Note From Kiev

http://www.thechiefly.com/politics/foreign-affairs/note-from-kiev-ukraine-maidan/

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A lot of people still don’t seem to know about the existence of such a country as Ukraine. Some people even mix up Ukraine with Uzbekistan or Uganda because, why not? “U” at the beginning, almost the same. Almost no differences. Almost.

My country is 22 years old. We are situated between Europe and Russia, still doubting about who is a good partner for us. We have been living a generally quiet life since the dissociation of the Soviet Union, an association that made us used to bribes, corruption and lies.

But something changed at the end of November 2013. And this something is still happening.

You can call it whatever you want – revolution, protest, demonstration, strike, civil war. The point is that it is a fight for justice.

This all started quite simply in comparison to what it has become today, with an enormous number of people coming to Maidan (Independence Square) in Kiev, to participate in a peaceful protest with an opposition. After some time, the opposition showed very clearly that they don’t care about demos, or the voice of the populace, but only about their own political game, and people were left alone.

Alone against President Viktor Yanukovich and company, a man represented by pro-Russian politicians who own villas and fly in helicopters.

Alone trying to declare that they don’t want any cooperation with the opposition.

Alone against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian mass media that claim that people on Maidan are fascists. But dear Russian venal mass media, I understand you: to call people bad names is a normal reaction to a situation when somebody you want to enslave breaks the chains. And anyway, nobody cares about what mass media says.

And finally, alone against our former brothers who form the police named “Berkut” and kill Ukrainian protesters even though they too are Ukrainians. They are living in a totally different reality and don’t realize what they do, being on the side of a corrupt mafia president.

The Ukrainian people didn’t start this aggression first, the Berkut did.

One night, they came and started to beat people who were on Maidan. Students, women, the elderly – anybody they saw. After that night, Ukrainians could no longer remain calm. They don’t want Ukraine to look like Russia or Belarus where people get into prison because of participation in peaceful demonstrations.

They started to fight, and this fight has lasted for two months already, with the last three days of February 17-19 bringing more victims than the previous two months combined. 25 Ukrainians have died in 72 hours.

The police do everything they can to make people leave Maidan. Chaos is in the center.

Yesterday, lessons at my university were stopped because of an evacuation from the center of Kiev as the university is very close to Maidan.

The subway is closed throughout the city stop people from coming to Maidan. Buses are overloaded with people. I walked eight kilometers to get home.

There was a mass exodus of people from the center of Kiev. It felt as if we were somewhere in the Middle East.

Moreover, militants now have even more rights to harm and kill as the government has now organized a so-called anti-terrorist operation, allowing for potential military action on protesters.

Can you tell me, since when are people who just want to have a guarantee of civil rights in their own country, and to be free from mafia backed politicians, terrorists?

I cannot believe that something like this can take place in the 21st century. Policemen force a nationalist to undress and take mocking photos with him, students and women are beaten, journalists are injured or killed, civil activists are found dead in villages near Kiev.

Our president and his backers do everything and anything to save their political positions at any price, and Ukraine laughs at them with bloody tears.

I may not be a religious person, but I would really like to believe in hell, because hell is a place where these tyrants should be.

Polina Nezdiikovska

Polina Nezdiikovska

Polina Nezdiikovska

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