If you google ‘ukraine refugee children’, here’s what comes up:
This kind of reporting is obviously important; it was especially necessary in the early days of the war as a way of mobilising international empathy. However, I had to scroll through thirty-five images before coming to one that didn’t show a child in a camp/shelter/road setting, most of the time with a soft toy and/or visibly distressed woman. And at some point Mum’s tears do dry, or at least are dammed up in public, and she finds a way to just get on with living.
Not all refugees have left Ukraine, either. There are a lot of internally displaced people – IDPs – in Zaporizhzhia. Whole families are living crammed in one or two rooms. The squalor can be grim.
But given a chance, the kids look like this:
And this:
This is Garne Mistse/The Good Place, a name suggested by Sashko when Azat was first looking round the premises, which are a windowless basement and thus a des res in wartime. I had a chance to visit just before it opened; and again today, when a party was held to celebrate its first birthday. It’s part of a chain of eight refugee centres founded and operated by Azat and Natalya Azatyan.
Azat was one of the drivers in the team co-ordinated by Anya until he was taken by the russians and spent two months in captivity; as a result, he’s lacking several teeth and walks with a limp. And helps hundreds of people daily. The children’s centre alone offers lessons, play time, creative resources and a drone club; ways of helping children with their trauma such as art and story therapy; and as part of the wider organisation it raises money to buy vehicles for the army, as support for the military is an integral part of daily life. Children in Zaporizhzhia have limited access to education, as schools are closed because of the air raids, and online education is not only imperfect but inaccessible if you can’t afford the tech.
I turned up about fifteen minutes into the event and lurked down the back watching the children perform and the adults give short speeches. My Ukrainian isn’t great, but Azat speaks russian some of the time – switching back and forth without much thought about the matter remains common here – and I was able to follow well enough. The activities of the centre were described and celebrated, including the teaching of English, which was referenced multiple times. For better or worse, it really is seen as a key part of Ukraine’s pivot towards the West.
Of course, Azat spotted The British Person – sole representative of the outside world at this event, I think – and I was called upon to step forward and exist for a minute or so. At least 10% of the children paid vague attention to me as I made inspiring declarations to the effect of, ‘Hello, dear children! I am very glad that you like the language of my country. I wish you all success with your learning endeavours!’ Then I was able to retreat.
There were about a dozen performances by the children, and they were almost all about Ukraine in one way or another. Here they are dancing to a song with the chorus ‘Ukraine above all – we pray for Ukraine’.
Azat and Natalya gave short speeches. Some bits I understood:
Natalya: ‘They fire rockets and missiles at us every day. At the same time I can say, we are all people of the world. We didn’t leave, we’re HERE now, in a town near the front, where we might get hit at any moment, and the sirens go off all day. We pray for our soldiers, pray for a clear sky, pray that thanks to them all will be well.’
Azat: ‘Garne Mistste is the place where there’s joy for everyone, where no one is turned away… God hears your prayers and answers them.’
As you can tell, the couple are devoted members of what I call a God Club and is more conventionally referred to as a church. References to prayer and all that goes with it are a common feature of the Garne Mistse experience. And one big advantage of God Club is that it has some wealthy donors. Azat’s work is funded by a Christian organisation in the Netherlands, which is one reason why he’s able to achieve so much.
And I think the best investment that organisation ever made was several sackloads of metallic confetti, which began to fly into the air when the event finished – and kept flying, with the help of a leafblower. Before things wound up, the entire space was ankle-deep in the stuff.
As you can see in the above picture, a lot of people at the event were wearing traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka shirts.
The confetti was an absolutely inspired choice, as of course the kids of all ages loved it, from the tinies to the cool teenagers; it was such a simple, physical, fun thing. Azat came over to me briefly and I congratulated him on the centre’s birthday. ‘Happy, joyful kids,’ he said, looking around. ‘That was our aim.’
Garne Mistse and its work in Zaporizhzhia city is funded by Dutch donors, but my own fundraiser helps women and children who remain in small villages.
ETA for the concerned: apparently the city just got hit by two hypersonic missiles (Saturday noon) but I wasn’t even within earshot. It’s a big place.
...the God Club: only you =)
Yes, they rock, and also the organisers!