Day 46. The Will To Live.

Dnipro airport

The Dnipro airport and all the infrastructure around it has been destroyed. 

Hearing about it on the news was very painful. It was my home airport. The place where I'd meet my loved ones and say goodbye to them almost every time I went to Ukraine over the last 9 years. The whole place has been completely wiped out of existence.

Source: AFP

I told dad. He said "We'll rebuild it! And they'll pay for it."

It's strange how sometimes the news about places being destroyed are as hurtful as hearing about human loss. Last time I felt like this was when I heard about AN-225 Mriya being destroyed. That time I kicked off badly enough that a friend staying with me at the time thought that something must’ve happened to a family member - it was my favourite aircraft and there was only one like that in the world.

When trying to cope with all the emotions that this war has caused, I often think of a short novel “The Will to Live” by a Ukrainian cinematographer Oleksandr Dovzhenko. I read it for the first time as a child and it deeply impressed me at the time. I’ve re-read it many times since then and it continues to inspire me and give me strength to this day. The crux of the story is that a Ukrainian military surgeon tells his friend how he saved people during WWII. The most important thing, he believes, is the human will to live.

“.. The fighter stopped only when a machine gun fell from his wounded hand. He was ready to tear the Nazis apart with his teeth, but he did not feel his arm at all. He barely made it out of the battle field, crawled out of it and only then fell. He lost a lot of blood and was completely exhausted.

When paramedics found him, there was almost no blood in him. At first they took the soldier dead, but he whispered:

- I live.

… 

But this did not save him - the gangrene covered his shoulder, climbed to his neck, there was almost no pulse. The doctor saw that there were only a few minutes left, but encouraged Karmalyuk, promising that he would live. However, he did not order a bandage. After doing a round around the ward, the doctor sat down in his office. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Karmalyuk appeared at the doorstep. He demanded a bandage ... The fighter was determined to survive, to avenge his enemies.

The surgeon worked with great inspiration and love. Never before did he want to save a man's life as much as he did now. Ivan lay before him in a deep frenzy, but his will to live had passed on to the doctor and filled him to the brim. He forgot about his tiredness, his sleepless nights and worked as after a good night's sleep and a fresh bath, worked easily and joyfully ...

When Karmalyuk was taken out of the operating room to his bed, the whole ward applauded him. His will to live passed on to the people.”

I feel like every Ukrainian is a Karmalyuk these days. Every expert predicted Ukraine to fall within the first 3 days of the invasion. It’s day 46 and we are still fighting. Our resources are not limitless and we need help. In particular we need weapons to defend ourselves.

Prior to the 24th February, I couldn’t for the life of me ever imagine myself asking for weapons. Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice and I hope that people outside Ukraine never find out what it’s like to be making a plea like this.

If you live in a Western country, please pressure your local politicians to give us the weapons we ask for. We deserve to live. You can help us survive.

Photo: Instagram - voysax.