Russia’s war against Ukraine and the country’s domestic economic challenges have triggered a mood of depression for many people. Yet Ukrainians do not easily give into this mood of malaise and panic. Instead they look for non-traditional ways to cheer themselves up.
For this
very purpose, Tetyana Yaitska and her friends organized a humorous open air
festival, “At the Bottom.” The fact that
more than 16.000 attended the event, which took place on March 21 at the
National Aviation Museum, underscores the need for some comic relief among a
population suffering from stress.
“The goal
was to raise the feeling of panic to the level of absurdity so that everyone understands
that there is always a way out of any situation,” Yaitska says.
What
initially began as an idea for a private party went viral on Facebook.
“On Feb. 24
I wrote a humorous post on my Facebook profile saying that I will organize a
festival for scaremongers and hysterical persons,” she says. But over the next
three days, more than 30,000 people from all over Ukraine wrote her that they
wanted to join the event. Yaitska had no choice but to take time off from her
work as a journalist and chief editor of Telenedelyaand organize the festival.
Plenty of black humor and irony were on hand at the festival. Guests had
a chance to visit a nostalgia museum, for example, where they could enjoy
photos of shoes, bags, make-up products, caviar and other delicacies – the prices
of which have all tripled since 2013. The organizers offered a spot where
visitors could grieve near an original one-dollar bill, a stab at everyone’sgeneral
inability to buy hard currencyin Ukraine since the hryvnia’srapid devaluation. “Hamburgers”
were available, but as meat is a bit too expensive these days, these ones were
made with carrots, cabbage and onions.
The festival
used humor to counter serious problems affecting a substantial portion of
Ukraine’s population – stress, depression and panic – and ones that spread like
contagions. “Panic is contagious,”
psychologist OlenaBohatyryova says. “One anxious person infects tens of people
nearby.”
And panic
and stress are inflicting many people. The coordinator of the Kyiv crisis
call-center for the Kyiv City State Administration,VolodymyrManko, says that the
phones of his psychologists are in constant use. Additionally, prolonged stress
causes various physicalillnesses, doctors say. Russia’s
aggressive policy has negative impacted the health of hundreds of thousands
people, Former Ukrainian Deputy Health MinisterVasylLazoryshynetssaid in his
speech at the15thNational Congress of Cardiologists last September.
“In Ukraine the quantity of the coronary heart diseases
tripled while heart surgeriesquadrupled,” Health Ministry press-service quoted
Lazoryshynets as saying.
To avoid negative consequences on health, Bohatyryova recommendslooking for positive aspects in life.
“Nowadays Ukrainians need to laugh and have positive emotions,” she says. She
recommends communicating with kids and pets, spending more time outdoors and
dedicating more time to hobbies. “Volunteering will certainly help those in
despair,” Bohatyryova adds.
Since much
of the stress is induced by design, specifically through Russian media, experts
advise being wary of it. VitaliyMoroz, head of new media
programs at Internews, a non-profit media watchdog, recommends that Ukrainians
view media reports critically and without hysteria. “Do not start communicating
with trolls,” he says. “If they (the trolls) start to behave aggressively it’s
better to ban them.”
But maybe those who are trying to induce stress aren’t being so
effective after all. According to a
survey conducted by the Razumkov Center, a think tank, on March 6 -12, more
than 60 percent of Ukrainians believe that the country will be able to overcome
any difficulties and problems. Twenty-two percent of Ukrainians believe it will
happen in the near future. According to the survey, only 21.6 percent of
Ukrainians remain pessimistic.
For her part in keeping spirits high, Yaitska is going to organize the
next anti-crisis open-air festival soon. “We have to invent new joys in our
lives during the hard periods. I don’t understand this panic that has no basis,”
she says.
Kyiv Post staff writer NataliyaTrach
can be reached at [email protected]
