The Ukrainian writer reports on everyday life in a state of emergency. And he asks the questions: How do you keep fighting when there is no end to the war in sight? What gives the people of Ukraine hope and confidence? And why must their country not lose this war?

Moderation: Tessa Szyszkowitz

Translated from English by Rebecca DeWald.

Andrej Kurkow, Ukraine’s best-known author, speaks constantly for hope, for a Ukrainian future.

War every day
February 2022: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine begins. Almost two years later, the people of their country are still under fire and have experienced unspeakable crimes and losses. How do you carry on, keep fighting, when everything has changed? And there is no end to the war in sight? Andrej Kurkow’s journalistic texts, notes and diary entries show what the war, which is becoming more and more integrated into people’s everyday lives, is doing to them. The discrepancy of every consecutive second is noticeable: opera performances in daylight – a bomb hits; people swim in the sea – a mine explodes; sleeping through the night – but the enemy military knows the GPS data of every bedroom…

Andrej Kurkow reports – about everyday life in a state of emergency
How does a life, a year, a day take shape when the sirens never stop sounding? When bees flee to escape the noise of war because the pollen smells of gunpowder? What happens when you don’t know if you’ll see friends and family again?
The resilience is great, the resistance is varied: every time the sirens sound, donations are collected for the Ukrainian military; every time the people of Ukraine learn how betrayal can be dressed up, solidarity strengthens. There are moments when the war fades into the background. When houses are decorated for holidays and watermelons still taste sweet. There are moments that do not let us forget, but suggest a hint of what came before and thus give us hope for what comes after.

An ongoing fight: against destruction.
Andrei Kurkov writes; he writes about the inconspicuous moments, about air raid sirens, friendship and worry, identity, about a battle of words and cultures, about the unity and diversity of a country; he writes about life in war. He writes so that we do not forget. Since 2013, since the protests on the Maidan. Since 2014, since the annexation of Crimea. Through explosions in the night and in every restless second, he writes. As long as the residents of Ukraine are not safe. As long as they are not free.