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Mar 1 • 5 tweets • 5 min read
Update: My family in Kharkiv managed to board Lviv-bound train this afternoon. Indescribable rush of relief, emotion when they got on that train. Beginning of long & difficult journey but we hope the most dangerous part has passed. Sending love to all w/ folks still there 😔🇺🇦❤️
Happy to share whatever tidbits I learned & networks I’ve got to help others escape Kharkiv safely. I’m not in Ukraine but went full throttle trying to help my extended family flee Kharkiv. So don’t hesitate to reach out if needed & I’ll mobilise my network to do whatever I can.
Here’s a small thread I created last night w/ some key info I’d gleaned from smart journalists, diplomats, combat vets & others that might help if you or those you love are in a tough situation in Kharkiv or other cities in Ukraine now:
Other folks w/ families in Kharkiv right now including @DavidCvetkovi14 @lyubovlytvyn @Liesbet58 @Kristin76947457 please share any updates & tips if you can. DM me if your people aren’t out yet & I’ll try to help more.
Lastly thanks to friends who shared my call for help re: Kharkiv yesterday. That meant a great deal. @HudaMzioudet @RimSarah @MedDhiaH @NickJBrumfield @cairowire @Rangeeni @AlessandraBajec @TheKaouther @13thcatsmeow @DjordjeTodorov5 @RicardReports @SabriB02022545 @growup55272627

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More from @MonicaLMarks

Monica Marks Profile picture
Mar 2
#Kharkiv friends: I'm in touch w/ one of world's most reputable human rights orgs. They're documenting information about potential war crimes that happened in Kharkiv on Feb 28. They need to interview ppl ASAP who were there at the time. Please message me if you can assist.
If any of you could RT or connect me w/ ppl. The team is v multingual & can interview via phone in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Arabic, etc 🙏

@KyivIndependent @IAPonomarenko @whitebabydoll_ @olex_scherba @lapatina_ @amberinzaman @lyubovlytvyn @Liesbet58 @Kristin76947457
It will be a definitive report that writes the history of specific abuses that happened in Kharkiv 2 days ago. Interviewees can speak on or off the record. Extremely reputable organisation.
Read 4 tweets
Monica Marks Profile picture
Feb 28
In process of trying to evacuate family members from Kharkiv today (fingers still crossed on that!) I’ve heard from journalists & combat veterans who’ve shared advice on fleeing a war zone, specifically Ukraine.

In case this helps anyone else:
🔹 Wear/ pack 3+ layers of warm clothes. Reports of ppl walking 2-3 days in freezing temps to cross borders
🔹 Don’t move outside at night. Ukraine has night curfew in place (times might vary from city to city) & ppl moving outside at night can be shot on sight even if journos
🔹Don’t spook soldiers. Do everything possible to make it obvious you’re a civilian. This can include:
✅ Wearing brightest-coloured clothing possible
✅ Walking w/ hands clearly out or raised when passing soldiers
✅ Walking at normal pace/ not running when passing soldiers
Read 17 tweets
Monica Marks Profile picture
Feb 28
Excellent thread. This cuts to the crux of explaining—better than just about anything I’ve read—the complicated headspace & tensions/contradictions that haunt my generation & friend group re: Russia & American foreign policy.

Worth reading fully.
Just one point of criticism: The thread sounds overly sweeping. Should read “some” or “many” American progressives imo. Certainly not all, bc ofc American progs. aren’t a monolith. Many (esp those involved in international relations) have thought long & hard about these tensions.
The core point—namely that Iraq War guilt (which I continue to feel consistently; it’s actually a huge reason why I became a prof of Middle East politics) has led some of us to inadvertently excuse or ignore flavours of violent imperialism provided they’re anti-American—is key.
Read 5 tweets
Monica Marks Profile picture
Feb 28
I have extended family trying to get out of Kharkiv. Wife, husband & 2 children under age 10. Can anyone w/ solid information (I mean solid!) message or DM to help? Am trying to offer the best assistance I can.

Yes, we wanted them to get out sooner. We’re doing our best 😔🤞
Here’s where we need help most right now: (1) How to $$ to them in Kharkiv & (2) How to get them out of Kharkiv. The family holds a mix of Ukrainian, Jordanian & Iraqi passports. Massive thanks to anyone w/ solid info. @oxford_ukraine @Aga_Pik @FrancescaEbel @matthewcassel
Update: I’m hearing that they can take the train from Kharkiv to Dnipro. Then, once they’re in Dnipro, we can probably send them money & organise transport to the Romanian border. If anyone hears differently or has better info please let me know.
Read 4 tweets
Monica Marks Profile picture
Feb 18
Breaking: Tunisia military court just sentenced independent MP Yassine Ayari to 10 months prison in retaliation for July 25 Facebook post in which he denounced Kais Saied's takeover as a "coup."
On July 30, just two hours before I was due to visit Yassine & his family, he was extrajudicially abducted from his home by plainclothes forces in an unmarked van-- just as so many Tunusians were abducted from their homes in the Ben Ali years.
Yassine was held without due process in brazen violation his basic civil rights for two months at Mornaguia Prison outside Tunis. He said the conditions in prison were terrible, that he was harassed by prison guards almost incessantly, & that his health deteriorated rapidly.
Read 9 tweets
Monica Marks Profile picture
Feb 18
Bolsters my thesis that DubaiExpo is fabulous microcosm for parsing UAE foreign policy. Turkey pavilion foyer features drone, which seemed weirdly hostile at first but like good product placement in retrospect. Helpful info here from ⁦⁦@NailOlpak⁩ dailysabah.com/business/econo…
Slight tangent: I’d worried DubaiExpo might be a little too family-fun-fair for me, but have absolutely loved visiting bc it opens fascinating vistas into the tone & substance of diplomatic ties. Can teach TONS about how countries perceive & advertise themselves to Gulf/world
Some countries have far larger pavilions than you’d expect (Angola, Serbia, Kazakhstan). Others have surprisingly small ones (Turkey w/ its petite drone-displayed-by-the-doorway pavilion here pops to mind). Exploring why can illuminate bilateral relations in fascinating ways.
Read 7 tweets

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