Thread by @lapatina_

THREAD: Revolution of Dignity through the eyes of a kid. 1/12

When Maidan happened, I was 13.

My first memory is me walking through Kreschatyk with mom and dad, possibly on Dec. 1, the first time a million people turned up to protest. A crowd of thugs appeared out of nowhere and began destroying the Kyiv City Council. 2/12

I was curious and began walking towards them, when my dad grabbed my whole body and pulled me away. I didn’t take my eyes off them. They wore all black and were breaking windows and shouting – an image frozen in my memory. Later I learnt they were government-paid titushki. 3/12

My uncle was a student at Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Its students camped near the Central Post Office. I remember the tents and barrels with fire, surrounded by people warming themselves up. It’s December in Eastern Europe. It’s freezing. But nobody cared. 4/12

I remember my dad lifting me up so I can put posters on Kyiv City Council facade. I put posters all over my room too. They said “Putin is a dick”, ‘Ukraine above all”, and “I want peace in Ukraine”. Let’s appreciate this art together👇🏼5/12

I remember coming home from school and always having news on. Long hours in front of the TV, watching livestreams when things got too bad and dad didn’t want mom and I there. When Belarusians rose up against Lukashenko last year, Current Time live was similarly always on. 6/12

I grew up speaking Russian in my family, but I remember feeling an overwhelming need to speak only Ukrainian. Many of my friends all suddenly switched. Though not for long, I did too. We brought Ukrainian flags to school, put pins on our clothes, wore flag bracelets. 7/12

Teachers didn’t care if I was constantly on my phone because they knew I was reading Hromadske’s live from Maidan. For days, school was closed because ppl were being shot at. Ppl burned tires to hide in the black smoke from snipers. We saw the smoke from my school’s windows. 8/12

I remember proudly calling myself a nationalist, obviously not knowing what the word meant. I didn’t understand a lot, but I knew these people were on the right side of history, and I was one of them. I felt the injustice. I saw the violence, the brutality, the dead bodies. 9/12

I recall secretly going to Maidan from school, not telling my parents. It was the day of commemoration of the heavenly hundred, those who died in the clashes…The constant weeping. The the sea of red flowers. The candles. The Plyve Kacha song, which still makes me shiver. 10/12

My friends and I grew up googling how to make molotov cocktails and build barricades. We had to understand the fragility of democracy very early. But most importantly, we understood its value. We understood the power in a crowd of people united by love and courage. 11/12

I will always carry these memories with me. And I will always have that fire burning in me, which ignited during Maidan, because this country is all I have. Thousands have died so I can be free. The least I can do is pass on the memory. 12/12