“Being a woman with a child whose father died in the war, the idea takes my breath away”

Paris, October 30, 2024,

Dear readers, dear readers,

Yesterday was my birthday. At one point during the day, I closed my eyes and made a wish: that the war would end and everything would be as before, that I would arrive in Kyiv with Yanis and Zakary in three hours and not in more than twenty-four hours. That we can get together as a family without fearing that a missile or drone will fall on our apartment. Despite all that, I got a very nice birthday present: I’m an aunt! This makes me so happy! My little Sasha became a mother, like me exactly eight months ago. I would have liked so much if we could share these upheavals in our lives as women being side by side. Instead, I am immersed in constant worry. I constantly think about my loved ones, my sister, her baby, their safety. To my great regret, I was not able to go to Ukraine, as I anticipated in my last letter. I am waiting for my French residence permit to be renewed so I can travel. It’s long!

Some time ago, the Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy gave a concert in La Villette, Paris, for their 30^e birthday. I really wanted to go but I couldn’t because right now my life revolves around my baby. It’s a legendary group in Ukraine – we can compare it a bit to Indochina for the French. Their songs remind me so much of our childhood and adolescence with Sasha. Especially the one called Ya yidu dodomu. She says: “I’m coming home, to you/Where eyes are familiar and always new!” /I’m coming home, to you/How long are these nights and days! » Okean Elzy continues to regularly give concerts in Europe. It’s a way to promote Ukrainian culture and collect donations. Sviatoslav Vakartchouk, the leader of the group, is very politically engaged. For years, he has taken a stand against the oligarchy and corruption. He founded the Holos party, was a deputy. At the start of the Great War, he sang at the front to boost the morale of the soldiers.

If I tell you about this group, it’s because Okean Elzy also performed in Kyiv this month. On October 11, the day after their concert in front of thousands of people, images appeared on news channels and social networks. There we saw recruitment agents from the Ukrainian army who, as they left, stopped the men, asked for papers… Some were taken away. In one video, we see two soldiers immobilizing a guy who is shouting: “Let me go, let me go!” » This method of ” recruitment “ is so brutal. It scared me.

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