Yura Sikanov, the young man who played himself in Pit No. 8, has been in Makiivka city hospital’s department of maxillofacial surgery for a month. He underwent two surgeries to drain phlegmons in his chin area and has stitches in it. However, this treatment was not enough for a full recovery. Human rights activists say Sikanov had the articular processes of his lower jaw fractured, and the operation can not be delayed anymore, because he will become disabled unless special plates are placed in his jaw. He underwent an examination on November 19 to determine what treatment is needed and, most importantly, how much it will cost, as Sikanov cannot pay for it and the money is being raised from every possible source. According to preliminary estimates, costs of the surgery and post-surgery will come to 10,000 hryvnias or so. We were told at the Human Rights Center (HRC) which organizes aid to Sikanov that 10 to 20 hryvnias of contribution from every concerned citizen would be enough to save The Day. About 4,000 hryvnias entered his bank account the first day after its details were announced, allowing to pay for the examination on November 19.
Journalist Valentyna Postnova was the first to spread the news about what happened to Sikanov. According to her, an NGO had offered Sikanov to support his further education after the film presentation in Kyiv, but he would need to move to Kherson to get it, which he refused. He got help from journalists, NGOs and local authorities. However, he refused the job offer from a local plant, explaining that his wages would be too low (he was promised 1,300 hryvnias in monthly wages, while illegal mines usually pay ten times more). It was said that he was still working in illegal mines, although the locals say that all of them were closed down after the film’s release. Actually, some of the townspeople were not happy with it. Was it the reason for his neighbors down the alley’s assault on him with a baseball bat on October 27, The Day before the last elections? Father and son who were involved in this incident now say that Sikanov had started the fight and was the first to attack them with a bat. Sikanov himself cannot recall The Day’s events, and called the doctor only on October 28 in the morning. According to Postnova, the criminal case was started on November 1, after she started to make inquiries about the investigation’s conduct. The father and son recorded their injuries, and the investigation is ongoing.
Postnova, as well as Sikanov’s sister and other neighbors, who let him live in their house, agree that he needs to be saved body and soul, removed from Snizhne to protect him from the local community and its bad habits. Is it just Sikanov’s problem? Hardly so, because there could be many more such lads, and what happened to him is the result of a whole cause-and-effect chain. Blaming only “the system” for the situation is hardly appropriate, too, as Sikanov himself must change his ways after the fact, as must the people who put trust in him at once and are helping him now.
To help Sikanov, the journalist contacted the director of the film who also promised to help. They are now reestablishing contacts with the Kherson NGO that can help Sikanov to move to the city and continue his education. The HRC of Donetsk told us that the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival DocuDays ended in Donetsk on November 18, while Pit No. 8 was the festival’s opening film. Its organizers planned to invite Sikanov to the viewing, but because he was thought to be in Luhansk at the time, some technical issues prevented them from bringing the lad to Donetsk. (Generally, the festival’s budget does not cover its invited guests’ costs, while Sikanov would need not only an invitation, but his hotel living expenses covered, too.) Meanwhile, the film’s hero was already in the hospital at the time. The film attracted large audiences in Donetsk and Kyiv alike.
“People came to the lad’s help at once. They are asking us if he is allowed to receive well-wishers, inquiring how much money is needed, disseminating information. This is a good thing, because it has brought us the first visible result, as we can pay for the first surgery now,” the human rights activists say.
Money for Sikanov can be transferred to his account at Privatbank, card number 5211 5374 1725 8378
