ODESA, UKRAINE – There’s consolation within the acquainted, even when the acquainted is the trimmings of wartime. Flags, posters assuring victory, warning klaxons prepared on poles, younger troopers standing guard close to the border – all these had grown acquainted throughout my time within the Gaza periphery, however this was a distinct place and a distinct battle.
I had been invited to Ukraine by the Worldwide Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of many main help organizations offering for Jews in danger throughout the ongoing battle to repel the Russian invasion. Given the occasions in Israel and Gaza, it may be straightforward to overlook that there are different wars and different locations the place Jewish communities are grappling with ongoing warfare.
With the invasion nearing its second anniversary on February 24, we determined that it was time to go to these communities and see how they and their Ukrainian countrymen have been coping with their trials.
Entry into Ukraine itself is a problem. The skies are closed, with no civilian plane in or out. To go to, one must first journey to a neighboring nation, like Moldova.
Representatives from IFCJ and I landed in Chișinău on Sunday and had been pushed to the Ukrainian border. For 2 hours we drove via winding roads, in a area of the world the place plainly highway lanes and signage seem like extra of a suggestion than something.
The border crossing took an hour by itself, although there have been only some automobiles. Once we lastly crossed, we handed by younger women and men sporting new fight riggings and joined the stream of semi-trucks hauling help and different items into the nation.
It solely took one other hour of driving via the flat, wooded countryside at evening earlier than we arrived in Odessa.The motive force famous {that a} 12 months in the past, the road lights would have probably been off – attributable to Russian strikes there had been frequent outages and energy conservation. This had modified, a testomony to enhancing defenses and operations towards the Black Sea Fleet that had been lobbing Kalibr missiles on the metropolis’s port.
Touring via the town middle, one may nearly overlook that there’s a lethal wrestle occurring within the east. The shops and accommodations are lit up, persons are taking leisurely walks alongside the streets. But the proliferation of the proud yellow and blue flags, the posters for recruitment and public relations, and that acquainted rigidity within the background remind us in any other case.
With tomorrow’s mild, I hope to see extra of the town and study concerning the Jewish neighborhood, this totally different place, this totally different battle.
Proceed to learn Foxiz Nigeria’s Publish within the coming days for additional stories by James Darwin on his experiences visiting Ukrainian Jewry.
