Somewhat unusually for me I’ve been on a road trip in a 4×4… But there’s a very good reason for this -as a co driver on a 1350 mile journey with Pickups For Peace, taking a convoy of 4×4 vehicles and humanitarian aid to the Ukraine. I’ve set up a Just Giving page to fund another pickup and aid that I will deliver in the next few months.
Two years in, the invasion of Ukraine is still a serious issue for the whole of Europe. I first heard about Pickups for Peace late last year, got in contact and was called a couple of weeks ago to act as a co driver. I was inspired to act after watching John Sweeney’s film “Under Deadly Skies”, which visits eastern Ukraine and shows targeting of civilians & use of phosphorous bombs, clear evidence of war crimes. I urge you all to watch this film.
https://www.journeyman.tv/film/8518/under-deadly-skies-ukraines-eastern-front
The remarkable group of people that went to Lviv last week brought 27 pickups and 4×4’s packed with supplies & humanitarian aid, they were handed over to the Ukrainian forces, bringing the total number of vehicles the group has delivered to over 300. We received an incredibly warm welcome from the people of Lviv and in an auction on Saturday evening the group raised another £60,000 for more aid.
Lviv at first appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a beautiful city that reminded me of Budapest. It’s got similar architecture and is slightly shabby round the edges. However the signs of the conflict are all there. Soldiers on leave in the streets with their families, buying toys for their children, watching street performers. Look a little closer. The steel covered stained glass windows, to protect against missile blast, sandbags piled up against other windows. A wounded soldier walking past boarded up windows, the lines of photos in a park showing fallen soldiers.
Many of us have visited some of the war graves in France and Belgium, myself included, and felt saddened and emotional at the expanse of headstones, the senseless waste of so many young lives. Here in Lviv is something similar. But not from 70 or 100 years ago, it’s happening NOW. Mars field is next door to a long established cemetery, it’s where the dead soldiers of Lviv city are being buried. There’s over 700 graves here now, more are added weekly. Watching a funeral procession through the city with a local resident, they remarked “I see this almost daily now.”
And it’s not just the young men you might expect, there are women and fathers here too. One of the graves is that of a man known as “Hammer”. He now has a street named after him. The guide tells me that Ukrainians are taking down the street names installed by the Soviets and renaming the streets “after our Ukrainian heroes”
This was an incredibly sobering moment for me, usually as a photographer the camera isolates you from the subject – I’ve photographed numerous demos, riots and environmental actions.
On this day it didn’t.
I had to come back a second time.
That was probably the moment that I felt I must do more, the moment of reality about what’s happening in Ukraine.
I’ve seen various reports of what’s happening. It’s not just the invasion, but the way the Russian state is treating the people living in the occupied regions. This recent Guardian article echoes similar reports from these regions
And the film 20 days in Mariupol is now available to watch on Channel 4. Journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s BAFTA-winning and Oscar-winning documentary shows the start of the 2022 Russian invasion. The Ukrainian journalists are trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol and continue their work documenting the war’s atrocities. Shocking but strongly recommended viewing
Further evidence of Russia’s abhorrent behaviour towards Ukrainian children has been uncovered. There were some reports of children in occupied areas being removed from their parents and deported to Russia. This leaked report shows it’s happening on a huge scale, over 20,000 children are believed to have been deported, to be indoctrinated by the Russian Education Ministry’s “reeducation measures” to make them “develop a Russian identity.”
And there’s the bigger picture to consider. Although I’m not an expert on global politics I try and take notice of those that study it more than I do, this is a sobering read from Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent
Is our aid making a difference? The reports say yes. A recent message to someone in contact with those at the front line tells of some Ukrainian troops who managed to escape from Avdiivka when the Russians were closing the narrow gap because they had the 4×4 he delivered in January. As he put it ” Four guys are going home to see their families again because of something that I did, and that for me was a very important moment.”
The vehicles are also used by workers delivering aid, fire brigades and medical teams, a couple of them in use are shown here.
But what can I do?” you may ask.
There will be more convoys. And more aid. That will only happen with the help of people like you! I’ve set up a Just Giving page, to fund more pickups and supplies, I intend to head out later this year with at least one pickup filled with badly needed medical and other aid. Please give something, however small – even a fiver is a great help (donations of useful items are also welcome) – and spread the word, please share this far and wide. Thank you!
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing
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