war story
Kyiv - Feb 23, 2022
Music feeds our soul
Music feeds our soul
By Anna Dziubynska
Kyiv, Feb 23, 2022
ai23.02.24. My grandmother
who is 83 years old has not
eaten for three days. The
emergency doctors come to
revive her...
aiGrandma was 2 years old
when the Great Patriotic War
began. The Germans planted
themselves in the kitchen of
their house. The little
grandmother slept on the
stove and the German soldiers
gave her chocolate and
marmalade. They loved
children ‑ not like the
Russians.
aiNow on 24.02.22, sick and
weak in the very same
kitchen, she pushed herself
little by little to get up and
look out the window to see
what was happening. A fighter
plane flew by so low she could
see the face of the pilot.
aiI have a large family and 4
children. I lived in Kyiv. My
twin sister also has 4 children.
Her family lived next to our
grandmother in the Buchansky
district of the Kyiv region. In
the early hours of the war,
they went to Ternopil to visit
her husband's parents. And
since our grandmother was
still weak, they decided to
stay in Ukraine for the time
being. I also couldn't leave
with my children right away
because my husband had just
had a heart attack. He was
discharged from the hospital 3
days before the invasion.
aiIn our house, the walls were
shaking, we felt a huge
explosive wave and rushed
down to the basement. I tried
to joke with the children so
they wouldn't be afraid. At
that time my youngest was 1
year old. This verse came to
me then.
ai*******
aiYesterday hugging her kids,
aiLike on the Titanic when the
mom read a fairy tale knowing
they were going down ♪
aiShe smiled through her
tears.
aiWe will not forgive the
murdered children!
aiThe deaths of our brave
boys!
aiWe will not forget our dream
with a huge wing, Mriya.
aiAnd we will not remember
your soldiers with vodka!
aiMaybe my poem is
unpleasant and dark?
ai*******
aiIt was very scary in the
basement, terrible when your
body trembles from fear and
you can't control it. On March
5, I went with volunteers to
Ternopil for a meeting about
evacuating. I was willing to
drive forever if only I wouldn't
hear the explosions. My
nervous system couldn't take
it anymore, and my younger
daughter was still breast
feeding.
When your body trembles
from fear and you can't
control it.
aiOn March 7, together with
my sister's family, we left for
Germany where an old friend
of my husband has a home.
Within a month, my sister
found a sponsor in London.
Now they live in the very
center of the city and her
children get parts in plays at a
prestigious theater alongside
the British.
aiI am in Germany. For the
first six months, like in
Ukraine, I watched the news
and cried every day. But I
understood it is not possible to
continue like this, it is
necessary to act.
aiI was introduced to the
director of a music school who
kindly offered our children to
study there. And she asked
me, what can you do? My first
education was to be a choral
conductor, and so, I organized
a Ukrainian‑German choir. It's
been 1.5 years and we now
have 35 in our group. We sing
songs in Ukrainian, German,
and English. Our members
don't have music education
but they make music from the
heart. For them, as for me, the
choir became art therapy.
aiWe support each other too.
Our choir performs at charity
events and helps raise money
for ambulances and
everything needed for our
boys ‑ our heroes on the front
lines! Currently, I have a
chamber ensemble in a
nearby town, and I teach
vocal, choreography, and
acting classes for young
children. This creativity
inspires me and feeds my
soul.
aiNow my grandmother with
her parents are in Germany
too. Good Germans are
treating her leukemia. I give
them a deep bow.
aiI believe that good always
wins over evil!
aiWe defend our own and the
truth is on our side!
aiGlory to Ukraine!
