“Irwin, hi!
“It’s scary here, I wake up at 5 am because of sounds of bombs…I live not far from airport. Till now it’s still not calm, people panic – all Kiev in traffic jams.
“Please pray for us, our families and Ukraine.”
I woke up today to this email from Yulia, a friend and colleague in Kyiv, Ukraine. Yulia is a young professional who was a senior staffer in Ukraine’s Office of the Child Ombudsman. She has dedicated herself to working towards the end of the orphanage system in her country, a relic of the Soviet Union’s past in Ukraine. I have been fortunate to be a partner in Yulia’s work.
I struggled this morning to put pen to paper, to write anything about Russia’s invasion of Yulia’s homeland that would be meaningful, that would go beyond the performative, but for her sake, I must try.
Yulia is about 30 years old, a vibrant, funny, caring and determined woman who works hours upon hours each week, burning the proverbial candle at both ends. She listens more than she speaks, giving her voice weight when she uses it. Yulia lives with her parents, who are aging, because she has made a commitment to them, a commitment that is more important to her than the commitment she has made to herself. She is not alone in this – when I visited Ukraine, I found that she represents a nation of women who form the backbone of the country. I know Nikolai Kuleba, the former Child Ombudsman of Ukraine, would agree – and make no mistake, I worry forhim and his family as well.
I have never known Yulia to be anything other than stoic. She has never been enamoured with politics and is as cynical as anyone about government. She has always just shrugged, her head down, perhaps uttering a sigh that hinted at the weight of the world she balances on her shoulders, and carries on with what must be done.
Today Yulia did not just shrug. She reached out to me. That frightens me.
What can I do? I’m not sure. Yulia has, in a way,entrusted me with her story and it is my duty to care for it. To paraphrase writer Thomas King, I can take Yulia’sstory and make a video, create a petition, write a book, write an op-ed, I can ignore it. What I cannot do is ever live my life again as if I have not heard the story. I have heard it now and in hearing it, it becomes my responsibility.
Yulia, a strong, determined, caring woman, is not okay and neither is her country. Today you too have heard herstory. Today you too will decide what you will do with it. I ask you to please hold her story with care. Today. Right now. It is what I can do, what you can do that is in our control. It is a not a small thing I ask of you, I know. But I trust that we will be gentle with Yulia’s story and stand with the people of Ukraine in their hour of need, as we would hope they would do for us.
Irwin Elman, Irwin.Elman@OntarioNDP.ca
Web: www.IrwinElman.OntarioNDP.ca
Facebook: IrwinForDonValleyWest
Instagram: @ElmanIrwin
Twitter: @IrwinElman
CHANGE for
the BETTER