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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, СІЧЕНЬ 2014 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 29 ALL EYES ON THE M AIDAN — ALL OUR HEARTS THERE, TOO by Olesia Wallo I will probably voice a universal sentiment for the Ukrainian diaspora worldwide when I say that the past month has been absolutely nerve - wrecking. The bewildering pace of advances in communication technology has made it possible for most of us outside of Ukraine to follow the events in Kyiv in real time, which I have found to be both a blessing and a curse. Political analysts and journalists have a l- ready made it clear to what extent Ukrainian pr o- testers and their supporters are benefitting from the fact that our world is more connected than ever: thanks to wireless Internet as well as ubiqu i- tous portable came r- as, phones, and other devices, the eyes of Western politicians, human rights watc h- dogs, and the press can be on the Maidan all the time , guara n- teein g a measure of security through glo b- al public scrutiny. Yet glued to my computer screen on the evening of D e- cember 10th, which showed a live strea m- ing of the security forces’ attack on the Maidan and its barr i- cades in the middle of a freezing Kyiv night, I felt anxious, angry, filled with fear, but above all — useless. While I could read a flurry of rallying calls to come defend the Maidan, sent via the Euromaidan Twitter at a rate of ten to fifteen messages per minute, I could do little more than clench my fists and whisper desperate prayers. While thousands of Kyiv residents were getting out of bed and driving or walking to the Maidan, I was sitting in front of my computer on the other side of the world — more than five thousand miles away from Kyiv. From my previous experience of partic i- pating in the Orange Revolution and from conve r- sations with relatives who have spent much time on the EuroMaidan in the past several weeks, I know that it is emotionally more difficult to watch the protests online than to actu ally be on the Maidan, or make sandwiches for the protesters, or picket government buildings. Instead of fear or feelings of helplessness, both my father and brother have reported how unbelievably joyous they felt on the Maidan. This joy, they explained, w as a result of witnessing and contributing to the making of a true civil society, of being in the midst of momentous, positive historical change — and serving as agents of that change. The bitterly cold weather could not compete with the hear t- warming atmosph ere generated by the united community of peaceful protesters from all corners of Ukraine and their often creative ways of buil d - ing each other up. Protesters march through the streets of Kyiv on December 2nd, 2013. Photo by Vsevolod Shchur Take, for instance, the piano that appeared in the streets adjacent to the Maidan in the first week of December: local musicians have routinely gathered large singing crowds around it by playing popular folk and patriotic tunes. Or take th e man from the Crimea who spent his days on the Maidan by an enormous cooking vat, making one - hundred - kilo batches of pilaf for the hungry protesters. An early online video tour of the protesters’ camp showed many examples of incredible self - organization a nd self - help — from medical to legal to IT services, all provided for free and supported by donations. The video jokingly mentioned that the only service missing from the array of those already set up was education. Lo and behold, a few days later an Open Un iversity appeared on the Maidan, staffed by volunteer lecturers on subjects
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