Ukraine: International charity worker from north Highlands remembers Kyiv as it was before the war with Russia
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Chris McIvor, who is from Wick and works with HelpAge International covering Eastern Europe, shares his experiences of time in Ukraine with the charity
One of my abiding memories of a visit to Kyiv a few years ago was a walk I took along the banks of the Dnieper that flows through the heart of the city.
The parkland that stretches on either side of the river is a favourite spot for the city’s residents and on that morning in March it was packed with families welcoming the end of winter and the arrival of warmer weather ahead.
The contrast between the almost carnival atmosphere of that day and what we are now seeing on the streets of Ukraine’s capital could hardly be starker.
From the images that now appear on the newscasts covering the war in Ukraine it seems that this once vibrant part of central Kyiv is empty today of everyone apart from soldiers with guns.
Who could have imagined at the time that only a few years later the buses and trams ferrying residents to one of their favourite locations would be replaced by tanks and armoured personnel carriers from an invading army?
Apart from visiting the HelpAge office in Kyiv, I also travelled to the east of the country where most of the efforts of my organisation have been concentrated over the last eight years.
I was five years old when the war started and remember how military vehicles were driving down the street. There was nothing to eat. We had to eat grass.
It might be surprising to some people who now see Ukraine flashing up on their TV screens to know that since 2014 an ongoing conflict has damaged and destroyed the lives of thousands of people in that part of the country.
Older residents have been particularly affected, partly because they have no possibility to simply up their lives and start elsewhere, and partly because of loyalty and allegiance to the communities where they have resided most of their lives.
It is these same older people, estimated at around two million in the east of Ukraine, who are now at extreme risk during the current escalation in hostilities. Lacking mobility and resources, many will find it difficult to escape any fighting. Separated from their families and impoverished because of eight years of prior conflict, they will experience food shortages, lack of medicines for their ailments, and an absence of a support and care system to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
Meanwhile, the ravages of Covid-19 continue as well as the disruption to vaccine supplies that can be expected on the back of a full-scale conflict. It is not only shells and bullets that can end lives.
Lydia Manuylova, who is 86 years old and lives in the eastern part of Ukraine, shared her concerns in a recent interview. "I am afraid that it will be like in the war (World War II)," she said. "I was five years old when the war started and remember how military vehicles were driving down the street.
"There was nothing to eat. We had to eat grass. If the war breaks out, I’ll stay at home. There is a cellar in my yard, but I won’t be able to reach it. I hope my neighbours don’t leave me; God bless them. People suffer, they live in fear, everyone is worried and afraid."
On my last day in eastern Ukraine, I met with some of our volunteers who conduct much of the work that benefits some 5000 older people along what is called ‘the line of contact,’ an imaginary strip of land that stretches for hundreds of kilometers to separate the two warring parties, as well as families and relatives on either side of it.
I reflected at the time that it is perhaps easier to volunteer when you yourself can dip in and out of a conflict or situation in order to recover your energy and enthusiasm in between.
But all of these volunteers were impacted by the situation themselves, experiencing the same disruption to their lives, the lack of economic opportunities, the uncertainty about the future and when and where the next bomb would fall.
Yet they still found the time to help others.
It is that solidarity I now recall when contemplating the terrible events unfolding in Ukraine. Against simple acts of charity and kindness I choose to believe that soldiers with guns will not prevail.
- Chris McIvor is the regional representative for HelpAge International covering the Midde East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He has visited Ukraine for work purposes on two occasions.
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