War-Life Balance
I wrote this on the 10-hour train ride from Kyiv to Poland. Picture below!
The western headlines paint Ukraine as a war-torn ruin, much like how the media portrays Los Angeles as overrun by crime and homelessness. The reality is far more nuanced and resilient.
Last month, I was on the phone with Iryna when an explosion echoed in the background—a missile had struck a children's hospital just a mile from my future apartment in Kyiv.
I have a lot of friends in Ukraine and no matter how I try, I can't relate to the feeling of being there. But after spending 3 weeks in Kyiv, I finally understood the exhaustion of constantly living under threat, where power and internet outages are unpredictable. To be honest, it isn't even about the power and internet, it's the powerlessness of having your life disrupted over and over again. Some nights, I'd sit in darkness, finding an odd comfort in its constancy.
The air raid siren goes off daily. It's common to hear explosions in the sky, but I found comfort in knowing that Ukrainians got really good at using the missile defense systems; maybe I have too much faith in it because, after all, it is American-made
With more time on my hands, I started learning more about the country's brief 33 years of independence. My understanding of Ukraine was shaped by all the random things I learned in diplomacy/politics, denuclearization treaties/arms trade (thanks USC professor Childs), and growing up in Malaysia, a similarly young and highly corrupted country. However, Talking the Ukrainian youth inspires me so much. They are a reminder that freedom, often taken for granted in America, comes at a high price.
On my last day in Kyiv, I took my camera and wandered aimlessly around the streets of old town. I struck up a conversation with an older couple drinking cherry wine on the sidewalk and consumed too much wine for my empty stomach. While waiting for my body to sober up, I sat on a bench in the nearby park and watched this couple laugh, playfully argue, and then sit quietly on their phones while passing the vape.
I’m really proud of this photograph because it captures my experience of Ukraine in the past 3 weeks. Despite the constant reminders of war, life persists. Ukrainians have mastered what they wryly call "war-life balance," a phrase that captures both the tragedy and the triumph of their daily existence.
