.
In March, Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, and many other cities and towns across Ukraine have also been bombed and shelled around the clock.
Seeing only a fraction of the horrors inflicted on the Ukrainian people and noticing that the Russians have been stepping up their massive, daily and nightly countrywide attacks, I thought: “I cannot only be retweeting about this”. So I decided to ask Zarina for advice on whether I may be able to help from here, and if so, how. After all, she and Paul have been dedicating themselves to reporting from Ukraine since the war started, and they are still based in Kherson; they see the needs on the ground better than any of us could.
Zarina was grateful for the offer and wrote back: “So much help needed here…”
Although there are obviously so many more needs, she immediately identified four causes where support would be most welcome. One cause that really struck me was the family of a newborn. I share with you the story that Zarina wrote about in an article for Euromaidan Press in October 2023, and that she decided to share again with me as the family’s tribulations have not ended since. It is about Inna and her family. I quote from Zarina’s article:
“Inna, a young film director, and an expectant mother, came to a Kherson humanitarian aid hub looking for help. With no makeup, and wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon scaly dragon, she looked like a student heading for a bookstore. Instead, Inna found piles of rubble all around the street. A Soviet-made 1962 GRAD rocket stuck from the hole in the asphalt, next to a lost toy dinosaur. The hub got hit by a Russian MLRS rocket the previous night. Another rocket destroyed the building next to Inna’s home. Inna had previously left Kherson but came back after several weeks. The family could not afford to rent an apartment in Odesa.
“Living in a refugee communal living space in Mykolaiv isn’t good for a newborn,” said Inna. “Yet, living here, at home, is scary. We don’t know what to do. My husband’s home in Oleksandrivka, a village near Kherson, was destroyed by Russians. We lost our homes and jobs.”
Inna’s family story is typical for Kherson.”
In our correspondence Zarina added:
“Inna was pregnant with twins but lost one child during pregnancy due to high stress. Her mother fell and broke her leg in fall, while living by Antoniivskyy Bridge, with Russians less than a mile away, and dropping KABs (guided aerial bombs on Antoniivka, the neighborhood.) Inna has a younger brother and a husband, whose parents’ home was bombed. We were able to help them move, with cats and dogs they look after, to Odesa region where they lived in a half-built house but had to move after a bad storm. They finally moved to Mykolaiv and Inna gave birth to a healthy baby boy in December. At the moment, the owner of the house is coming back and they have no place to live–with their baby and multiple cats and dogs. I am trying to find a place to live.”
In a later update, Zarina informed me that Inna and her family have had to move back to Kherson with the animals, but she expressed the hope that perhaps with a fundraiser they may be able to move to a safer haven. She wrote: “4 dogs, 5 cats at home and 10 stray cats they are looking after. In the most dangerous part of Ukraine. Right next to the Antoniivsky bridge, with a baby 💔. They had to move back for the lack of means and help 💔💔💔”.
I was deeply moved by this story. Newborns and their families should have every opportunity to grow and thrive, not just “a chance” to survive.
As my thoughts about Ukraine, Florence’s inspiring commitment, and Inna’s hardships could not be reduced into a tweet, or a little thread, I decided to write to you about these here, but not without asking you a question. If you read this, and you are able to support by way of donation, or by sharing this message with others for Inna’s young family, will you? We would be most grateful. After all she has endured, we hope she and her family may find some more stability by finding a safe place to live.
With Easter and the renewed hope of spring coming, children in some parts of the world will be looking for Easter eggs in their family’s gardens. Inna’s baby boy has yet to discover these delights. For his family, at this juncture, it seems more about finding an opportunity to be able to start over though. I cannot think of a stronger sense of connection and solidarity with Ukraine, or with Inna and her family than by giving to them this Easter. Will you join me?
Inna’s PayPal: arina4lubov@gmail.com
Acknowledgements
Thank you, Florence, for your kindness, not only in our first meeting, but also in everything you do for and in support of Ukraine. I have a feeling we haven’t nearly begun our conversation. À bon entendeur…;-)
Thank you, Yara, for lovingly tending to your warcoffee community every day, and for allowing people to find each other. Your bringing us colour and friendships across the world in the midst of war is nothing short of amazing. Without you, I would not be writing this.
Thank you, Mike, for patiently proofreading my latest, and for kindly giving me your considerations on my writing. You know better than anyone that, like a new website, my writing in English continues to be very much “under construction”.
Last but not least, thank you, Zarina, and Paul, for going above and beyond in support of Ukraine, Kherson, the people, and its community. You do so much more than bring us the news and images. Even when “Ukrainian glass” needs to be delivered by volunteers closing up your blown out kitchen windows, you keep going for us, and for families like Inna’s. You are a force, the both of you. Just stay safe.
Veronique Christophe
27/3/2024
Lights and Crystals 