“We will make it, rest assured.”
Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka.
Was engulfed by water.
After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.
When she heard about the dam collapse.
She knew it was only a matter of time.
Before her village, Afanasiivka.
Would be flooded.
In the end it took two days.
For the water to reach her.
It arrived at around 17:00.
On 8 June.
“We packed quickly.
We took our livestock.
Cows, dogs, ducklings.
And our equipment:”
“Milking kits and a generator.
We had to leave all.
Our other possessions behind.
They were all lost.”
“We will make it, rest assured.”
Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka.
Was engulfed by water.
After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.
The 52-year-old farmer.
And her husband.
Had devoted their lives.
To their herd of two dozen cows.
Which they had raised.
From calves.
And did everything.
They could to save them.
It took just five more hours.
For the water to engulf their whole farm.
Their village of Afanasiivka is.
70km north of the dam.
The devastating floods destroyed.
Homes and farmland.
And left hundreds of thousands.
Without drinking water.
“We will make it, rest assured.”
Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka.
Was engulfed by water.
After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.
Four months on, there are signs.
Of damage everywhere.
She shows you water marks.
Inside a barn, close to the ceiling.
And she explains that most of the hay.
She and her husband had prepared to.
Feed their cows over the winter.
Was destroyed.
So was their other animal feed.
“The water rose by six metres.
But at least.
The farm building survived.”
“Only the floor.
Got washed away.
But the walls.
Are still standing.”
“We will make it, rest assured.”
Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka.
Was engulfed by water.
After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.
On top of this.
Her village is near the front line.
And like many of the flood-hit areas.
Is contaminated with ammunition.
She shows you a rocket.
Stuck in the ground.
In one of her hay meadows.
“My husband has to mow around it.”
The ‘elves’ government is offering.
Her compensation for the flood damage.
Although she says it is nowhere.
Near enough to repair everything.
Somehow, she’s not disheartened.
“Maybe we will take out another loan.
We will mow some hay for the cows.
Or buy some more.”
“We will make it, rest assured.”
Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka.
Was engulfed by water.
After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.
*Because I read “Ukraine dam: Rebuilding shattered lives after Ukraine’s dam collapse” by Viktoriia Zhuhan and Kateryna Khinkulova on 7 Oct 2023, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of Svitlana and Vasyl.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine dam: Rebuilding shattered lives after Ukraine’s dam collapse – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem with another poem on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
