I am in a war zone.

by Lernice Parker (South Africa)

I didn't expect to find Ukraine

After disembarking off my plane on arrival to Kiev and picking up my luggage, I was surprised to see such high security. I was notified of the revolution but my word, shit got real...... pretty quick. I arrived in June 2014 and Ukrainian revolution had just happened February of that same year. The drive through Kiev to Kiev Passazhirskiy, fascinated me with the run down buildings, graffiti, holes on the ground and this language described on billboards that seemed like hieroglyphic to me. The aesthetic of the city was desolute, broken down, run down and dirty in some parts. I had been to loads of country's in Europe but this had a different stance to every single other one I had visited. I entered a very busy train station which was full and overcrowded. There was a different ambience and urgency to it. I was stared at intensely, it was more than obvious that by the degree of my melanon, there was no way I was Ukrainian. It was interesting as the looks were not of racism or prejudice, these were rather looks of fascination and curiosity. I guess they were questioning why was a black women walking through Passazhirsky? Outside my compartment, we all had to stand on the platforms. The policemen then came. I felt scared and anxious and my heart was in my chest. Everyone in my line took out navy blue passports which were Ukranian, now being a dual citizen of United Kingdom and South Africa, I was really not sure in this instance which passport would benefit me more. I knew some information on the series of violent events involving protesters, riot police, and unknown shooters in the capital, Kiev, culminated in the current Ukrainian President of the, Viktor Yanukovych, and the overthrow of the Ukrainian Government but otherwise on the surface, I was just coming to work so I didn't know all the nitty gritty. Once approached by the two policemen, I was asked for my passport, to which I gave, I chose the British one, as I figured I was closer to Britain than South Africa. They asked if I was a Russian spy and why was I in Ukraine, I told them that I was coming to work in a summer camp teaching English and Drama in Vyzhnytsia. All of a sudden, their tune changed and they started telling me in broken English that they want to speak English but their English is bad and I must like their country and they then welcomed me. I was aware that I I would exit the country through Romania which was 12 kilometers away from Vyzhnytsia which is a town located in the historical region of Bukovina, on the Cheremosh River in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine which was where I would be working. The train reminded me of a Soviet Union train from television. It had a steam engine, the curtains were white with holes and some looked yellow. There was two compartments on the train. One for the normal folk to which I walked past where there was a women peeling an egg, another man cutting his toenails and then looked like someone was eating beetroot with water (which I got to learn alot was Borshch), babies were crying and hot. The train to Chernivtsi was 20 hours. The compartment had two beds and there was a scary looking man in my compartment. I started having a mini panic attack as he just looked angry but then I realised they all have that look. The train started moving but it was summer and 40 degrees, there was no ventilation, no wifi, no plugs for phone. The train did not stop for a toilet break either. It would stop at each station for 3 minutes then move to the next one. The toilet was dark and dingy. It was silver with a black rim which clearly was not cleaned for years. I held my nose and crouched on it for a pee. After a few hours, a worker on the train came past with towels and one sheet and a pillow. There was hot tea and hot coffee only but nothing else available.