Herman Makarenko, director of the Ukrainian National Opera and Ballet Academy, in front of the playground destroyed by Russian missiles
“Look what’s on my business card. I am an artist of peace ». Herman Makarenko is a conductor in Kyiv. I meet him in front of the playground where one of the rockets dropped by the Russians on the capital fell on Monday. Rockets that killed 19 people across the country. Herman – he has allowed me to call him by his name – wears a black beret, plum coat and white scarf. It’s in perfect order. Shevchenko usually walks her two dogs here in the park. But this morning he left her at home.
«This place is part of my life, I also brought my children there when they were little. And now? What’s left now? A crater in front of a playground. What’s that supposed to mean?” Herman asks. Leaving the city is not an option. It doesn’t matter if Kyiv is as quiet and empty this morning as it was in the first days of the war. Remains. We stay because we don’t leave home. «In the last few weeks we have also given concerts in Piazza Maidan and in the Opera, which is only a few kilometers from here, for a simple reason. The military front is important, but the cultural one is also important. Only in this way can we understand the difference between what we are and what is on the other side».
As we were talking, a couple of doctors came by. Boris and Olga. They live nearby and yesterday they felt chaos and fear. Today they came to see what happened to their favorite park. “I hope that ends soon,” says Boris. But Olga interrupts him, sweet. “I know we’ve talked about this many times. But this war will not end until they leave our house. We must resist and fight ».
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October 11, 2022 – Updated October 11, 2022 3:01 pm
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