Connections
After consideration we are going to stay put for the time being ,we had met a girl here in Mariupol who was going to go with us back to her house in Donetsk, however she like many of our translators have dropped out last minute. We have tried to make as many contacts as possible in the city before we get there however we will just have to wait and see what happens.
Last night after hearing really loud music playing from our apartment we decided to investigate to discover a full blown festival setup in the park outside the theatre near the centre of town. We then discovered it to be a Pro Ukrainian PR move, with a few bands and what we can only assume is quite a popular singer here in Ukraine. It is also worth pointing out that everyone onstage were speaking Ukrainian, this is interesting as Ukrainian is the second language to the population in the east with some people hardly speaking it at all. All in all the concert was very light hearted and really focused on families having a good time which is a clever strategy by the Ukrainian government as everybody was in good spirits. Although the crowd consisted mostly of families and teenagers, the families did all seem mostly younger which also back's up the point that it's the younger generations here are the ones who are mostly pro Ukrainian.
We have also managed to get in contact with some Ukrainian volunteer soldiers and will meet them this afternoon to film. Hopefully we will be able to get some good footage and meet some interesting people to help understand the people who have volunteered to fight for their country.
The Azov Battalion (The volunteer irregular army) are really pushing for recruits now, we were both approached to join on Saturday, despite the fact that neither of us speak a word of Russian. This a telling depiction of how disorganised the volunteer forces are, they constantly undertake artillery strikes and offensives without any authority from Kiev. This is a dangerous precedent which is creating a sense of hysteria among the population as they don't know which side is going to accidentally kill them first, Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in the last 4 days after some truly horrific bombardments of civilian settlements. Control of all battalions is integral if the hearts and minds of people in the east are to be won, Ukraine has to win this war but not at the cost of it's own people.
Today the BBC released a list of some of the people who perished on flight MH17, this was particularly heart wrenching for us as it was the first time faces have been put to the tragedy that we witnessed that day.
A very impacting portrayal of the human side of this tragedy.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-28482176
It is also easy to forget that civilians are still dying here everyday.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/07/civilian-deaths-mount-eastern-ukraine-201472991336801151.html
http://jtecproductions.moonfruit.com/contact-and-donate/4585681067
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655036348/the-frontier
Last night after hearing really loud music playing from our apartment we decided to investigate to discover a full blown festival setup in the park outside the theatre near the centre of town. We then discovered it to be a Pro Ukrainian PR move, with a few bands and what we can only assume is quite a popular singer here in Ukraine. It is also worth pointing out that everyone onstage were speaking Ukrainian, this is interesting as Ukrainian is the second language to the population in the east with some people hardly speaking it at all. All in all the concert was very light hearted and really focused on families having a good time which is a clever strategy by the Ukrainian government as everybody was in good spirits. Although the crowd consisted mostly of families and teenagers, the families did all seem mostly younger which also back's up the point that it's the younger generations here are the ones who are mostly pro Ukrainian.
Celebrations at the pro Ukrainian rally, held in central Mariupol last night.
We have also managed to get in contact with some Ukrainian volunteer soldiers and will meet them this afternoon to film. Hopefully we will be able to get some good footage and meet some interesting people to help understand the people who have volunteered to fight for their country.
The Azov Battalion (The volunteer irregular army) are really pushing for recruits now, we were both approached to join on Saturday, despite the fact that neither of us speak a word of Russian. This a telling depiction of how disorganised the volunteer forces are, they constantly undertake artillery strikes and offensives without any authority from Kiev. This is a dangerous precedent which is creating a sense of hysteria among the population as they don't know which side is going to accidentally kill them first, Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in the last 4 days after some truly horrific bombardments of civilian settlements. Control of all battalions is integral if the hearts and minds of people in the east are to be won, Ukraine has to win this war but not at the cost of it's own people.
Today the BBC released a list of some of the people who perished on flight MH17, this was particularly heart wrenching for us as it was the first time faces have been put to the tragedy that we witnessed that day.
A very impacting portrayal of the human side of this tragedy.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-28482176
It is also easy to forget that civilians are still dying here everyday.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/07/civilian-deaths-mount-eastern-ukraine-201472991336801151.html
We are still desperately trying to raise more money to help support our cause and finish making the film we started, going to Donetsk will be a new chapter in the process and will involve a whole new set of challenges and costs so please spare as much or a little as you can. It all helps!
http://jtecproductions.moonfruit.com/contact-and-donate/4585681067
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655036348/the-frontier
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