Oleksandra Kuzhel, opposition Ukraine’s politician.
Kyiv, Ukraine. 2013-12-13
Source: http://novaukraina.org/news/urn:news:1411271
I want to tell you about the things that will never be shown on the screen, as the cameras didn’t see them. When hundreds of women stood at the Maidan stage that night and repeated the words of prayer after the priest. Many of them were afraid. That is truth. However, only single individuals went away, all others remained.
God saves our Maidan. The boys who stood in the first line face-to-face with “Berkut” say that when I called the Archimandrite of the Kyiv Mykhaylivsky Cathedral after the beginning of the storm and asked him to support us with prayers and chimes, and the alarming sound of the church bell filled the night, “Berkut” stopped.
Yesterday in the evening one young man came in our tent, asked a sheet of paper and a pen to write the note with a message which were announced from the Maidan stage from time to time. Myroslav asked some girl Nastya, with whom he stood on the barricade at the Central Department Store in the night from Monday to Tuesday, to answer him.
He told a little about himself. He’s from Ternopil, the owner of a small enterprise, where thirteen people work. As soon as he saw the brutal massacre of students by “Berkuts” on TV, he made his assistant manage the enterprise and went to Kyiv.
A friend of mine stood near the tent. She is a very successful woman and has her own business, profitable until recently. Every day Viktoria brings several jars with hot bouillon for dinner for the protesters at Maidan. She offered her office that is situated near to Myroslav, so that all interested could take a shower and sleep there in the warm.
The man thanked a lot and said that on the day before the night from Monday to Tuesday they had prepared to the storm: shaved and washed themselves and put clean clothes on. “We knew that it would be storm. We did not know how it would end and decided that if we have to die, we should be ready.” Myroslav said that simply, routinely and without pathos or anguish. “We decided so,” said he for farewell and went away.
His face was special – I don’t know how to describe it… A kind of enlightened, elevated… Like face of the man who understood his destination. The man who sought for an answer to some very important question for a long time, when suddenly, at one moment, he understood the essence and made a decision.
These were the faces of men on Maidan yesterday, when the black ring of policemen narrowed around the peaceful campsite. No fuss, no panic. Prayer was heard over the square. Nobody spoke. The faces of men just became different at once. Like the Myroslav’s face.
Later, on the Tuesday’s evening, when it got dark, a 50-years-old man accidentallyc ame to our tent, speaking on mobile phone. There was loud music in the street and he had to come to us in order to hear his partner. He told someone in a low voice, ordinary and not a steel one, “You see, when I saw them beating children like animals, I decided that I won’t go away from Maidan, till these bastards are punished.” Someone, apparently, asked him, “What if they kill you?” And he answered. Very simply, “Then, it must be so. I’ve made a decision.”
Afterwards our boys came – the night shift. They put warm clothes on, when we, astonished, interrupting each other, told what had happened that day. Suddenly one of them turned to us and said quietly, “Have you understood nothing yet? We will not go away. There are many of us here. We’ve decided so.”
You, who see happiness only in occuping ruling cabinets! You, who make decisions on clean-ups and give commands to the feathered scavengers gathered from all corners of the country.
Do you hear?! They will not go away from Maidan, until the Evil is punished, till the country changes! Our husbands and sons have decided that they will not go away. And their faces changed in a minute. You’ll never have such faces.
And we – we will stand beside our men. Together to the victory.
Oleksandra Kuzhel
Voices of Ukraine 