Amidst the dangerous unrest of Eastern Ukraine, Australian expatriate Tim Davis Frank talks to brave Red Cross volunteers and updates us as to the facts on the ground.
ON GOOD FRIDAY, Vova (not his real name) meets me with half a handful of vegan falafel and a smart shirt buttoned up to his chin. He speaks with perfect English. If we weren't at a garage punk gig in the east of Ukraine, he would have seemed out of place. In this straight-edge world, Vova's clarity of mind and conviction is complemented by the explosive energy of the gig.
As we talk, 20 metres behind us, 50 shirtless, tattooed men punch into each other in a sound-proofed coffin, just big enough to fit two guitars, drums and a circle of rampaging youths.
Vova shouts about the protests in east Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian nationalists:
“It's crazy! Both sides are attacking each other and calling each other 'fascists'. It is a battle between extreme Russian Nazis and extreme Ukrainian Nazis!
“I don’t want to fight, but I must do something.”
Vova is the Kharkiv commander of the Red Cross Emergency Brigades. Kharkiv is a small city North East of Kiev and about 40 kilometres from the Russian border.
Vova defines himself as a climber who only joined the Red Cross a few weeks before. Since then, he has been given responsibility for managing three teams of five people who have helped rescue over 80 people in two weeks of civil unrest. Vova co-ordinates with foreign medical teams like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
It is his responsibility to negotiate agreements with the leaders of all sides to make sure of two certainties.
First, that his teams will be safe.
In early April a group of MSF doctors were attacked by pro-Russian protesters who accused them of being foreign spies.
Secondly, he must be alerted where and when any violence is planned or anticipated so that his team can be prepared and close by.
Vova looks towards the mostly separatist fighters dressed in balaclavas.
“I've got the contact numbers for the head of the rebels,” he says.
He then looks towards the anarchist punks and skinheads watching us while we talk.
“And obviously I know these guys.”
“We help everybody and now everybody trusts us, but we had to build that trust through good communication.”
During the three months of protests in Kiev ‒ known colloquially as the ‘EuroMaidan' (literally ‘EuroSquare’) after the pro-Europe sentiments and the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) the protests focussed around ‒ 50 Red Cross volunteers helped remove and care for some of the reported 570 casualties, of which 170 were from gunshot wounds.
These volunteers also witnessed days and nights when they couldn't save people, such as 18 February, when 26 people were shot and killed.
As a result of this chaos and how quickly fighting escalated, as soon as trouble started appearing in Eastern Ukraine cities like Kharkiv, the Red Cross put out a call for local volunteers.
Said Vova:
“I wanted to do something but I don't really like fighting so I joined the Red Cross.
“All the political groups are just words, words. I wanted to do something real, something that would help.”
Since then Vova has been through multiple training days, learning the strategies necessary to get injured combatants and civilians out of psychotic mobs without becoming injured or psychotic in the process.
Vova explained some of the ways they managed the stress of the job:
“Every time we attend a protest or action we have a meeting afterwards where everybody says something about what they experienced.”
“You see so much blood … and brains!” adds his girlfriend, Marcia, another volunteer.
Vova nods.
“We need to debrief.”
Just as we are leaving, Vova thinks for a moment and then concludes:
“We are suffering from trauma, [because of] what we have seen. We have no time but we need to see someone, a psychologist. It is too much.”
I meet Vova again at the next big pro-Russian rally on Easter Sunday.
The violence being witnessed in the East and South of Ukraine is unheard of since the World War Two.
During that war, some western and northern Ukrainian groups collaborated with the German Army against the Soviet Union. This affiliation was intended to bring about the independence of Ukraine.
While there are obvious comparisons between these two conflicts, this depiction leaves out one fundamental error.
Vova explains:
“The rebels are local criminals, maybe 300 of them, who anyone can pay to make violence.
"There is no [political] ideology in the battles here. Both of the sides want to fight for their flag, but look!”
Next to us is a group of pro-Russian protesters underneath a giant Lenin statue who are waving the red flags of the Soviet Union next to the yellow and black flags of pre-revolution Tsarist Russia.
“They don’t know what they are fighting for.”
As we ponder this a group of nationalists raises a small yellow and blue Ukrainian flag 20 metres into the air on a motorised helicopter. The crowd of grandparents and normal looking locals screams and snorts and storms across the square to attack the enemy extremists.
Vova tells me that are learning on the job:
“We are getting better at communicating and learning how to manage the situations.”
He continues:
“It is going to get worse. People are going to be killed.”
UPDATE
In the time since recording this interview, the situation has escalated violently. The separatists have gained significant strength and momentum throughout the eastern region.
On 28 April, the Mayor of Kharkiv, who had previously enjoyed close relations with Russia but has supported the new government in Kiev, was shot in the back.
On 30 April, the acting Ukrainian president admitted that government security forces and police were unable to protect citizens in the east from pro-Russian separatists.
On 1 May, International Labour Day rallies in Odessa turned into a riot between pro-Russians and pro-Ukrainians, which left 42 dead, including 26 pro-Russian separatists who were stuck in a building that was set on fire.
Tomorrow, 9 May, is the anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War 2. Vova and his team are getting ready.
The names in this piece have been changed for obvious reasons. Support the courageous and selfless efforts of Red Cross volunteers by donating the Red Cross here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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