Switzerland, stand by Ukraine!
Our illustrator Demianiuk Oleksii lives in Lviv, Ukraine. In an open letter, he writes how his everyday life has been changed by the war - and how our industry can help. We have decided to print his words in the original English.
For more than eight years, I have been living in a war-torn country. In 2014, russia* invaded and illegally annexed Crimea and started a hybrid war in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Our country was really weak after the «Revolution of Dignity» back then. For a few weeks there was a turbulent situation in the East and South of Ukraine and russia used it to push further with its sneaky imperialistic purposes. For me as a Ukrainian it’s very important to talk about that, because many people around the world think that this war has started only February 24th, 2022. But actually, we are experiencing the second part of this war now.
The situation was really tense for about two months before February 24th. Reading the news was the first thing I did every morning when I woke up. Many people were expecting the worst – and then, it happened.
I’ll never forget the call from my mother on the day of the attack; I will never forget her words: «Wake up! russia has declared war, there are explosions all around Ukraine.» It was crazy! I opened the window and heard the air raid sirens in my city. To say that me and my wife were in a panic would be much more than an understatement. I recall the first three days when there was chaos everywhere. Some of my friends went to the Polish border in order to move their families to safety, others signed up for the territorial defence forces or the army. The shops were crowded, the lines to the gas stations and ATMs were huge.
On the third day, however, I suddenly felt that my mind calmed down a bit and the process of adaptation to the new reality started. A lot of people became volunteers. My friends and I joined as well: We help our army and refugees by providing them with different supplies, from food to body armor and cars. I live in Lviv in the very West of Ukraine, and the city has become a center of refuge and – at least a certain – safety for the rest of the country. Despite that, russia fired powerful missile strikes on Lviv too, so there’s no fully safe place in Ukraine now. But there is a strong feeling of unity, as all the citizens of Ukraine are working as one towards a common goal: We want freedom and victory! Everyone feels his contribution to this fight. That’s why russia has already lost the deplorable war that it has started.
As a Ukrainian, I’m very grateful to all the countries that stand in solidarity in our fight and support my motherland. For many years I’ve worked as a commercial illustrator and graphic designer with a lot of companies from all over the world. I can safely say that there are many very creative and talented people in my country who perform at a qualitatively high level. I also know a lot of people who are great musicians, artists and talents from the production industry. The Ukrainian creative market is young, but truly open-minded, free and courageous. Now is a great opportunity for the Swiss market to start cooperating with Ukrainian artists; not just because we need your support, but also because we can provide a breath of fresh air and a new vision. I truly believe in the creative industry of Ukraine! Because, as I said before, there are a lot of talented and motivated people. I could even say it’s in our genetic code.
Ukraine will never give up! Switzerland, stand by Ukraine! Slawa Ukrajini!
* Ukrainische Medien, die auch auf Englisch publizieren, schreiben den Namen Russlands seit einigen Wochen bewusst mit einem kleinen «r» am Anfang. Der Autor wünscht, dass wir diese Schreibweise übernehmen.
Ich will hier leben, arbeiten, Steuern zahlen – mehr nicht.
Das sagt der Illustrator Demianiuk Oleksii (Instagram: @dovbush_sketch), mit dem m&k seit zwei Jahren eng zusammenarbeitet. Demianiuk lebt in Lemberg und will trotz des Krieges das tun, was er am besten kann: Er will zeichnen. Wir können ihn – und unzählige weitere ukrainische Freelancer – dabei unterstützen, indem wir sie «remote» engagieren. Plattformen wie «fiverr» oder «upwork» machen es möglich. Nutzen auch Sie, liebe Leser:innen, diese Möglichkeit – und helfen Sie dabei, etwas Normalität zu stiften.
Your m&k Werbewoche.ch editorial team
