"02 18"
For 35 years, every hour the surrounding area of a central square was filled with a melody of the song "How can I not to love you, my Kyiv!" by Ukrainian composer Igor Shamo. This song knows by heart all kyivers as the unofficial anthem of the capital. The song is full of tenderness and love for the city. It is easy and waltzing, very in the nature of Kyiv. The music sounded from integrated speakers in the tower of the building at the central square of Kyiv.
During "The Revolution of Dignity", The Trade Union House was used as the spontaneous hospital for protesters. All who got in real hospitals with wounds and / or if their clothes smelled of smoke, they were indiscriminately arrested. Thus, some people missed and still unknown what happened to them.
On the night of February 18 - 19, the building where was several dozens of people (doctors, "self-defend guardians", wounded and killed people), was burned by Security Service Special Forces "Alpha" (according to the General prosecution of Ukraine). A number of people who died in fire vary between 2 and 50. This event was obtained with many legends and it is difficult to recognize the truth. Doctors claim that all of the wounded were evacuated to another "field" hospital, which is located 500 meters from The Independence Square (Maidan), in the Cathedral of St. Michael. The fire in the building managed to extinguish at 6:55 am on 20 February.
As in many languages of the world, the same word could have several meanings. The last verse of the song can be interpreted as: "The fires blossom above the Dnipro like a necklace". On that night, many have quoted this line, because the burning square which is located on a hill, was visible from all over the city.
Like many of fellows, I realized that since that day we live in another country and we passed the point of no return. Such a large number of deaths around I've never seen before. And the most important thing that people did not give up to force, which significantly exceeded our capacity. And it was all for the sake of creation and of human dignity.
Today, two years later, in spite of the corruption, war, crisis, the general disappointment, we are still on the way to a point in which we believed that winter. Desert, within which we are building our dream - is ruthless, but nothing motivates better than the result of our own work: when you see that you are stronger than the hundreds of years of life in a country where freedom was stolen. And that gives us a faith. The faith in ourselves, in our strength and our future. Everything will be fine, we just started.
Kyiv, Ukraine
July 2016
