A shorter version of this article was published in the Scottish Sunday Post on March 27.
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Alla and her family arrived in Congaz, Moldova on the night of March 22 wearing her grandson Vova’s hoodie and sweatpants. He had thrown away her only clothing – a pair of pants, a shirt, and a sweater – during the three weeks they spent locked away together in a bomb shelter in Mariupol.
Continue reading “Fleeing Mariupol Horrors: A Grandmother and Young Man Survive the War in Ukraine”
On March 14, a brave woman barreled into the frame of a newscast on Russia’s Channel One, a notorious source of state propaganda.
While the female announcer was speaking, Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor of the channel, was holding a sign in both Russian and English: “No War. Stop the War. Don’t believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here. Russians against war.”
Continue reading “Calling a Spade a Spade: Russians Fear Repercussions for Speaking Out Against War”
“Because of the gasoline, everything was a terrible Hell.” – Galina Nikolaevna, resident of Comrat, Gagauzia and born in Sevastopol, talks about remembrance, World War Two, the deaths of her family’s men, and monuments to soldiers who have passed.
Scroll all the way to the bottom for the original Russian transcript. Чтобый читать оригинальную запись, просматривайте внизу.
Galina had joined my host mother Anna Nikolaevna and me for breakfast the morning after Comrat’s Big Easter night service. I had seen her come to the house before, but we never talked – only greeted each other. I just knew she had an old dog, and she would come to my host mother for scraps for the beast. Galina was living on a pittance of a pension. Continue reading “Monuments and War Memories: Interview with Galina Nikolaevna”
“It’s not flat!” “It’s a lie!” “It is not about ‘geometric’!” “I know how to read the elevation on Google, I know topographical maps!” “There is no other interpretation of flat!!”
Continue reading “Naours, France: Biking and Touring the Underground”
Sundry Travels 