You went with creative plans to the Serbian writers' residence K.R.O.K.O.D.I.L. According to the Facebook-post, your schedule was mega busy. Did you manage to write what you planned?
I only went for a month, so I didn't plan to write there (I also usually work in Kyiv). I had another goal: people's diplomacy. I tried to understand the Serbs as much as possible and influence them.
Your impressions of the native Serbs regarding the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian language and symbols.
The generalisation that the Serbs support Russia is inaccurate (like any generalisation). A small intellectual elite supports Ukraine. On the other hand, Serbia has quite a large number of warlike imperials. And this is not surprising because there is still a myth about the fraternal people who supported Orthodox Serbs since ancient times, particularly during the first World War. The leading Serbian media outlets are pro-Russian.
The school curriculum there is also saturated with Russian propaganda. Despite this, the majority of Serbian society is not opposed to Ukrainians. I had a typical dialogue with a 70-year-old intellectual. "Russian and Ukrainian similar?" she asked this question in Serbian. Like you, I understood the question, and since I had already learned a little elementary Serbian, I answered: "Are Serbian and Russian similar?". "No," - answered she. "Russian and Ukrainian, similar, like Serbian and Russian," I said. There was no limit to her surprise. This is a very revealing dialogue. From my experience there, education will quickly help most Serbs understand the situation. But we are talking about those who are neutral. Stubborn imperials who dream of doing the same to Croatia as Putin did to Ukraine will remain in their positions. Unfortunately, so far, Serbia is ruled by imperials. They are a militant minority with a neutral majority.
Kherson. You were one of the first to announce fundraising for residents of the liberated Kherson. Also, you noted the need for beautiful, stylish clothes for teachers and doctors. Tell us about the participants of the fundraising and the fundraising itself. How many things did you manage to collect? After all, women in the liberated cities lack beauty so much. It's inspiring.
Since I like to analyse everything, I calculated two types of volunteering: humanistic (taking care of every life) and socially preserving - when you invest in the system.
So, we raised things specifically for doctors and teachers because they are the nodes of the system. Doctors who saved medical equipment from Russian forces (which they could take out unnoticed) deserve particular respect. And now they are forced to work without a break for recovery. We hope that we will support them emotionally. Teachers pressured by the Russian forces now have to teach children without a pause for recovery. Moreover, both children and teachers themselves are psychologically traumatised by the occupation. Teachers' support will affect their ability to do their job. This is the rational basis for this special fundraising.
We have been planning fundraising for Kherson for a long time. And when I announced it, I had no idea everything would happen so quickly. I thought everything would be in the warehouse for a few more weeks. But in 5 hours, Kyiv residents brought high-quality warm or beautiful things so much that you can tightly score a five-ton truck.
Of course, this is a need drop, but we are just some of the ones. So drop by drop, thanks to the volunteers, a sea of love will flow to the liberated territories. Unfortunately, I can't list the names of all those who took part, but we are talking about hundreds of people. They came with their children, and I thought: "What a wonderful example they are setting for them right now!"
As it turned out later, the Deputy Minister of Health also brought things. But I would especially like to highlight one last name: Oleksandr Kravchenko, a system volunteer who helped a lot in gathering for Kherson. He does a lot of essential things for refugees and liberated territories.