“Eyes of the Maidan”

This woman stood on the Maidan in November-December 2004. The camera zeroed in on her face among thousands of others and caught a common expression of those days: expectation and hope. Those were strange and unique times and feelings.

We do not know whether this Ukrainian woman will come to the Maidan this Sunday or whether she will watch the Maidan’s “field commanders” as they launch a “solemn montage of the Maidan stage.” Who knows if she will appear on the Maidan on Nov. 22, 2005, the date of the official festivities commemorating the first anniversary of the Orange Revolution? And if she does, which of the speakers will she listen to, what will she be thinking, and will she wait long enough to hear the president?

Last year’s events are history. Today we are back to every man for himself. Everyone has their own problems, joys, and plans. Each of us has different views of what happened last year and especially now. We see those whom we elected through different eyes: some with disillusionment, others with hope, others with an aching heart, with the pain that is written all over the face of this woman, who has seen many things and many people. Unlike the young “revolutionaries,” she knew even then that with the change of government there would no well- being for everyone. Still, she hoped against all hope.

Faith is the most precious thing that this woman and millions of other Ukrainians placed on the current president’s altar of victory (but we are old hands and know the true worth of politicians and their words). This debt can be repaid to the people only by keeping the promises that were made. To remember them, officials on all levels ought to hang this photo next to pictures of the political leaders (better yet replace them with this single photo), so that they can see the Eyes of the Maidan every single day.