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Valentina (left) and Ilmira. Foto Marjan Borsjes
Speeches of Valentina (Ukraine) and Ilmira (Russia)
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During our June 24th action at Spui, also two close friends were speaking: Ilmira, who had to flee Russia because of her protest against the war, and Valentina, refugee from Lugansk in the Donbass region. They are united in their condemnation of the Russian invasion and the war.
See YouTube here Valentina from Loehansk, Ukraine: Today is a very nice summer evening! Everyone has their own plans, but you, as caring people, are here today. You, together with us, are talking about our long-suffering Ukraine. Where the war has been going on for almost ten years. Where there is so much sorrow and tragedy! The war came to our houses. no one expected it, no one wanted it. On June 20, 2023, the UN confirmed that 9.083 civilians had died during the war in Ukraine. And how many military... Blood has been pouring on our land for 9 years. For 9 years our defenders have been fighting for our motherland! People you have to understand! - war knows no mercy, it can come to any house. Franklin Roosevelt also said: "War benefits the incompetent. The talented always benefit from peace!" Let's show our talent and achieve peace in Ukraine and on the planet in general! The world needs PEACE! Maybe someone thinks Ukraine is very far away! No, it's not far. Here is an example of how a military disaster in UKRAINE can affect everyone. On June 6, 2023 , the Kakhovskaya dam was blown up. As a result, a huge area was flooded. People and animals died. Forests were affected. This is one of the biggest environmental disasters in Europe over the past ten years. Flooding of large areas of land in the south of Ukraine threatens the ecology of the Black Sea. Rotten plants and animal corpses have accumulated near its shores. The concentration of toxic metals and hydrocarbons has been exceeded. In the area of Odessa, combat mines were found. And the worst thing was that the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant was put at risk. There are 1782 km between Kiev and Amsterdam. But this distance does not prevent Ukrainians from feeling your empathy, help and support. Thank you so much for everything your country does for us. Ilmira from St Petersburg: For many months now, my motherland has been waging aggressive war in Ukraine. During this time thousands of people have been killed. Some have turned into heroes who defend the right to determine their own future. Others are slaves for whom even their own lives are worth nothing. At the beginning of this war, the whole world expected the Russians to come together and stop this evil. However, this doesn’t work. The people of the world don't expect anything from Russians anymore. Everyone knows that protest is impossible in Russia. But there is a protest there. Even now, when prison time for the right to be a human is more than the prison term for murder. You should know that
People lose their jobs; their children are taken away from them. In these cases, you need to be very brave to continue to defend your opinion. 4 months ago, I was already a speaker here. And it was very hard for me to come here again. But it's very important to be here and talk. This week, PACE recognized that the Belarusian people are not like the Lukashenka regime. That's great! But we Russians still continue to be judged by our passport. And today I have a chance to explain to the world that not all Russians want war. I appreciate you listening to me. It is very important for us to be heard. The war has been going on for almost one and half years and unfortunately the news about Ukraine has already turned into a routine. But you're here. And this is absolutely great. Because today the pain felt for Ukrainian people does not touch our hearts with the same force as it was a year ago when we all heard about the Bucha. Valentina said that more than 9,000 civilians were killed during the war in Ukraine. I calculated it. This is 20 people per day and almost 1 person per hour. Can you imagine that? How many of us are here? By the end of the meeting, one less. So it's more clear, right? Today, killing people has become the norm. Victims (виктемс) have become statistics. The dead don't even have names. But we cannot let that to happen. Anna Akhmatova, the famous Russian poet of the 20th century, said – the main thing is not to lose despair (диспеа). It is very important for us to preserve the pain and fear that we experienced at the beginning of the war. This will give us the courage to fight evil (Ивэл). This will give us the strength (стран) to win. And now a few words about what is going on in Russia now. To be honest I don’t know what to say. On the one hand that is good news and I want to keep hope the changes will come very soon. But on other hand we know who those people are. |
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