Donetsk Day 2 - Fear of the Elderly
Yesterday we decided to explore a bit more of the city. We took a walk up to the main street which again was eerily deserted, then walked down to the river. Donetsk really is a beautiful city with large boulevards running along a man made lake crossed with various ornate bridges, in peace time it would be a great place to come for a visit.
As we walked along the river we came across a man made beach, where we saw around 20 people swimming in the water with family and friends. There were even a few children around, it was reassuring to know there is at least some normalcy left in this city. However as you can see by the playground below children are still scarce in the city. We sat at a cafe nearby for a rest and got approached by a man called Artyom who did not speak very good English. He was really keen to talk to us and hinted that if we got into any trouble he would help us out. He gave us his number and as the conversation was next to impossible given our poor Russian language skills we promised to call him later with the assistance of our friend Sandro. Although we have no idea what he was trying to say we are both very interested to find out.
We returned to the hotel to get Sandro then headed over to the DPR government building to investigate this strange monolith in more detail. As we were entering Elliott discovered he had left his passport so had to walk back to the hotel to quickly retrieve it. John and Sandro waited around in the lobby, resulting in many questions from armed men on what our purpose was in the building. In the end we opted to wait outside, van after van full of heavily armed soldiers arrived and left the building ferrying militia to the front, then returning them to the building to report on that days action, it really was very interesting.
Elliott then returned and we headed up to the 7th floor, where we had previously seen the eerily abandoned hallways. But not before getting a reprimand from a big soldier for speaking English in the lift, "If you can't speak Russian don't speak at all" Was his argument.
We were initially a little cautious to film and photograph as we had essentially entered a building that had been overrun and taken by separatists, which had obviously been completely looted and cleaned out for information. Every single door had been forced and every room and the 7th floor was a mess, you got the impression that whatever had occurred here was in haste with the odd shoe on the floor and smashed potted plant it really felt like it had been occupied only yesterday.
We had accidentally come across these rooms the previous day when we had visited to acquire our accreditation to film in the city and many of the rooms had already been cleared out, so it was obvious that the separatist were obviously making an effort to get the building back to it's previous glory. There was a single guy working around the rooms clearing certain bits and pieces up and initially we were very concerned about being seen filming. We were walking around looted rooms taking photos, but he assured us in Russian "There is nothing interesting to photograph here". This was a relief as he was obviously not concerned about us taking photos, however it cannot be stressed how wrong he was. The building was truly fascinating to film and photograph.
The wind blew in through the shattered windows and stirred up the documents of a previous past as we moved around each room more surreal than the next.
We eventually decided to ask if we could film the whole building as up to now we had been chancing that we wouldn't be discovered. After a few calls the office worker said we could film the building but not soldiers and to ask permission on each floor. With this we made our way to the staircase, it was absolutely full of razor wire intertwined with the Bannister. This was obviously left over from when the building needed to be defended. It was a strange sight to look up the stairwell and see 50 feet of barbed wire rising to the ceiling.
We then gradually made our way down floor to floor witnessing the eerie devastation on each level. Shattered tables and chairs, one floor completely empty, Molotov cocktails nestled on a ledge near a window either left over from the initial attack or to repel any potential future attacks. It was definitely the strangest government building we'd ever seen.
To top it all off in the lobby there was an array of shrines and posters dedicated to fallen soldiers and even one next to the only working lift dedicated to flight MH17. Although it was prohibited to film or take photographs in the lobby so we were not able to get quite as much as we wanted.
It would have probably been a good idea to make extra effort to use a poster that was not ripped and taped back together but take from that what you will. We went outside into the windy evening and were very keen to try and interview somebody to find out the story of what had happened to the building we had become so interested in. Unfortunately they all refused but recommended we talk to some local people who seemed to socialize outside the building. They were all old babushkas and as we walked past they asked Sandro with a smile "I suppose you want an interview" They all chatted Jovially as Sandro explained he was Brazilian and what he was doing.
That is until he mentioned we were British, the mood of the whole group changed their smiles turned into scowls and grimaces as they gathered round us shouting that we were supporting the Ukrainian fascists and that Hitler had acted the same way as the Ukrainian government was. The group surrounding us grew to around 20 people and if they hadn't been so old we would have been terrified.
Sandro tried to field their questions, stating that we did not represent our government or agree with what they were doing. This was to no avail so he tried the classic Brazilian tactic of talking about football and carnival to try and diffuse the situation but again this proved fruitless for us Brits.
It was most certainly an interesting experience being shouted at with passion and hatred by a big group of elderly people in a language you do not understand. We stood and took the abuse not even knowing if we should nod in agreement or shake our heads in disapproval. It really was unfair although probably for the best that we could not respond to defend ourselves or our point of views.
It is also important to remember the views of all of our own racist closed minded grandparents and this made the encounter really feel more harmless as most of these elderly people had grown up in a completely different era and older people never seem to be fond of change. Luckily Elliott managed to secretly record the exchange on the flip camera so we could review their arguments later and potentially use it as an example of prevailing attitude in the documentary. All in all another interesting day and one that will make us fear old ladies until the day we die.
As we walked along the river we came across a man made beach, where we saw around 20 people swimming in the water with family and friends. There were even a few children around, it was reassuring to know there is at least some normalcy left in this city. However as you can see by the playground below children are still scarce in the city. We sat at a cafe nearby for a rest and got approached by a man called Artyom who did not speak very good English. He was really keen to talk to us and hinted that if we got into any trouble he would help us out. He gave us his number and as the conversation was next to impossible given our poor Russian language skills we promised to call him later with the assistance of our friend Sandro. Although we have no idea what he was trying to say we are both very interested to find out.
We returned to the hotel to get Sandro then headed over to the DPR government building to investigate this strange monolith in more detail. As we were entering Elliott discovered he had left his passport so had to walk back to the hotel to quickly retrieve it. John and Sandro waited around in the lobby, resulting in many questions from armed men on what our purpose was in the building. In the end we opted to wait outside, van after van full of heavily armed soldiers arrived and left the building ferrying militia to the front, then returning them to the building to report on that days action, it really was very interesting.
Elliott then returned and we headed up to the 7th floor, where we had previously seen the eerily abandoned hallways. But not before getting a reprimand from a big soldier for speaking English in the lift, "If you can't speak Russian don't speak at all" Was his argument.
We were initially a little cautious to film and photograph as we had essentially entered a building that had been overrun and taken by separatists, which had obviously been completely looted and cleaned out for information. Every single door had been forced and every room and the 7th floor was a mess, you got the impression that whatever had occurred here was in haste with the odd shoe on the floor and smashed potted plant it really felt like it had been occupied only yesterday.
We had accidentally come across these rooms the previous day when we had visited to acquire our accreditation to film in the city and many of the rooms had already been cleared out, so it was obvious that the separatist were obviously making an effort to get the building back to it's previous glory. There was a single guy working around the rooms clearing certain bits and pieces up and initially we were very concerned about being seen filming. We were walking around looted rooms taking photos, but he assured us in Russian "There is nothing interesting to photograph here". This was a relief as he was obviously not concerned about us taking photos, however it cannot be stressed how wrong he was. The building was truly fascinating to film and photograph.
There were other strange touches like a room containing only gutted computer towers from floor to ceiling and a room containing only a table and a small vase.
We eventually decided to ask if we could film the whole building as up to now we had been chancing that we wouldn't be discovered. After a few calls the office worker said we could film the building but not soldiers and to ask permission on each floor. With this we made our way to the staircase, it was absolutely full of razor wire intertwined with the Bannister. This was obviously left over from when the building needed to be defended. It was a strange sight to look up the stairwell and see 50 feet of barbed wire rising to the ceiling.
We then gradually made our way down floor to floor witnessing the eerie devastation on each level. Shattered tables and chairs, one floor completely empty, Molotov cocktails nestled on a ledge near a window either left over from the initial attack or to repel any potential future attacks. It was definitely the strangest government building we'd ever seen.
To top it all off in the lobby there was an array of shrines and posters dedicated to fallen soldiers and even one next to the only working lift dedicated to flight MH17. Although it was prohibited to film or take photographs in the lobby so we were not able to get quite as much as we wanted.
It would have probably been a good idea to make extra effort to use a poster that was not ripped and taped back together but take from that what you will. We went outside into the windy evening and were very keen to try and interview somebody to find out the story of what had happened to the building we had become so interested in. Unfortunately they all refused but recommended we talk to some local people who seemed to socialize outside the building. They were all old babushkas and as we walked past they asked Sandro with a smile "I suppose you want an interview" They all chatted Jovially as Sandro explained he was Brazilian and what he was doing.
That is until he mentioned we were British, the mood of the whole group changed their smiles turned into scowls and grimaces as they gathered round us shouting that we were supporting the Ukrainian fascists and that Hitler had acted the same way as the Ukrainian government was. The group surrounding us grew to around 20 people and if they hadn't been so old we would have been terrified.
Sandro tried to field their questions, stating that we did not represent our government or agree with what they were doing. This was to no avail so he tried the classic Brazilian tactic of talking about football and carnival to try and diffuse the situation but again this proved fruitless for us Brits.
It was most certainly an interesting experience being shouted at with passion and hatred by a big group of elderly people in a language you do not understand. We stood and took the abuse not even knowing if we should nod in agreement or shake our heads in disapproval. It really was unfair although probably for the best that we could not respond to defend ourselves or our point of views.
It is also important to remember the views of all of our own racist closed minded grandparents and this made the encounter really feel more harmless as most of these elderly people had grown up in a completely different era and older people never seem to be fond of change. Luckily Elliott managed to secretly record the exchange on the flip camera so we could review their arguments later and potentially use it as an example of prevailing attitude in the documentary. All in all another interesting day and one that will make us fear old ladies until the day we die.
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