Mariupol, a big city in the south of Donetsk oblast, often referred to as Ukraine’s wartime outpost in the east, is for the first time on the map of the Den exhibit’s travels. The city was under “DNR” militants’ control from April 13 to June 13, 2014. Now, almost three years on, it is still alarming here because the frontline is close by. Here is a fragment of the ATO headquarters’ update in the morning of March 28: “In the Mariupol segment, the enemy fired at the Ukrainian army strongholds near Krasnohorivka and Mariinka with 82-mm mortars and grenade launchers, at the defenders of Novohryhorivka and Vodianyi with large-caliber machineguns, at the marines in Shyrokyne with a ZU-23-2 antiaircraft gun, while an enemy sniper was shooting at the defenders of Pavlopol and Hnutovyi.”
But, apart from this, Mariupol is a city with historical buildings, such as an old water tower that looks like a fortress. It is the birthplace of artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, it has a lot of factories and the Sea of Azov. So we are looking forward to this journey. All the more so that public outreach projects are indispensable for strengthening the city.
Naturally, what really matters today is a dialog with people in the east, as is the importance of knowing their needs and anxieties. In addition to opening the 18th International Photo Exhibit “Den-2016” to be held from March 31 to April 14 at the Arkhip Kuindzhi Center of Contemporary Art and Culture, our journalists will meet active citizens and students. For example, the Khalabuda Free Space will host a debate, “National Dialog,” on March 30 at 6:30 p.m., which will see the presentation of our library’s new books. On March 31, at 11:30 a.m., Den’s journalists will hold a meeting with the students and professors of Mariupol State University at its assembly hall.
“WHAT WE NEED IS CONTINUOUS DAILY WORK”
Svitlana BEZCHOTNIKOVA, dean of the Faculty of Philology and Mass Communication, Mariupol State University, is convinced that educational projects are especially topical for the city today. “There is an urgent need to support the process of nationwide reforms and to address the problems of security and psychological adaptation of migrants and the people who have suffered from the conflict,” Bezchotnikova says. “Mariupol is a seaside frontier city which is very close today to the line of disengagement with the area of hostilities. It is therefore extremely important for Mariupol residents now to feel themselves as part of a united Ukraine, feel support and care from compatriots in an hour of need. And, in spite of difficulties, university students should see a prospect of development, the possibility of a better life in our state. It is educational projects that will make it possible to achieve these not-so-easy goals.”
Our library’s books will be another little bridge from the island of Den to Mariupol across the sea of “treasons” (not as placid as the one of Azov). Den’s friends, including Mykhailo POZHYVANOV, politician, public activist, mayor of Mariupol in 1994-98, have purchased a lot of sets of them.
“As for educative effort, I am sure everybody can and must do a lot,” Pozhyvanov says. “If this kind of work has been done in the Donbas in all the years of independence, the situation would be totally different today. Many of such projects were launched in 1994, when I was the mayor of Mariupol, including our cooperation with Lviv – exchange of children and invitation of Ukrainian-speaking teachers of various subjects to our schools. Those projects were fruitfully carried out until 1998, and then this program came to a close, and we have what we have.” The politician supports Den’s initiatives because of “the newspaper’s correct Ukrainian trend.”
In Pozhyvanov’s view, a lot is to be done in Mariupol’s system of education. Above all, it is necessary to explain to parents and children that normal Ukrainian education is their future. “Thanks to this education, children will be able to work anywhere in the future and feel themselves worthy citizens of Ukraine. But still this needs to be explained. The other side explains many things, while ours gives less information. They think that if they organize a concert once in a quarter, to which 200 people will come, this will settle the situation. In reality, it won’t. What we need is continuous daily work – not by way of flying visits. This applies to both volunteers and educationalists,” the politician concludes.
Please come to the Arkhip Kuindzhi Center of Contemporary Art and Culture before April 14 to see “The Family Album of Ukraine” which holds a place for war, political intrigues, and the pleasures of life. It would be ideal to attend the opening ceremony on March 31 at 2 p.m. Admission is free.
