Ukraine: „This winter shows the whole barbarity of the war“
An interview on peacebuilding in Ukraine
The reports coming out of Ukraine this winter are grim. The constant Russian attacks and the freezing cold are dominating people's lives. In mid-January, we spoke to our country director Zornitsa Popova-Glodzhani about the situation. Her descriptions confirm the seriousness of the situation. At the same time, she highlights why it is important to strengthen civil society – now and as a preparation for a post-war future.
It has been four years now since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Ukraine. What is the situation of civilians today?
This winter is the biggest test for the endurance of the Ukrainian people. The temperatures have dropped to as low as minus 22 degrees at times, and on better days there are two or three hours of electricity. No electricity means no water, no heating. This is hurting especially the most vulnerable in society. Imagine an elderly person who lives on the 17th floor and can’t go to the doctor if the elevator is not working, or families with small kids who have to run down to the shelter night after night, only to return to a cold and dark apartment. It is a daily struggle to survive. This winter really shows the barbarity of this whole war, because this is a deliberate tactic by the Russian army to break people’s will, and it affects first and foremost the civilian population.
This society is deeply scarred, both on an individual and a collective level.
How can you keep working under these conditions?
It is difficult. Our colleagues and partners live and work in different parts of the country, and understandably they need to take care of themselves and their families first. Due to the lack of electricity, sometimes e-mails come at a slower pace or meetings have to be postponed. But everyone is giving their best and works hard to keep the projects running. We have even developed new projects that will be implemented this year. And interestingly enough, we did not need to adapt our program strategy much. In the first months of the invasion, we redirected some funds to urgently needed humanitarian aid. But since then, we have returned to working on nonviolent conflict transformation and civic action. These issues do not lose their significance in times of war – quite the contrary.
What does it do to a society to live under the burden of war for such a long time?
Everyone is trying to cope somehow. What other choice do they have? But it has an enormous personal prize. I perceive a great sadness, a lot of anger and exhaustion. This society is deeply scarred, both on an individual and a collective level. How this will develop when the war finally ends is hard to predict – whether this will lead to something positive or to further division. Ukraine has always been a very diverse country in terms of language, confession, culture and political positions. Now in face of the war, these differences step back behind the shared goal of survival. When the weapons fall silent, they might return to the surface.
The War Childhood Museum also offers a place to share personal experiences.
What does this mean for peacebuilding?
It means that we have a lot of work to do. My experience from other post-war contexts is: Everybody will be focused on reconstructing the infrastructure and the economy. But Ukrainians also need time to grieve and to heal. They need to hear about different experiences during the war and to understand what people in different situations went through – for example people who fought, who were displaced, who lost someone. Building this understanding will help to preserve the strong spirit of solidarity and mutual support that they have developed during the war.
How can Pro Peace contribute to this?
We already work on increasing the capacities within society and the institutions to deal with trauma. The need is huge and we have a lot of expertise to offer in terms of trauma-sensitive approaches and building a culture of empathy. For example, we are currently exploring pathways to work with veterans. Their re-integration into civilian life will be a big challenge for Ukraine, and we know from other countries where Pro Peace works that veterans can become a constructive force for social recovery – maybe even messengers of peace. However, this is a long-term vision that requires a lot of work. The same goes for the topic of dealing with the past: Already now, during the war, we are building the structures for a collective memory that is inclusive and that allows for a wide variety of perspectives to be recognized. One example is the project “War Childhood Museum” that documents the experiences of children during the war – a perspective that is often overlooked. And last but not least we work on strengthening a resilient and active civil society, which will be needed more than ever after the war.
