Oftentimes the innocence of childhood is the most poignant vehicle for conveying a subtle yet profound truth.
For example: “What if all Ukrainians hide, Mom? Will ‘they’ [the Russians] go looking for us and there will be war all over the world?”
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The Ukrainian Institute of America in New York hosted a presentation on Dec. 14 of “Through the Eyes of Children: Quotes From Childhood Interrupted by War in Ukraine,” a bilingual illustrated book that gathers more than 100 striking phrases and observations spoken by Ukrainian children about the war.
The book is published by HarperOne, an imprint of Harper Collins, in support of Voices of Children Charitable Foundation. The proceeds will go to various efforts led by Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska to help with psychological and psychosocial health across the war-torn country.
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, presented the book at the Ukrainian Institute’s elegant Fifth Avenue mansion on New York’s “Museum Mile.”
The ambassador made the case that “no child should endure” the horrors of war. “Yet 473 million – 1 out of 5 children in the world – live in conflict zones.”
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He underscored his work with Olena Zelenska at the UN General Assembly to make children a top priority.
Other presenters included Judith Curr, President and Publisher of HarperOne Group, who explained the genesis of the book and elaborated on the editorial decision to present each quote not only in the Ukrainian and English, but also with the Ukrainian spelled out phonetically, so that non-Ukrainians could learn about the language and children forced out of their country could pronounce the words in Ukrainian. “Learning languages encourages empathy,” Curr said.
Following the presentation, the video “What Have We Lost,” created by Ukrainian teens affected by war, was screened, after which a panel of guests discussed some of the issues.
One panelist was Gary Wasserson, a board member of the non-profit organization Ukrainian Children, which supports refugees in Poland fleeing the war in Ukraine, including psychological support, summer camps, and humanitarian aid. He offered his observations after three years of interaction with Ukrainian refugees and emphasized how those in the West who believe they have stressful lives “have no idea what real stress is.”
Wasserman described families uprooted, their homes destroyed, constantly worrying about the fate of their loved ones fighting on the front lines.
He made a point to remind the non-Ukrainians in the audience: “Never underestimate the brutality of the Russians.”
Another panelist, Azad Safarov, a Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker, as well as co-founder of the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, responded to a question from the audience: “What do Ukrainian children need most?”
“Weapons to protect the children,” was his unequivocal answer.
He insisted: “Now we need to stabilize the children. PTSD comes later. We have no time for PTSD right now.”
In the course of preparing the book for publication, it was decided to use the cover image of a boy sticking his tongue out.
“At first, I was upset by the image,” said Ambassador Kyslytsya. He felt something less irreverent should have been chosen. Rather quickly, however, he came to feel it was the only appropriate reaction. “Children will always be children.”
Ultimately, the book is about hope. Children are the future. And, as Safarov pointed out, “we will hope until the world understands that each child is every child.”
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