In Kherson, in the south of Ukraine, the Russians are using drones to hunt down innocent people. No one wants to talk about it. No one wants to believe it. Zarina Zabrisky has seen it firsthand.
This journalists diary is gut wrenchingly brave and devastating... Hard to fathom, living life in the state of survival. Writing in total darkness like some sort of strange surrealism. Exposed and Unprotected.
My daughter, a journalist, covers crime in a college town and its surrounding cities.
I used to think her job was risky, dangerous at times. Interviewing families reporting on those who have tragically suffered loss.
Instead, I think how lucky we all are. Our safety and freedoms are protected.
The writer/journalist in the war zone sees a story as necessary for survival, urgently reporting on the events of war and the people that stayed. A community that doesn’t just exist. They live.
Thanks for sharing this writer, Greg, and thanks for making me think.
Zabrina your writing is amazing. Even in describing the insanity of Putins actions I can see it in my mind’s eyes. Stay safe and keep writing! Slava Ukraine
An excavator is doing some work for me (his client and checkbook holder). I describe requirements. He and his electrician, both, ignore me, clomp off into woods, place marker sticks where they decree, spray orange paint, holler to each other. Returning, they boom, "Honey, doncha worry ur little head 'bout a thing. Soon as we're done, it'll be great!" Testosterone, with toys, in (relative) peacetime. Trump, Vance, wealthy enablers: terstosterone placing markers, spraying orange (expandable) boundaries, plotting coup. Today's lesson: Testosterone on rabid display with monster war toys. Without testosterone, would drones still be armed, or would we live in peace? Or would war be only more tasteful--childless cat ladies slipping poisoned tea pastries into enemy bake shops? Fact recalled from shrink school: more psychopaths among men than women. Not zero, though. Fact #2: psychopaths can be so charming and persuasive. Putin, what a salesman, to persuade so many not to revolt against such attrocities and carnage. Trump, what an orange-spewing salesman, to brainwash so many.
Apathy? "Sucker born every minute"? Education? Anti-testosterone pills? (Fewer wars but fewer offspring? Is humanity is chemically doomed?) First contestant with The Solution wins the fully articulating, super-duper Mavic DJI-99X Pro Flower-Bombing Drone!
So much to ponder in one fascinating story! Resilience, fear, mind-numbing brutality, and death. How life goes on in conditions like that is beyond my comprehension as I go about my day in Joe Biden’s America.
Two years ago, in preparation for a downsize, we listed our piano for sale on eBay. One inquiry led nowhere in terms of unloading the piano but brought me into an unexpectedly moving exchange with a potential buyer.
The gentleman, an American named Liam, was living with friends not too far from me. He had been apart from his beloved wife Valentina for many months. They had agreed for her to return to Ukraine – specifically Kherson – where she grew up and where many family members were still living as Putin began his brutal crusade into that region. Liam was hoping his wife would be back in the States soon, where they would settle into a new home, this one with a nice piano like the one they had in Kherson.
Valentina wanted to help her family members living there, and the couple determined it was too risky to have an American on the trip. Liam was missing his wife and seeing our ad reminded him of sitting by Valentina’s side as they played the Bösendorfer in their home. Their place sounds like it was truly a special property “set amidst 12 acres, with a vineyard, fruit and nut orchard, vegetable garden, adjacent the Dneper river; a paradise in hell.”
Liam continued: “It’s doubtful that I’ll see it again.”
I offered to have Liam come to our home and play the piano for as long as he liked, even if he decided it was a purchase he was not ready to make with everything unspooling in their life. We exchanged contact information and traded a few more heartfelt notes about war, worrying about loved ones, and the pain of separation. But then we both got busy with our lives – mine a lot easier than theirs, FOR SURE, and then I …
Then I forgot about him.
Zarina, your article shocked me back to this memory of my fleeting exchange with Liam. Whatever psychological coping mechanism I use to compartmentalize the suffering of others needs adjusting, as it was particularly jarring to read your account of life in present-day Kherson. I realize how easy it is to just move on from horror when it’s not uniquely, specifically, one’s own.
Your editors and colleagues may not understand why you need to be in Kherson. But I do, that’s for sure. You are there to witness, share and inform people well outside of the battle zone. You are there to remind people like me, living a safe and comfortable life, about the travails of others and how we must keep them in our hearts and support them however we can.
Thank you Zarina. Please be safe and well. Slava Ukraini!
PS: I reached out to Liam. I am eagerly (worriedly) awaiting his response.
Thank you, Jeffrey, for reading, commenting, caring and for your sobering honesty and ability to look so deep into your own psyche. I got a lot of respect for this. We all have coping mechanisms and tend to overlook them. Your response is very moving and makes me look into my blind spots. I hope Liam and Valentina are okay. I will be back in Kherson in a few days if this family needs any help.
UPDATE: I reached out to Liam, and was grateful to hear that he and his wife are okay. Here is what he said:
“Shortly after our last conversation I returned to Ukraine, in the far west, to wait for Valentina to escape the occupation. I was overly optimistic as to the timeframe of her joining me here in Free-Ukraine, but at the end of October 2023 we were finally united after 616 days of forced separation. Since then, we’ve been trying to get her mother out of the mayhem of the front line. No place in Ukraine is entirely safe from cruel Russian attacks, however comparatively speaking, we’re in a low risk area of the country. Occasionally we hear something roar overhead followed by a distant explosions, but so far no close calls. Our electricity, as throughout the country, is interrupted regularly; usually only for a few hours per day.
I hold on to hope that Valentina will soon convince her mother to let go of everything in the village and join us here. this would allow us to relocate in Italy, Ireland or the Netherlands, for example.”
Zarina, thank you again for your offer to help, which I conveyed to Liam along with your essay. Bless you.
From a beautiful, prosperous country to this. Unconscionable by any measure. Putin is evil personified and so are any who support him. Our orange monster first on the list. The people are beyond brave but I’m sure all are suffering from PTSD. The people have become as feral as the animal. It’s down to survival. And it’s what repubs want for us.
I read this this morning, and I had to let it settle, do work, deal with all the things I think are important and then come back. EVERY single time I see Greg's column is an article from Zarina in Ukraine, my heart does a double-beat, and I suddenly remember that you are STILL there, Zarina, and that this viscous war is STILL going on. I don't forget about Ukraine, but sometimes it slips into the background because, as Jeffrey said below, we compartmentalize all the horrors in the world as best we can. That and a slower brain as age creeps in keeps the monsters at bay. It's why my avatar has been what it is for over two years. I keep it there to remind me in case I've put it aside.
Living in the United States and having mostly only our shitty media dictating what we're going to hear about, has made the war there slip into the background of everything else, most of which is, objectively, not important. It's only when a column like this pops up that I remember vividly what is still going on, and your writing makes it come more alive. There are not many authors who could mix yoga classes and wild, hungry dogs in the same article and get away with it, but I felt as though I was there. I really, really hope that when this is done, and it WILL be done someday, soon, I hope, that you'll write a book. Even if it were just a collection of your brilliant columns in Ukraine, I would purchase MANY copies.
You don't need me to tell you, but PLEASE stay safe there. Your colleagues may not understand why you remain there, but I think I do. It's what journalists do. There are so few good ones left that you being there is very important. Where others have moved on to Israel/Gaza or the US election or even most recently, the UK election, you remain. Please know that there are people here that appreciate that more than can be expressed. Thank you! Slava Ukraini!
Thank you, Zarina for bearing witness to this absolute nightmare/atrocity - to report it to the world. You are a very intelligent, brave and strong woman. Keep Carrie and Miranda and Samantha and Charlotte in your thoughts as a brief escape from this living nightmare. Much gratitude.
The US hesitation in giving major support to Ukraine is unconscionable. A few weeks ago my family attended a small crafts fair in Sonoma County held to raise money to buy batteries for Ukrainian drones to combat the Russian drones. Here were people selling handmade dumplings and jewelry to raise a few hundred bucks for the war effort, my God! I was so ashamed of my government's failure to help these freedom seekers.
This journalists diary is gut wrenchingly brave and devastating... Hard to fathom, living life in the state of survival. Writing in total darkness like some sort of strange surrealism. Exposed and Unprotected.
My daughter, a journalist, covers crime in a college town and its surrounding cities.
I used to think her job was risky, dangerous at times. Interviewing families reporting on those who have tragically suffered loss.
Instead, I think how lucky we all are. Our safety and freedoms are protected.
The writer/journalist in the war zone sees a story as necessary for survival, urgently reporting on the events of war and the people that stayed. A community that doesn’t just exist. They live.
Thanks for sharing this writer, Greg, and thanks for making me think.
Slava Ukraine !🇺🇦
Zabrina your writing is amazing. Even in describing the insanity of Putins actions I can see it in my mind’s eyes. Stay safe and keep writing! Slava Ukraine
Heroyam Slava! Thank you!
An excavator is doing some work for me (his client and checkbook holder). I describe requirements. He and his electrician, both, ignore me, clomp off into woods, place marker sticks where they decree, spray orange paint, holler to each other. Returning, they boom, "Honey, doncha worry ur little head 'bout a thing. Soon as we're done, it'll be great!" Testosterone, with toys, in (relative) peacetime. Trump, Vance, wealthy enablers: terstosterone placing markers, spraying orange (expandable) boundaries, plotting coup. Today's lesson: Testosterone on rabid display with monster war toys. Without testosterone, would drones still be armed, or would we live in peace? Or would war be only more tasteful--childless cat ladies slipping poisoned tea pastries into enemy bake shops? Fact recalled from shrink school: more psychopaths among men than women. Not zero, though. Fact #2: psychopaths can be so charming and persuasive. Putin, what a salesman, to persuade so many not to revolt against such attrocities and carnage. Trump, what an orange-spewing salesman, to brainwash so many.
Apathy? "Sucker born every minute"? Education? Anti-testosterone pills? (Fewer wars but fewer offspring? Is humanity is chemically doomed?) First contestant with The Solution wins the fully articulating, super-duper Mavic DJI-99X Pro Flower-Bombing Drone!
That was beautiful, haunting, tragic, resolute, incredibly brave. Thank you
So much to ponder in one fascinating story! Resilience, fear, mind-numbing brutality, and death. How life goes on in conditions like that is beyond my comprehension as I go about my day in Joe Biden’s America.
For a few more months anyway.
Two years ago, in preparation for a downsize, we listed our piano for sale on eBay. One inquiry led nowhere in terms of unloading the piano but brought me into an unexpectedly moving exchange with a potential buyer.
The gentleman, an American named Liam, was living with friends not too far from me. He had been apart from his beloved wife Valentina for many months. They had agreed for her to return to Ukraine – specifically Kherson – where she grew up and where many family members were still living as Putin began his brutal crusade into that region. Liam was hoping his wife would be back in the States soon, where they would settle into a new home, this one with a nice piano like the one they had in Kherson.
Valentina wanted to help her family members living there, and the couple determined it was too risky to have an American on the trip. Liam was missing his wife and seeing our ad reminded him of sitting by Valentina’s side as they played the Bösendorfer in their home. Their place sounds like it was truly a special property “set amidst 12 acres, with a vineyard, fruit and nut orchard, vegetable garden, adjacent the Dneper river; a paradise in hell.”
Liam continued: “It’s doubtful that I’ll see it again.”
I offered to have Liam come to our home and play the piano for as long as he liked, even if he decided it was a purchase he was not ready to make with everything unspooling in their life. We exchanged contact information and traded a few more heartfelt notes about war, worrying about loved ones, and the pain of separation. But then we both got busy with our lives – mine a lot easier than theirs, FOR SURE, and then I …
Then I forgot about him.
Zarina, your article shocked me back to this memory of my fleeting exchange with Liam. Whatever psychological coping mechanism I use to compartmentalize the suffering of others needs adjusting, as it was particularly jarring to read your account of life in present-day Kherson. I realize how easy it is to just move on from horror when it’s not uniquely, specifically, one’s own.
Your editors and colleagues may not understand why you need to be in Kherson. But I do, that’s for sure. You are there to witness, share and inform people well outside of the battle zone. You are there to remind people like me, living a safe and comfortable life, about the travails of others and how we must keep them in our hearts and support them however we can.
Thank you Zarina. Please be safe and well. Slava Ukraini!
PS: I reached out to Liam. I am eagerly (worriedly) awaiting his response.
Thank you, Jeffrey, for reading, commenting, caring and for your sobering honesty and ability to look so deep into your own psyche. I got a lot of respect for this. We all have coping mechanisms and tend to overlook them. Your response is very moving and makes me look into my blind spots. I hope Liam and Valentina are okay. I will be back in Kherson in a few days if this family needs any help.
UPDATE: I reached out to Liam, and was grateful to hear that he and his wife are okay. Here is what he said:
“Shortly after our last conversation I returned to Ukraine, in the far west, to wait for Valentina to escape the occupation. I was overly optimistic as to the timeframe of her joining me here in Free-Ukraine, but at the end of October 2023 we were finally united after 616 days of forced separation. Since then, we’ve been trying to get her mother out of the mayhem of the front line. No place in Ukraine is entirely safe from cruel Russian attacks, however comparatively speaking, we’re in a low risk area of the country. Occasionally we hear something roar overhead followed by a distant explosions, but so far no close calls. Our electricity, as throughout the country, is interrupted regularly; usually only for a few hours per day.
I hold on to hope that Valentina will soon convince her mother to let go of everything in the village and join us here. this would allow us to relocate in Italy, Ireland or the Netherlands, for example.”
Zarina, thank you again for your offer to help, which I conveyed to Liam along with your essay. Bless you.
So glad to hear this and thank you for the update. I hope this wonderful family soon reunites and finds a safe place. The world is so connected.
Thank you Zarina. You are so brave. I pray you will be safe.
Thank you for reading and caring.
From a beautiful, prosperous country to this. Unconscionable by any measure. Putin is evil personified and so are any who support him. Our orange monster first on the list. The people are beyond brave but I’m sure all are suffering from PTSD. The people have become as feral as the animal. It’s down to survival. And it’s what repubs want for us.
I read this this morning, and I had to let it settle, do work, deal with all the things I think are important and then come back. EVERY single time I see Greg's column is an article from Zarina in Ukraine, my heart does a double-beat, and I suddenly remember that you are STILL there, Zarina, and that this viscous war is STILL going on. I don't forget about Ukraine, but sometimes it slips into the background because, as Jeffrey said below, we compartmentalize all the horrors in the world as best we can. That and a slower brain as age creeps in keeps the monsters at bay. It's why my avatar has been what it is for over two years. I keep it there to remind me in case I've put it aside.
Living in the United States and having mostly only our shitty media dictating what we're going to hear about, has made the war there slip into the background of everything else, most of which is, objectively, not important. It's only when a column like this pops up that I remember vividly what is still going on, and your writing makes it come more alive. There are not many authors who could mix yoga classes and wild, hungry dogs in the same article and get away with it, but I felt as though I was there. I really, really hope that when this is done, and it WILL be done someday, soon, I hope, that you'll write a book. Even if it were just a collection of your brilliant columns in Ukraine, I would purchase MANY copies.
You don't need me to tell you, but PLEASE stay safe there. Your colleagues may not understand why you remain there, but I think I do. It's what journalists do. There are so few good ones left that you being there is very important. Where others have moved on to Israel/Gaza or the US election or even most recently, the UK election, you remain. Please know that there are people here that appreciate that more than can be expressed. Thank you! Slava Ukraini!
Thank you, Zarina for bearing witness to this absolute nightmare/atrocity - to report it to the world. You are a very intelligent, brave and strong woman. Keep Carrie and Miranda and Samantha and Charlotte in your thoughts as a brief escape from this living nightmare. Much gratitude.
You're the bee's knees, Zarina.
Be well. Stay strong. Stay safe.
Thank you! )
The US hesitation in giving major support to Ukraine is unconscionable. A few weeks ago my family attended a small crafts fair in Sonoma County held to raise money to buy batteries for Ukrainian drones to combat the Russian drones. Here were people selling handmade dumplings and jewelry to raise a few hundred bucks for the war effort, my God! I was so ashamed of my government's failure to help these freedom seekers.
Many thanks to all the wonderful people in my home state :)) I will tell me friends in Kherson about this effort.