Competitions of sidewalk drawings and concerts are often held on the first day of summer. Weather permitting, parents take their “chicks” to parks to eat ice-cream and go on the rides. No one knows who this ritual is more important to – children or adults. The latter think: “I’m in contact with my offspring, so let me offer him/her a feast.”
When Den was staging a photo exhibit in Mariupol this spring, I mingled with many residents of this frontline city. The undeclared war with Russia particularly hurts locals. Men and women cry, speaking about their killed friends and looking at the photos of wounded soldiers. Nevertheless, people actively volunteer, struggle to keep the “Russian World” away from their city, and in general remain optimistic. When asked about changes in the life of Mariupol, they emphasize the good side and often say: “Yes, there’s a war, but the city has at last become Ukrainian. We have seen very nice people who are living here!” And a boy aged 10 or so minced no words: “It is worse now, for the wounded are brought in every day. Lots of people have died.” Incidentally, when the “Russian Spring” raged in Mariupol, this boy went with his mom to attend a rally with Ukrainian flag near the Taras Shevchenko monument. His words jar on the ears, but they are very honest. We must keep this honesty safe in children – they should not be afraid to say the truth and come out against injustice when they grow up. Then this country will have the elite and, naturally, the future.
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
Den/The Day often focuses on the “children’s question.” Children frequently become front-page heroes, and we write about teenage scientists and inventors. And let me reveal a secret: we are going to restore the old rubric “Parents’ Day” in which well-known people say about the way they bring up their kids. There is also a number of interviews with notable figures and their children, such as the literary critic, prose writer, and public activist Mykhailo Slaboshpytskyi and his son Myroslav, a talented film director. We are also discussing now several practical initiatives in Ukraine, aimed at making children feel more protected. Otherwise, the June 1 holiday will lose any sense.
