The Maidan of unfulfilled hopes

The seventh anniversary of the start of the Orange Revolution will be marked on November 22. Undoubtedly, this event was very important for the Ukrainian people. For the first time since independence had been achieved, the nation showed the entire world its willingness and ability to defend its dignity, and managed to do so in a tolerant and non-aggressive way. However, sensible people who were thin on the ground in those euphoric days realized that the level of expectations of the society, the people who came to the Independence Square was immensely higher than willingness to change on the part of those who stood on the stage in the square.

This newspaper’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna said in an interview to Telekrytyka in April 2005 that the Orange Revolution “was not a new wave. It was a geyser. It shot from the ancient depths, because Ukrainians always strove for freedom. Undoubtedly, a lot of people who came to Maidan were there not for money. But this geyser has gone back into the depths as suddenly as it had shot, and in some cases, it has blasted into high places the people who would never get there in a natural way.”

The Internet marathon will be held on November 22, to coincide with the revolution’s anniversary. The event’s organizer is Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem. It is very important for us today to understand why those who had come to the stage in Maidan failed to meet expectations of society, and what we ourselves, including many journalists, should have done then but have not.

“We have tasked ourselves with reminding the events of the Orange Revolution. I think a lot of developments were later forgotten even by those who had stood at its origins. But I suppose that some things are still remembered, and these should not be allowed to pass into oblivion,” Nayyem told The Day. “We also want to hold this Internet marathon and demonstrate to the audience that we can do well without administrative resources, without structure and without editorial office. My dream is to have a foundation created upon which we would continue to organize similar projects and hold public discussions. Should we succeed in creating such a foundation and accompanying websites which would be trusted by colleagues, it would be a significant contribution to the development of Internet broadcasting then. I see this marathon as an early attempt to demonstrate that Internet broadcasting is feasible, and this is my most important task, as it will allow us to report news honestly and without interference on the part of political parties or media companies’ management. Given that this project involves a lot of people with different views, everybody is sure about that. The audience will be able to get information, analyze it and understand what will be happening. I do not know yet how the marathon will turn out to be in the end, but we will still get at least some result.”