This Nov. 30, the country, still mourning
the loss of our European hopes, woke up to the shock of brutal violence used
against peaceful protesters on the Maidan (Independence Square). It was Ukraine at its worst: in the
early hours, hundreds of innocent people sought refuge from well-armed riot
police in a sanctuary. The president and the government were implicitly
understood to have sanctioned the attack. The police cynically defended its
actions against “aggressive protesters,” and it took the president 16 hours to
come up with a cowardly statement, meekly attempting but utterly failing to
shift the blame for the violence.
Ironically, it took just that to wake us up
from the lethargic sleep of indifference. After nine years of apathy, between
500,000 and 1,600,000 people, according to various sources, joined the peaceful
rally in Kyiv on Dec. 1 – symbolically, 22 years to the day since
Ukrainians voted for their country’s independence in a national referendum.
Again, this spectacular day brought out the
worst in some of us. More blood has been shed – exactly the thing we all came
out to protest. For some of us, the lure of bloody revenge seemed like a more
attractive option. I was horrified to witness packs of masked youths, mostly
teenagers, wield pieces of iron fittings while running towards the Presidential Administration on Bankova Street. Not surprisingly, what ensued was tear gas,
Molotov cocktails, a bulldozer pushing on to the police-erected barriers, and
more violence in the streets. The leaders of the opposition were unwilling or
unable to prevent bloodshed. Despite the valiant efforts of various self-styled
negotiators, including politicians, rock stars and journalists, people got
hurt, among them innocent bystanders. Were these militant men specially hired
provocateurs or overly eager hot-blooded men, remains to be determined. What
matters, though, is that the idea of a peaceful, lawful protest was nearly
defeated.
Luckily, for each failure on that day,
there was a hundred victories. I saw hundreds of thousands people peacefully
marching on Khreshchatyk Street, waving national flags and chanting. Enormous crowds
calmly negotiated Kyiv’s busy streets, showing nothing but optimism, courtesy,
and mutual respect. I was amazed by people’s boundless creativity in designing
posters and signs. I saw a crowd happily cheering on a young daredevil climbing
a crane that got left behind on the Independence Square, to install the
national flag. I saw the leaders of the opposition, in a show of unity,
communicate a clear plan of action to expectant crowds. I heard half a million
people say a prayer together.
We all expect political leaders to mobilize
their resources to support rallies and demonstrations. After all, they hope to
reap the rewards in the form of political capital. But what really touched my
heart is how people from all walks of life selflessly contributed and showed
their support. Andriy Logvin, CEO of a popular online fashion store modnaKasta,
circulated a call to join the demonstration on Maidan through the massive
database of its customers, raising crucial awareness. While most media
channeled the official government position, Katerina Venzhyk, editor-in-chief
of business news website Delo.ua, used her media outlet to inform the public of
Maidan-related news. Now she is organizing a makeshift press center on Maidan
where reporters can access the internet or recharge their phones. Restaurateur Dmitry Borisov provides free tea, coffee and hot broth to
protesters in his numerous cafés around Independence Square. A group of
big-firm lawyers offer free legal services to victims of police violence.
Thousands of others perform not-so-random acts of kindness, volunteering to
provide shelter, food, and professional services to Maidan protesters.
It breaks my heart to think of the heavy
price in innocent people’s pain and blood that Ukraine paid for its wake-up
call. But now we’ve woken up, we have become Ukraine at its very best.
Yaryna
Klyuchkovska is a communications consultant and educator. She worked as head of
PR for several Ukrainian and multinational companies in Ukraine
