“Love her in love, in labour, and in fight, As if she were a song at heaven’s portal… Love her with all your heart and all your might, And with her glory we shall be immortal.” – From the poem Love Ukraine by Volodymyr Sosiura (1944)
My mother was my stronghold, my everything. I was 20 when the war broke out. My brothers were 12 and 17. We all could have left the country but my father was obliged to stay. My mother wouldn’t leave his side. She packed up for me and my two brothers to save our lives and sent us to stay with friends in the Western part of Hungary. Days pass and we cannot communicate and when they finally call, I want to be with them. We fear for their lives each day.
Grandma was love embodied, though she didn’t have an easy life. She lost her husband very early, soon after the birth of their second child and she had to learn young to bear the challenges of life alone. She was dedicated to her family. She didn’t yearn for fame and glamour. Her grace was the strength she gained by facing questions and difficulties with faith and determination. She would say, “the thought of God turns trouble into ease, sorrow into solace, and toil into utter peace.”
Sisters, best friends, neighbours? Young Ukrainian women photographed some 100 years ago. Graceful costumes, beautiful jewellery, dignified people. Heritage carried on in souls.
“My dear mother often told us about the times when she, her younger sister and their mother stayed alone after their father did not return from the war. Young women at the time were supposed to be married early so to ensure their own fortune and the fortune of their family. But Nora, my mother, aspired to go to university and eventually became a doctor. At the same time, my grandma would tell us that Nora remained a strong support at home during her studies too and once she became a doctor she would stay nearby in order to serve their community. This […]
“For a long time this was my favourite photo of our family because it reminded me of the moment it was taken. My mother was holding me tight. I felt safe and protected and could never imagine anything bad happening to me. I wish I could turn back time to feel the warmth of my parents, to be able to play with my brother and sister in our garden again.”
“Sometimes you feel like your wings are tied before you could learn to fly. You come from a disadvantaged background and your opportunities are few. You might not have the chance to go to school like your brothers do. You are encouraged to do housework but not to read and write. You learn that you should marry to secure your future but your heart awakens and you want to fly. You are sensitive and that is the strength of your character. You look to the future and are not bound by opportunistic tendencies. You stand your ground, even if noone else […]
“On my first day at my new workplace, the town’s only old people’s home. The head nurse introduced me to her team of staff and explained to me the daily routine. The home had about 100 inhabitants. Some of them I had known from my childhood, grandparents of my childhood friends. Others were friends or neighbours of my own grannies, who lost their spouses and were left alone in their older years. One day, I invited my grandmother for a visit. She was very hesitant and worried about her own feelings first. But coming to meet her friends turned out to be […]
“She was determined to go to university. None of her girlfriends did but her parents were encouraging her aspirations and she became one of the best students of her class. We met the same afternoon she had passed her final exam at the university and officially become a biology teacher. We bumped into each other at a nearby coffee. She was radiant and very excited about the future. In fact, I took this photo of her and it is one of favourite ever since.”
She was a queen. Maybe not in the literal sense of the word but she was an example of uprightness, of honesty and dignity. She worked at a library and led many groups of children to discover the love of literature and the beauty of the arts. I can thank her for that as well. And she would hold talks on love. I remember visiting the library with our class and listening to her read to us from a beautiful book of quotations she had compiled on Love: “Love is heaven’s kindly light, the Holy Spirit’s eternal breath that vivifieth the human soul.” […]
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