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FR.YAROSLAV MENDYUK
M
y strongest memory from the Maidan is the impressive sense of unity. The hearts of tens of thousands of people beat to one rhythm. These people were motivated by a thirst to go forward, and by a desire for freedom. There was one specific incident – on the night of December 11th when the Berkut attempted to destroy the barricades, Father Mykola and I were travelling to the Maidan. We were given a ride by a man who had just celebrated the birth of his son. I asked him why he had decided to go to the Maidan, and he replied, “Father, my son was born just a few hours ago, and I want him to live in a normal country, like a normal person should.” This mentality became a starting point for many Maidan activists. I remember when they once again decided to disperse the Maidan. All the priests were gathered on stage so that we could lead prayers. We felt so pointless. The Berkut was attacking the barricades. Our people were fighting to defend them, and here we were just standing on the stage. We jumped off the stage and went to join our people.
We were standing between the people and the security forces. At this point, the security forces seemed to be composed of common soldiers from the regular army. Eighteen-year-old boys stood outside in freezing temperatures for over 20 hours, and weren’t even allowed to leave to use the bathroom. They weren’t being fed either. My own conscience wouldn’t allow me to eat in front of these boys, even though we were offered chocolate and sandwiches from the people at the barricades. I saw that one boy almost fainted so I gave him my bar of chocolate, but he showed me with his eyes that he couldn’t accept it because his commander was watching. So then I broke the chocolate so that it could be shared, and discretely fed the chocolate to the boy. I was filled with an unbelievable sense of euphoria as I watched these boys eat the chocolate. One boy even cried. I don’t think Ukraine is divided in any way. Those who see themselves as Ukrainians live on both the Eastern and Western sides of the country. And those who are currently terrorizing parts of the country, are not Ukrainians. Those are mostly Russians and mercenaries paid by Russia.