Message from Ukraine

On Thursday, February the 24th of last year Russia invaded Ukraine. The war has been going on for over 350 days. 

I had the honor of interviewing Ms. Ogla Perederiy who was born in Ukraine. Her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian. Ms. Perederiy’s aunt and grandmother lived in Ukraine at the start of the war. Living in Southeast Ukraine, they were close to the fighting. The Russian troops were just starting to force their way through Ukrainian defenses when her family was able to escape. Through her long established connections, Ms. Perederiy and her family were able to flee the country and relocate to a small apartment in Pennsylvania. Their journey was long and it took multiple days to get to the border. It was hard for them to start their lives over in Pennsylvania after coming out of the war zone, but they remained strong.

Ms. Perederiy traveled to volunteer at the Polish-Ukrainian border for six months. She worked with many organizations at the border, such as the Polish Red Cross and the World Central Kitchen. Her apartment was in Warsaw, which was five hours from the border, so she stayed in a different place each night. She stayed in hostels, with friends, and in her car. Since there was no organized schedule for work at the border, she worked twelve to fourteen hour shifts every day in the kitchen to pack meals to send to refugees located in the deeper parts of Ukraine. She helped with translation in the kitchen and assisted those offering medical assistance, as many refugees didn’t speak English and many volunteers didn’t speak Russian or Ukrainian. At the border, Ms. Perederiy helped individuals who were looking for their families. She traveled around the border helping refugees navigate to their next destination. Lots of refugees eventually traveled to Germany.

I asked Ms. Perederiy what had the biggest impact on her. Ms. Perederiy responded by saying that men from her own culture, from slavic culture, are not very emotive. They are considered strong and put together. When she was at the border and volunteering she was changed. She had never seen so many grown men cry. Even through the war, so many people have a lot of humility and courage. Even in a crisis, people have bonded together. Ms. Perederiy said that it is a “beautiful thing to see the Ukrainian people fight, [to see them] standing strong, not giving up”. 

Ms. Perederiy talked about someone she met at the Polish-Ukraine border while working at the World Central Kitchen. A man from Bucha, a city that was severely impacted by the war in April and May of last year, came into the kitchen devastated. He told her that his son went out to the store just before the rockets hit the city. He was not able to find his son. When evacuations began, the man was forced to leave. He had to choose between getting the rest of his family out or staying to wait for his son. If they stayed, they would not have been able to evacuate. He chose to save the rest of his family and leave his son behind. He deeply struggled with these feelings of guilt for the loss of his son. 

There is a large, worldwide sense of hope that Russia will run out of strength, ammunition, and supplies to finally end this brutal war. Even the SSSAS community has contributed to the many efforts being made to help Ukraine in the war. The Upper School community wrote over 100 postcards of encouragement in Ukrainian and English to send to another school in Ukraine. The messages our community sent in the postcards will hopefully provide joy and hope to those who are facing difficult situations.

Above all, as we approach the one-year mark of the invasion, there is a key message for people in the United States. A lot is going on in the world; there are wars in many places, health epidemics and even at a micro level we are all  stressed and grief-stricken. But in terms of Ukraine, the war is still ongoing. People are suffering and dying. They are losing their homes every day. Winter in Ukraine is brutal. Many do not have running water, heat, or electricity. For those that care about the state of our world, remind ourselves that a full-fledged war is going on that has forced men who are of military age to stay behind, families to be torn apart and kids being displaced. Please try to remember to be grateful  for what we have; our families, friends, and other things we might otherwise take for granted.

America з вами!  Україна в моєму серці.

America is with you! Ukraine is in my heart.