11 years is a long time. For some people, it is a lifetime, like for my daughter, who was born in Ukraine in April 2014 and has never seen life without war. For her, it has become the norm to see maimed people on the streets and funeral processions. She is not surprised that all her friends and classmates have family members at war, someone killed in action, someone missing, captured or under occupation. Several new children in her class came from the occupied territories and, during breaks, told others things that I wish my daughter had never known. However, this is our life, land, and country, for which we have been fighting the last 11 years.
Three years of bloody war on land, in the air and at sea have become the norm for us. I can tell the difference between different UAVs by sound and am frightened by the noise of civilian aircraft when I hear them on my business trips abroad. I know the approximate schedule of air raids in my city and have to build all my life around it. I don’t know whether I will have electricity and water after each raid, so I enjoy every cup of coffee and try to get the most out of the time with electricity.
However, I would not want to live anywhere else in the world. I love my home and city, my country and its people, our language and culture, and the rich history we are proud of. I dream of the day when I will delete the air raid app from my smartphone and my daughter will have all her five lessons at school without having to run to the bomb shelter.
We are holding on and doing our best to survive, win, and simultaneously move forward, develop, and instil European values, democratic values in our challenging, thorny, blood-soaked path to the EU.
We are all aware that we would not have survived without the support of our partners – military, humanitarian, educational, and legal. We are eternally grateful to all European governments and organisations that have condemned the war crimes of the russian federation – crimes against humanity and the genocide that they have been committing in the occupied territories of Ukraine all this time.
Now - after 3 years of a terrible war that everyone has become accustomed to, and at a time when people in power are changing the public's perception by, calling black white and white black, and claiming that it was Ukraine that started the war and that Ukraine itself is to blame for what is happening, it is more important than ever to remind everyone whose side the truth is on.
One of such essential document is the Recommendation to the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe Member States on the ongoing War of Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine released by the Conference of International NGOs , which forcefully condemns the genocide of the Ukrainian people, the destruction of military and civilian infrastructure, the abduction of children, the deportation of the Ukrainian population, war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by russia. In this document, unlike many others, white is white and black is black; the attacker and the victim are not confused.
The call for action presented here is precise and fair. It calls for the CoE members to stand with Ukraine and support it in all ways possible in this challenging fight for freedom.
Now, in a world where new alliances are being formed based on mutual personal benefits and ambitions, where presidents of huge countries tell lies despite evidence and common sense, it is essential to help Ukraine in her fight for freedom and independence since she’s also defending the EU's future.
In Ukraine, we hope that, finally, “life will win over death and light will win over darkness,” as our President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once said. However, it is crucial to feel a friendly shoulder and understand that we are not alone in this battle.
We mustn't be forgotten. By helping us, European intergovernmental organisations are laying the foundations for building the truly democratic European society of the future, the future you’re building for your children.
Standing with Ukraine, you are standing with a free democratic world.
Time is working against us, but unity in the face of challenges solves everything.
It’s high time to defend democratic values.
Stand with Ukraine, stand for freedom and justice!
Anna Pavelieva, Eurodoc’s External Communication Coordinator,
PhD, Associate Professor of the Germanic Philology and Translation Department, National University Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” (Poltava,Ukraine)