One grows accustomed to war, even if you are not part of it, even if your house has not been completely destroyed and you’re at home, surrounded by a normal set of walls, at your normal workplace, to which you take your usual trolleybus (it’s good that it still goes there). Among us, such cases are still resemblant of the majority and this is becoming ever more evident. Some may label this as a burnout, some may call it adaptation – it’s natural. Such a mental state is difficult to imagine for those that are at the frontlines and those who wait for their sons, husbands, wives, fathers, brothers and sisters.. It is simply a different dimension.
Fatigue from a war-torn year can be seen in the mirror. Everyone can see themselves and everything that is their own but nobody became better during this difficult time. Fatigue takes different shapes. I’ve heard from a few volunteers (that didn’t know each other) that the financial support has significantly decreased. Not everyone has stopped donating, but if one could describe the previous flow of donations as a river, then now it is a small stream. Perhaps, it is a coincidence as the pool of volunteers is not statistically representative. The number of TV viewers dropped, not necessarily due to the low quality of the United News Telethon – right now it’s share of viewers is only 10% (incl. Cities above 50,000, 18+ audience), for your ordinary TV source this is a considerable statistic, even more so during war… last year in March it was 25%. I’m afraid it could simply be the case of a loss of attention.
No, I haven’t forgotten the heroism and dedication of those who took to their local Military Commissariat last year, nor the stamina and coordination of those who stayed or had to evacuate their loved ones. I did not forget the fact that Ukrainians, for a short period of time, forgot about their own internal quarrels and came together as one. I did not forget that we, Ukrainians, felt as a nation, and the amount of ‘scum’ felt very minimal. Ukrainians have passed their test in front of God with great honor. However, the issue at hand as of now is different: the war is not over and great difficulties await us in the future. The fact that the threat of death (for some of us) has become less immediate, doesn’t mean that we are ready for the Second and much less the Third Act.
The Second Act is about being tested through the endurance of time. The same routine that exhausts more than extreme suffering. A lot of colleagues and friends seem to point out that the mental state is too close to that of 2021, to which I can add the following phenomena: “fighting corruption”, personnel changes in the Cabinet of Ministers, while the war is somewhere beyond the horizon. I do not want to lecture here, this is not my method at all, I just want a future for my country, and it won’t arrive if Ukraine lets its guard down. The miracle after 24.02 came to be because there were many of those who knew what they were dying for. The rest knew who was dying for them and why. This combination, which earlier could be perceived as demagogy, as a political slogan, seemingly dishonest, actually became reality. We must do everything to preserve this state of mind, as the alternative is defeat.
Even more interestingly: my colleagues reported that certain political parties who shall remain nameless, have already set up their electoral campaigns
The rebirth of the above-mentioned mental confusion, inherent to Ukraine, I view as a sign of fatigue and the reduction of internal mental mobilization. Even more interestingly: my colleagues reported that certain political parties who shall remain nameless, have already set up their electoral campaigns. From one side, one can view this as a sign of… uh… stability! In fact, during Ukraine’s martial law, elections are impossible, so in a sense the public is being prepared for victory. From another point of view, it looks inhumane. From all our past and present questions to our commander-in-chief, it can be expected that he will be showered by brutal criticism, perhaps because no other form of political competition exists in Ukraine? Am I the only one who thinks this is not the time?
A year ago I predicted that the events that have engulfed us will persist for a long time. Neither now nor then did I have enough information, nor the necessary qualification, but rather had an adequate perception of the mental state across the nation and subsequently, a general idea of where our destiny was taking us. For Russia, its losses seem usual and natural, something that just keeps happening for centuries. As for their ‘elites’ – they are more than happy to waste blood of the ‘average people’, as one of the ‘elite’s’ members, Vladislav Surkov, a prominent proponent of Rashism, has famously proclaimed. Therefore, everything depends on the health of their führer as he continues bathing in endangered-deer’s blood and receives massages from an ex-world champion gymnast. When they run out of tanks, they will fight with shovels, as they did 80 years ago. Hence, we must not relax and focus instead, as the end is not in sight yet.
We were confused by the fact that martial law turned out to be quite different to the one imposed during the Second World War: cold, cards, light-dimming as camouflage, acorn coffee, carrot tea. In our case, we do have light to an extent and are too cozy at home to run to the bomb shelter. Supermarkets still have Scottish Whisky, French Roquefort, and Dutch oysters, which I saw myself the other day. State, Business and Civil institutions have all withstood the pressure and continued to function – this in and of itself is in a way win-win. At the same time however, this created a void between those who are there versus here, those who have a husband, son or father at the frontlines and those whose turn hasn’t come yet, those who lost their homes and those who haven’t, those who are constantly bombarded by enemy fire and those who are not. I do not wish to lecture ‘hipsters’ or bosses/directors of tax authorities, customs as I don’t have the right or time. I only want to rally everyone to find and mobilize their reserve energy in order to overcome the upcoming hardships. I believe we have this capacity.
As for the Third Act – which entails euphoria, the rebuilding and the subsequent distribution coming from the “Marshall Plan” – we’ll talk about some other time.
