UKR-TAZ

From Imagine Yourself Ukrainian (Imaginez-vous Ukrainien), by author and sociologist Anna Colin Lebedev, an article that conveys a good feel for the everyday life of an average Ukrainian citizen:

“Imagine an absolutely ordinary life in a country whose people have endured deep crises for many generations. These crises happen so often that the people have somehow learned to live with them. Crisis or not, life is for living. [. . .]

“You have travelled extensively throughout Europe. Even if you haven’t travelled, you definitely have a TV that tells you there is a different life out there. You see how in detective movies policemen help ordinary people and, unwillingly, you compare them to the police demanding bribes on every mile of road.

“Your child is watching a TV show where a student can say, “Yes, I’ve done it! I’ve got my diploma,” while you count the money in the envelopes you’re preparing for the deans. Your old mother does not receive the medical help she needs simply because you don’t have the money. You have to pay everyone to open your own business.

“You are given hints that this is not something you want to write about if you are a journalist. You know the exact price list for the bribes if you work as an MP. You see how cities are filled with Lexus, Porsches, and BMWs, and you also see the people in them. The general atmosphere is becoming stifling and everyday life unbearable because it’s being bound by the ropes of corruption and cynicism.

“One day the last drop falls. . . .”

Read the complete article here.