“I realized that I loved Mariupol when this war broke out”

Past year we heard Nadia’s story from Anatolii Butenko, Mariupol-based poet and public activist (see “Mariupol’s Ukrainian Dream” in Den’s No. 112 of June 29, 2016). Thanks to Den’s Photo Exhibit in this city we were able to meet her in person. As it turns out, Nadia comes from Lviv and moved to Mariupol a decade ago. She is currently working as a teacher and writes poetry. Past year her book of poems Prozrinnia (“Insight”) was published. Some of her works were included in a collection of poetry by local authors Ty v sertsi moim yedyna (“You Are the Only One in My Heart”). Besides, Umrysh is active in public life, as deputy chairperson of the Yednist (“Unity”) Center for Artistic Initiatives and of the city’s only Ukrainian-speaking literary club Svitoch. Umrysh shared with us how the local children become adult, how Ukrainian initiatives germinate in the city, and what impresses her about Den’s Photo Exhibit.

“RIGHT NOW MARIUPOL IS BECOMING A UKRAINIAN CITY”

“War brought horrible suffering to our land. These wounds will keep hurting for decades. But right now Mariupol is turning into a Ukrainian city. I moved here from Lviv more than 10 years ago. At first it was very hard for me, but now I am proud to live nowhere else but in this city. Here I met some very nice people, true patriots.

“Only after the outbreak of the war did Mariupol see the events which were probably unthinkable there before. We have hosted the festivals ‘Chervona Ruta’ and ‘Z Krainy v Ukrainu,’ received the pop-rock band Okean Elzy and movie legend Ada Rohovtseva, and now Den’s Photo Exhibit, for the first time in 18 years.”

“THESE PHOTOS HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON, AND IT IS LOVE”

“I’ve been under the impression from your exhibit for a couple of days now. I think I circled the entire exposition four times, I peered into the pictures. What a sophisticated intertwining of peace, and war, and quiet, and nature. Lake Synevyr at the photo The Heart of the Carpathians, I had never seen it like this before: like a heart with throbbing veins. And next to it pictures of death, wounds, destruction, mutilation, you cannot look at them without tears.

“But all these photos have one thing in common, and it is love: for people, for your fatherland, for friends and family, and even for strangers. Now there are no strangers anymore. We are worried about everyone who defends Ukraine.

“One photo, which I had already seen on Facebook, struck me the most. It is Beside a Friend’s Grave. When I saw it first, I froze. At the exhibit I stood a long while in front of Strength and Tenderness. It just took my breath away. A couple in love, both wearing military uniforms, he wearing tactical gloves and a balaclava mask is looking at his girl so tenderly while braiding her hair… I have never seen anything like this.

Photo by Yevhen SOSNOVSKYI

“Encountering another photo caught me unawares. Past year in Lviv I went to a hospital to visit the wounded troops. There I met Katrusia and Serhii Yushchenkos, who found each other thanks to the war. At the exhibit I saw a photo of their wedding, which took place nowhere other but at that hospital in Lviv.

“Also I was impressed by pictures by Yevhen Sosnovskyi from Mariupol. Some portray children of Mariupol: some happy, wearing embroidered shirts, some wearing helmets, like in Tank Girl. So the nation could see how Mariupol children live.”

“I COULD NOT PERMIT SEPARATISTS TO EDUCATE MY SON”

“The children who live in Mariupol and witness all this, have an acute love for Ukraine. For example, my youngest son Yevhen, who is 10 years old. His patriotism and love for his fatherland go off the scale. When the city lived under the so-called ‘DNR’ for a couple of months, I kept running outside to remind him that now you have to love Ukraine quietly.

“When Grads were whistling over my Kamianske [a neighborhood on the outskirts of Mariupol. – Author], we were scared and took shelter in the bathroom, but I was not going to run away. I knew that we had to overcome, defend Mariupol and drive all the scum away. ‘DNR’ forces were everywhere in the city, yet I and my son were reading poetry in the street: he recited Taras Shevchenko, and I read my poem about Shevchenko. But then I was in panic because I could not permit separatists to educate my son.”

“THE YOUTH MUST SEE THAT UKRAINIAN MEANS COOL”

“My Ukrainian language, my love for Ukraine gave me all the friends I have in Mariupol. With my youngest we went to rallies and other similar events, and this is how I met Anatolii Butenko, who organized a civic association, Center for Artistic Initiatives ‘Unity.’ Our organization, of which I am deputy chairperson, aspires to unite all patriotic forces and build a Ukrainian Home in Mariupol in order to restore Ukrainian customs, culture, and national ideas here.

“I guess the current educational projects in Mariupol are not enough. Each year festivals of Ukrainian songs are held, roundtables are gathered to mark the Day of Ukrainian Literacy. We keep talking and talking, but to little avail. In Kamianske the kindergarten is meant to be Ukrainian-speaking, but it is a problem to find staff who would speak Ukrainian with kids.

A CONFIDENT LOOK AHEAD. NADIA UMRYSH (LEFT) AT A MEETING WITH DEN’S JOURNALISTS AT “KHALABUDA” FREE SPACE IN MARIUPOL. THE POET ADMITS THAT RALLIES, CONCERTS AND OTHER CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL EVENTS HELP LOCAL PATRIOTS OF UKRAINE WITHSTAND THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS NOT ALWAYS FRIENDLY / Photo by Yevhen SOSNOVSKYI

“Or the situation with St. Valentine’s Day. I thought it would be nice to give someone a Valentine card. But at the store I could not find a card with the text in Ukrainian. Blank cards they did not have either. And when it comes to books, well, you can already find Vsevolod Nestaiko, for instance, but this issue is progressing very slowly. Earlier every time I went to Lviv, I came to Mariupol with a bag full of Ukrainian books.

“Yes, we have, for example, Khalabuda (‘hut’) Free Space, but we need more of these things. The youth must see that ‘Ukrainian’ does not mean something backward, Ukrainian is cool.”

CULTURE INSPIRES COURAGE

“I do not hide my views, although we live in a vague place. There still are a lot of people in Mariupol who will not accept Ukraine, and it hurts a lot. They say, ‘Keep still, or you won’t have the time to run away when our boys come.’ They are not afraid. They know that there is no one to be afraid of, neither SBU nor anyone else. It is hard to live in such atmosphere. I charge my batteries at rallies and concerts. This helps to overcome the environment, gives strength and inspires courage.”

“I FELT LIKE KISSING THE GROUND IN MARIUPOL”

“Only when the war began did I understand how much I love Mariupol. Or that I love it at all. And how much I want it to be Ukrainian. Only then did I realize that I would not go back to Lviv. Before that, the gravitation force of my birthplace pulled me back, and in Mariupol I only saw all sorts of negative things.

“When the war broke out, I was just traveling back to Mariupol from Lviv. Our ‘Banderaite’ train was halted before Donetsk, and we heard: ‘Banderaites may go no further.’ Some of the cars were disconnected. People from Donetsk tried to hitch a ride home, but we from Mariupol were held for two hours in an open field. In my purse I had a blue-and-yellow flag, which had been to Maidan, two embroidered Ukrainian shirts, and an icon of the Blessed Virgin. I knew that if the terrorists checked my purse, I would be in some serious trouble. But it was not myself I was scared for. I feared for my child: who would bring him home? When we finally arrived at the railroad station in Donetsk, I was wondering what would happen if separatists come into the car. Where must I hide my child then? I and my entire family were praying. But fortunately they never came in, so it all ended well. And when in the middle of the night we arrived in Mariupol, I felt like kissing the ground under my feet.

“For seven years I had no idea what you can love in Mariupol. I would not understand what it was loved for. And now I can say, and I mean every letter of it: I love Mariupol with all my heart. And I really love the people who live here.”

“IF ONLY THE BLOODSHED WOULD STOP”

“I do not know why, but my gut feeling says that Ukraine will be united as state. It simply cannot be otherwise.

“I guess if I lived in Lviv, if I had not experienced all this, I would not be writing such poems. My poems are made of usual words that people use to talk to each other. And I would gladly give up half of my life for not having to write them. But under other circumstances Mariupol would have never become a Ukrainian city!

“Look, here I have bought some books from Den’s Library: Ukraine Incognita and Catastrophe and Triumph: The Stories of Ukrainian Heroes. If I have a spare minute, I read. I read a lot of books about this war, and yours is written in an easy, beautiful, and simple language.

“Soon I will come to the exhibit one more time. And I invite everyone I meet, everyone I know to visit it. Mariupol needs it. Let them come one by one, bit by bit. If only the bloodshed would stop.”