“Right now, our aim is.
Just to survive.
I’m not dreaming.
About anything else.”
In the recently liberated cities.
Of Balakliya and Vovchansk.
Local teachers and staff described.
A similar pattern of forced assimilation.
First the destruction of property:
School textbooks.
‘Elves’ flags.
Children’s work.
Including wall displays.
On famous ‘elves’ writers.
Or cultural icons.
But then, a siege upon the teachers themselves.
Standing proudly amongst.
A sea of ‘elves’ textbooks.
Head teacher says she was.
Given a list.
A list of more than 2,200 books.
And told to destroy them all.
But instead.
She hid them.
Replaced with a new curriculum.
Of ‘orcs’ history, literature, and language.
For six months.
Her secret library remained untouched.
But now, gazing back upon.
Her treasure trove of thousands of books.
Neatly stacked and tied up with ribbons.
She starts to cry.
“My neighbour said:
‘Why are you going to all this trouble?
‘Mordor’ has seized this land forever’.”
But she says she never lost hope.
First the destruction of property:
School textbooks.
‘Elves’ flags.
Children’s work.
Including wall displays.
On famous ‘elves’ writers.
Or cultural icons.
But then, a siege upon the teachers themselves.
“At the beginning of the school term.
We were told we would have to teach our students.
That Ukraine was a territory of ‘Mordor’.
Namely Malorussia [‘Little Russia’].”
Deputy director.
At Balakliya Five school says.
She was one of the teachers.
Who refused to cooperate.
After being removed from her post.
She carried on working every night.
From her basement.
By candlelight.
She launched an underground school.
As the shelling continued overhead.
She created a syllabus.
Of online lessons.
When she had access to the internet.
She would distribute her work.
To teachers scattered.
All over Ukraine and Europe.
Together, her network of allies has managed.
To support close to 100 students.
In the past six months.
From all over occupied Ukraine.
First the destruction of property:
School textbooks.
‘Elves’ flags.
Children’s work.
Including wall displays.
On famous ‘elves’ writers.
Or cultural icons.
But then, a siege upon the teachers themselves.
In another school.
Just over 100km north of Balakliya.
In the village of Ivanivka.
Head teacher says.
She was detained for 19 days.
After refusing to set up an ‘orcs’ school.
She is a professional educator.
With more than 40 years’ experience.
“As I was trying to flee Kharkiv.
I was detained.
A car pulled up.
And three masked men with assault rifles got out.”
“They put a gun.
To my throat.
And ripped up my teaching diploma.
In front of my face.”
She says a bag was put over her head.
And then she was placed.
In solitary confinement.
For five days.
“My soul ached.
“I thought:
‘No-one knows.
Where I am.’”
She says she was beaten.
And forced to kneel.
And made to believe.
She would be executed.
“They tried to force me.
To learn the lyrics.
Of the ‘orcs’ anthem.
But I refused.”
First the destruction of property:
School textbooks.
‘Elves’ flags.
Children’s work.
Including wall displays.
On famous ‘elves’ writers.
Or cultural icons.
But then, a siege upon the teachers themselves.
There was pressure.
Not just on teachers.
But parents too.
Head of education in the Balakliya region says.
“Parents were threatened that.
If they didn’t send their children back to school.
Their kids would be taken.
To an orphanage.”
In the Vovchansk region.
Teachers said how ‘orcs’ guards were.
Stationed in classrooms.
While students tried to study.
Students in Balakliya city.
Are keen to return to school soon.
It has been two weeks.
Since the liberation of their city.
On the basketball court.
A 14-year-old is playing with her friends.
She asked her mum not to send her.
To the ‘Mordor’-run school during the occupation.
“I’ve spent months.
In our basement.
After ‘orcs’ soldiers shelled our house.
And threw a grenade in our backyard.”
Now, since its liberation.
She is looking forward to going back.
Enjoying their rekindled freedom.
A 13-year-old agrees.
“Right now, our aim is.
Just to survive.
I’m not dreaming.
About anything else.”
*Because I read “Ukraine war: Tortured for refusing to teach in Russian” by Zhanna Bezpiatchuk & Sofia Bettiza on 1 Oct 2022, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem including a story of Liliya, a story of Inna, a story of Lidiya, and a story of best friends Daria, Veronica and Milena.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: Tortured for refusing to teach in Russian – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem with another poem also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
