When I think of Kyiv, I think of a beautiful city filled with kind, generous, and resolute people. I think of the time my friend invited me to her apartment for the afternoon to share a meal with her and her family. I remember eating so much food, course after course of homemade food that left my stomach full for days and my heart forever full. I think of going to the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv to see Natalka Poltavka where in Act III Natalka professes her love to Petro. Nearby the Opera house I visited the statue Mykola Lysenko, the father of Ukrainian music, where an adornment of freshly cut flowers laid upon his feet. I remember walking from the hotel to the office through the park where I befriended an old man and a stray cat. I made a point of buying a pack of Parliament cigarettes and would share one with him in the morning along with giving him a cup of coffee that I took from the hotel lobby. He didn’t speak English and I do not speak Ukrainian. But I enjoyed how his eyes smiled when he’d see me. I remember having lunches with coworkers and friends at Chachapuri Restaurant on Tarasa Shevchenko Boulevard. I think of the painting class I took on a cloudy mid-winter Saturday with a teacher of whom I didn’t share a common language with, and being impressed with how much he was able to teach me in spite of not understanding a word he spoke. I think of all the live music venues my friends took me to, with the highlights being a 50’s style American rock and roll band singing Elvis songs and another Jazz trio that played the Hard Bop music of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Ben Webster I remember the office where I would to learn the cultural nuances between Americans and Ukrainians, realizing we have more in common than different. I will always cherish my time spent in Kyiv, yet that adoration pales in comparison to the time spent with and the adoration I have for the human beings who call Ukraine home.
War is an abomination against all things human. The unprovoked Russian attack against Ukraine is disgusting. Many of my fellow Americans who have not been fortunate to spend time in Ukraine might just see this conflict as something that is so far away. Something that one with an isolationist bend might say that the United States should stay out of. I am not here to form a political debate on what we should do. This is the stuff that historians will look back upon with judgement. What I do want to share with you is my story from my time spent in Kyiv, working with a wonderful group of talented human beings in a city full of culture. Right now a group of people of whom I love are in Kyiv or have fled to rural villages, or have made the unthinkable choice to evacuate Ukraine and become refugees of a war raged by a mad man who has manipulated and brainwashed his countrymen. I pray for the family and friends who are affected by these atrocities, and I hope this nightmare ends soon. Democracies certainly are not perfect, and I believe that this imperfect form of government will help peace prevail. As Churchill said, “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”.
Slava Ukraini! đź’™ đź’›
