I come from the Ukraine. For those of you who might not know it is a beautiful country in the Eastern Europe which has a very rich culture, nice people and which has gone through centuries of wars, tortures and selfish, moronic governors.
Starting from November 21, due to Ukrainian government's not signing the trade agreement with the EU, a number of riots emerged in Kyiv, the capital of the country, and in other cities in the Ukraine. These protest movements received the title #Euromaidan.
During 3 months of these protest actions, the situation in the country has got worse. Moreover, there is a negative tendency for the country's further development. Just think about it: citizens of the Ukraine are being killed (as for now the media reported at least 30 killed people) by the police (!) and BERKUT (security services) employees. The government headed by Viktor Yanukovych are not intending to make any concessions, respond to people's protests and fix the situation in the country. Ukraine's business is tied up, people are not working because they participate in the riots across the country. The currency is going down. More and more citizens of Ukraine are turning to embassies of foreign countries in Kyiv, because they want to leave the country as refugees. The list of these effects is nearly endless.
Furthermore, inspired by the actions of Ukrainians, people in Venezuela started their own protest movements. The situation in these two countries is very similar, but in some instances, Venezuelans are going through something even worse than Ukrainians. People in Venezuela are being kidnapped all the time, there isn't a single chance you'll be safe if you go outside. A lot of people are being killed, even more than in the Ukraine. Now, can you imagine walking into a grocery store, where there's no food? You can't buy even a pack of rice, as it is simply out of stock for more than a month! In Ukraine, this has last happened at the times of Soviet Union. In Venezuela, this is a reality today.
What is now happening in both Ukraine and Venezuela is terrifying. I would like to express my deepest respect for those Ukrainians and Venezuelans, who didn't just deal with the dreadful actions of the government and 'their' people. Thank you, those of you who stand up and fight for the brighter, safer and better future. It is amazing that you want your countries to prosper, that you want to live the life you deserve and you want to give this opportunity to the whole nation.
Just because I'm in Canada, it doesn't mean that I'm not supportive of Euromaidan. I love my country and I pray for Ukraine. For this reason, this week I want to introduce a playlist of patriotic mostly Ukrainian songs.
The first three are performed by my favourite music artist, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, a lead singer of a Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy. The main ideas of those songs are as follows: Vakarchuk sings that he will not surrender without a fight, we're all not alone and he asks the one to who the song is addressed to say why he/she is afraid to make the final step.
Another Ukrainian artist Skryabin wrote a song specifically devoted to the events at Euromaidan. It is included in a playlist as well.
Specifically for my Spanish-speaking readers, I include a song by an electro tango band Gotan Project. Queremos paz!
Ukrainians and Venezuelans, don't let it get you down and enjoy good music!
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