The child was evidently in full freeze mode. Not a bad instinctual choice for someone who knows they have no agency in the situation, and feels in the power of possibly ill-intentioned strangers. Even in the best case, however, these experiences carry consequences, all the more so when the adult caretakers have not taken care to explain the situation and the possible outcomes, including relocation. When on top of that the adults fight the children's evacuation... it's heartbreaking.
I wonder about the zhduns: as far as you know, does actual collaboration with the enemy take place? or do they limit themselves to waiting?
Fortunately these parents, while they had obviously avoided evacuation for months, did decide to call Bogdan in the end. That's entirely voluntary, it's not like when the police find out where the kid is and have to persuade the parents to leave, or not. So the boy was spared that kind of confrontation. As for the zhduns, most of them are just waiting passively, but inevitably there are some collaborators. In local news you often see reports about stuff like 'shop assistant arrested for posting information about troop movements to Russian Telegram channels'.
The child was evidently in full freeze mode. Not a bad instinctual choice for someone who knows they have no agency in the situation, and feels in the power of possibly ill-intentioned strangers. Even in the best case, however, these experiences carry consequences, all the more so when the adult caretakers have not taken care to explain the situation and the possible outcomes, including relocation. When on top of that the adults fight the children's evacuation... it's heartbreaking.
I wonder about the zhduns: as far as you know, does actual collaboration with the enemy take place? or do they limit themselves to waiting?
Fortunately these parents, while they had obviously avoided evacuation for months, did decide to call Bogdan in the end. That's entirely voluntary, it's not like when the police find out where the kid is and have to persuade the parents to leave, or not. So the boy was spared that kind of confrontation. As for the zhduns, most of them are just waiting passively, but inevitably there are some collaborators. In local news you often see reports about stuff like 'shop assistant arrested for posting information about troop movements to Russian Telegram channels'.
Thanks for sharing this Anna. Exceedingly important work. Donated and shared 👍
“Donated and shared”, my favourite words!