i was born in a ukrainian-speaking family. both my mom and dad preferred speaking russian in public since they were conditioned by the colonial rule that it was the only way to appear “educated”, advance professionally. they kept speaking ukrainian only to their parents
they encouraged me to speak russian, sent me to a russian-language school since it was perceived to be more prestigious. that’s how i ended up learning proper ukrainian only in my late teenage years. i learned all things ukraine through russian and russia-influenced curriculum
in several hours @kyivpride will march through warsaw streets but it will be nothing like your regular pride march we used have in kyiv. because it is not. we will march for ukraine, we will march to once again remind the world that there is a genocide happening in europe in 2022
we will march to remind you about mariupol. and sievierodonetsk. and lysychansk. and bucha. we will march for ukrainian who are slaughtered, kidnapped and raped for attempts to march in kherson, enerhodar and melitopol
we will march for ukrainians who are dying in hundreds every day defending us and the rest of europe from fascism. most likely some of them will be killed as we will be marching
this is one of the most important stories to understand ukraine & my generation that is in charge of it. thank you @mariamposts. as most of folks of my age in the west buy their first homes, get kids, start saving for retirement, ukrainians like me just live paycheck to paycheck
being raised in staggering poverty, coming of age through two revolutions, two severe recessions, pandemic, 8 years of war and now genocide, many of us work just to support our parents, grandparents, and now — our country
despite media narratives about unprecedented foreign help, the uncomfortable truth is that 90% of high-impact humanitarian support in ukraine is still financed by fellow ukrainians, ukrainians like me. from providing incomes to our extended families, to donating & volunteering