Euromaidan: Why Should I Care?

My next post was supposed to be part two in my series about souls.  But I feel moved to write about Euromaidan instead.  This is the name that has been given to the antigovernment protest movement here in Ukraine. 

The protests have turned deadly in the past week.  There are different reports on the numbers killed or injured, and how it happened – this depends on the source of the report – but no one denies that there HAVE been fatalities now among the protesters.  In the past few days, protests have spread from Kyiv to other parts of Ukraine, and government buildings have been occupied in a number of cities.  Things are getting ugly and dangerous, and no one really knows how this is going to turn out.

Last week, like many people, I replaced my profile photos on Facebook and VKontakte with black squares with thin ribbons of blue and gold.  I did this as a small show of support for my many friends and acquaintances here for whom this is a serious and important matter.  And on Facebook, I’ve subscribed to some Euromaidan news services and shared a number of articles and photos.

The other day, an acquaintance noticed I had done this and asked me why.  He was curious to know why I should care about this: it’s not my country, I have the freedom to leave if I want, and (he suggested) it’s not about my life.  So why, he wondered, should I take such an interest in the Euromaidan movement.

My answer at that moment was not as complete as I would have liked, but it moved me to give it more thought and to write about it here.  Although it is relatively quiet in Kharkiv – which is actually a strong bastion of support for the current government and the ruling Party of Regions – I am very concerned about what is happening in the country now.  Here’s why.

More than anything, it is about people – people I know and care deeply about.  Because my concern for these people is the most important reason, I will save that part of the explanation for last.

What it’s About

Just a bit of background for those not here and fully aware of why this is happening.  These protests are not just about Ukrainians being disappointed that the government refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union.  Ukrainians want a better country, and many felt that the move toward Europe was their best hope.  So they were rightly outraged when, after several years of pro-Europe rhetoric and negotiations on the agreement, President Yanukovich suddenly decided not to sign it. 

But that was just the spark that lit the fire.  The fuel for the fire is Ukrainians’ long-simmering anger with the lack of real democracy in the country and the overt corruption of the Yanukovich regime and of government at all levels.

Members of the regime and its close associates have enriched themselves in ungodly fashion since Yanukovich won the presidential election in 2010.  Meanwhile, inflation has eaten away at the ability of regular people to keep up in the struggling economy.

And the regular people are fed up with seeing the rich and privileged be able to do whatever they want – even injuring or killing others – and face few or no consequences.  If you have money and friends in the court or other high places, the law doesn’t have to apply to you.  

The politically motivated trial and jailing of the opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was another overtly lawless act.  She is not a "clean" politician either, and only about half the country supported her in the 2010 election, but nearly everyone recognized her jailing for what it really was: a move to muzzle opposition to the regime.  And this shook people's faith further.

Courts and police exist more to protect the powerful and steal for themselves rather than to "serve and protect" the citizens.  People want real rule of law that protects everyone equally, and they’ve finally had enough of living in a two-tiered legal system.

Of course, the people who have power are desperate to maintain it.  When the people offer no resistance, it’s easy.  But when the people are finally fed up and start to fight back, such a regime can quickly become brutal, especially when they have the police to do the work for them.  The stories from Kyiv and elsewhere of kidnappings, beatings and even killings of protesters and journalists are chilling. 

These crimes are being perpetrated not only by police but by an informal force of athletic young men called “titushki” who are recruited by the government from sport clubs, especially martial arts clubs.  They are high on brawn and low on brains - classic thugs.  These neanderthals are paid the equivalent of $25 to $50 per day to attack peaceful protesters or to discredit the protest movement by pretending to be antigovernment protesters trying to ignite confrontations with police.  Strangely, the titushki are never arrested for their crimes.

Perhaps most galling was the government’s rush passage more than a week ago of a law that essentially bans and criminalizes any antigovernment protest or expression of opposition to the current regime.  The various points of the law range from farcical to Orwellian, and the response has been big and it has been violent.

With these kinds of abuses going on, it’s impossible to stand by quietly forever.

Despite the Warts, Politics are Important

It is understandable that most people prefer to not pay attention to politics.  Politics is often an ugly, nasty thing.  It seems that, by their nature, politicians are greedy, egotistical liars who get into the political swamp only to find personal benefit, mainly in the form of wealth and power.  Of course, there are exceptions – the rare people we look for to rise above cynical self-interests and provide ethical, reasoned leadership for the betterment of the country and its people. 

But, like it or not, politics decides the direction of our lives as parts of the societies in which we live.  Ignore it, and you leave it to others to decide for you.  Participate in some manner, and at least you make an effort to set a better direction for yourself and your family.  If enough like-thinking people get involved, it can make a difference.  This is why I choose to be involved, even if it only means being well informed and perhaps passing some of this information along to others. 

I am very critical of the American government, especially the last two administrations, and most especially the current one.  If I were there, there’s no doubt I’d be an active Tea Party member.  But although the American government is clearly abusing its Constitutional powers, it can’t hold a candle to the gross lawlessness and abuse of people being committed by the government here. 

In the face of such abuse, it’s impossible to stay quiet.  Keeping your head in the sand only makes it easier for others to come along and kick you in the ass.  It’s just my nature to take an interest and to care about such things.

It’s Not My Life?

I have been living more or less regularly in Kharkiv since late 2007, and I expect to get my permit next week to stay for another year.  I have a nice circle of friends and many good acquaintances.  My work teaching English has been very good for me, and the overall experience has taught me much and, I hope, made me a better person. 

So a large portion of my life, both in terms of time and personal attachments, has been spent here.  So what happens here definitely has an effect on my life.  The notion that I can just fly away whenever I want is simplistic and really not true.  This place is a part of me.  So from a personal perspective, it matters very much.

What Matters Most: People

The thing that affects me the most are the people I know here – people who have been a part of my life, in some cases, for almost seven years, people I care deeply about, people who I want to know are safe, secure and happy.  Friends and students have shared their dreams for the future (and sometimes their fears), and I want them all to realize those dreams and not have to face the fears.

They are the dreams that any of us would have: to fall in love and raise families; to have good jobs and a secure lifestyle for those families; to enjoy comfortable homes, modern conveniences and reliable infrastructures; to feel safe in their homes, their cars and on the street; and to have the freedom to travel and see something of the world.  Mostly, they want a good and fair country, one that can rival the standards of any country in Europe – not a country that clings to a stale Soviet past or a dictatorship in which only a privileged few can benefit.

It is because I do care so much about these people that I should and do care about what is happening in the country.  There are some individuals here who I sometimes wish I could just whisk away to a better life someplace else.  But I don’t have that power.  And while that might be a nice answer for some, for most the answer is to make Ukraine such a bright place to live that emigration would not even be a consideration.  This is their country; they don’t want to leave it, they want to make it better.

I was really moved the other day by some words that one girl wrote on social media.  She commented that she was afraid about what’s been happening, afraid that a serious line has been crossed with the killings and kidnappings and all the anger.  She also mentioned that she is ashamed to live in a city where the local government forces civil workers to attend rallies in support of the ruling political party. 

But more, she felt ashamed that she tries to pretend things are OK and even more ashamed that she is thinking more frequently about emigration.  But she finished by saying that she loves Ukraine and Kharkiv, despite the cynical nature of the people, and she wants to believe that by summer things will be normal again. 

I hope things will be normal again soon too.  More than that, I hope that what is happening now, as difficult and frightening as it might be, will lead this country closer to being a place in which my friends’ dreams will be easily realized and their fear a thing of the past.

This is why Euromaidan matters to me.