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10 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, СІЧЕНЬ 2017 Women of Ukraine at the Heart of Change in the Revolution of Dignity by JoAnn Myer Valenti, Ph.D. I am a retired academic, an emerita professor who taught science communication and environmental journalism at several universities for over three decades. During that time I wrote hundreds of book and film reviews along with producing man- datory peer-reviewed research publications. Even in my semi-retirement, rarely do I diverge from that science/environment genre. However, as the offspring of a strong Ukrainian mother and a member of the UNWLA, I am drawn to subjects related to my ethnic roots. This was the impetus for articles on three provocative films focused on Ukraine during the Sundance Film Festival in Utah and another at New York’s Tribeca Film Fes- tival, which were published in issues of Our Life two years ago. That was an exceptionally good year in film for reflecting on my roots. And now, finally, and to my surprise—make that pure joy—I can address a behind the scenes story from the notorious Maidan revolution exposing the power- ful role of women in the brutal but ultimately suc- cessful effort to change a corrupt ruling authority in the battle for a more humane Ukraine. The film’s message: Women united can attain much. Women of Maidan , directed by Olha Onyshk, made its debut on the West Coast, specif- ically at the Culver City Film Festival (California) in December, following the film’s world premiere at New York’s Woodstock Film Festival in the fall of 2016. The film captures the actions of Ukraini- an women—from the onset to the end—during the Maidan revolution when Ukraine was clearly on the brink of a crisis that continues today. Docu- mentaries are often dismissed as “preaching to the choir,” only meaningful to those already en- gaged in the issue. This film, however, will touch not only the core of our Ukrainian souls, but also promises to reach out to educate those who have yet to fully grasp the situation in a country with far too little international recognition. More im- portantly, the film reports the story of how wom- en of Ukraine, chanting “Moscow Brings Ruin” as they marched, helped lead their country to a bet- ter way of life and dismantled the aggres- sion against them from those in authority at that time by driving out Russia’s puppet Viktor Yanu- kovych. The backdrop to the Maidan story is not well known beyond the community of Ukrainian diaspora activists. It began in late 2013 when sol- diers attacked a peaceful student rally. Comprised mostly of young women, the march was staged to support uniting with the values of humanism and justice within Europe. As two eleventh-grade girls tell the filmmaker, the attack against the students was brutal: “The Berkut police force, then sol- diers, beat the boys first, then us.” Not surprising- ly, the mothers of the injured students reacted, sparking a reaction that energized thousands of protesters from all over the country who descend- ed upon the capital. The movement was labeled the Revolution of Dignity. Women led the move- ment, remaining at the site throughout the typi- cally harsh winter, providing protestors with food and the tools needed for survival through not only the intense weather but against the continual ruthless attacks by corrupt government forc- es. Deaths mounted as soldiers aimed their bul- lets at unarmed peaceful protestors. In response, the protestors set up headquarters in the city hall, organizing medical services, a library, and even an area for artists. Their endurance eventually forced the regime to flee. A haunting piano background music in- troduces the story and sustains the seriousness of those trying months. Anxious but hopeful faces of protestors building barricades with snow bags not sand bags are shown as they talk to the young sol- diers; mothers of the activated soldiers cry out to their sons to drop their weapons and join the pro- test. “Together we are powerful” they chant. One interviewed woman explains “an instinct of self protection” roused women, then all parents, from all over the country to tell the government, “We defend our children.” The weather was as brutal as the govern- ment. One repeated mantra: “Kyiv wakes up to fight the fat penguin.” Standing in freezing cold (-6 C degrees) and snow, the women yell, “We don’t want our children to live in a police state.” The older women recall how they lost their own grandparents and parents to brutal regimes. Holding hands, smiling, and singing the Ukraini- an national anthem, the women chant, “We refuse to give up.”
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