ukrainian peacebuilding school - time to build the roads and repair the bridges
TRANSCRIPT
Ukrainian Peacebuilding School
Time to Build the Roads
and Repair the Bridges
Glienicke Bridge aka the "Bridge of Spies" Berlin, 1962
“Bridge of spies” 2015
Road to Mariupol, Ukraine, 2015
53 years, 2123 km between the Borders
Iron Curtain Moves Eastward
Regions We Work At
We work at Ukrainian controlled territories only.
Bordering occupied territories, frozen conflict and past bloody conflict.
Centuries Old Fight for Independence of Ukraine…
…Turned into the Bloody War with Russia
“Forgive for everything. Moscow”
Photo by Vitaliy Ovcharenko. Debaltseve, February 2015
Why the Occupation Was Inevitable?
#1 Identity conflicts
Soviet Past
Ukrainian Present
European Future?
#2 Conflicts based on ethnicity or religion
Icon of Stalin, Russia
“Go Away, Moskali, from the Ukrainian land!”
#3 Conflicts of historical narratives
West East
#4 Conflicts of visions of the future
Country by the hands of kids
Graves of Protestants killed by occupants in 2014. Slovyansk
Conflictscould lead to divided society
Divided Societies. Israel
SimilarityRussia does not recognize the Ukrainian nation and the right to Ukrainian State
Divided Societies. Northern Ireland
Similarity Conflict with Russia is 350+ years old
Attempt to Divide Ukraine
Kharkiv. January 12, 2014
Attempt failed except in Donbas
Identity Conflicts are VirtualWhy?
Perception of Russian World is based on TV image made in Moscow and not real life experience
Soviet Union does not exist
Majority of Ukrainians never visited Europe and have no idea what it is
We do not want divided future for Ukraine!
Semenivka, near Slovyansk, 2014-2015
We Develop Strategies of Transformation and Prevention of Borderline Conflicts
Major Problems of Ukrainian Society We Detected
Bad Communications Inability to Plan the
Future Proactively Misunderstanding of
Security Absence of Common
Criteria of Evaluation of Realty What is the sense
of this fence?Bakhmut, 2015
Misunderstanding of Security
“Security is the absence of threats”Conclusion of 36 new Ukrainian leaders.
Leaders of Transformations School, November 2015
Ukraine is NOT Russia
War of symbols“We are Russia. We are not”
Kramatorsk, WWII fortification rebuilt in 2013.
Inability to Plan the Future Proactively
Why?
Genocidal History
Cult of Death Enforced by the Soviets
Ukrainians during the Great Famine of 1932-1933
Value of Life“I lived in a country where we were taught since our childhood to die.
We were taught the death.
We were told that the human exists to give themselves, to burn, to sacrifice themselves.”
Svetlana Alekseevich, Belarussian writer Nobel Lecture. December 7, 2015
Face of War.Every Life Counts!
Photo exhibition in Kramatorsk, August 2015
Bad CommunicationsBad Roads
Roads lead to nowhere
Broken or Fragile Bridges
Bridges connect wrong points
Bridges Still Broken
Bridges destroyed in 2014 are still broken.Donetsk oblast, North
Fragile Bridges
Temporary bridge in Kharkiv existed 53 years
Solid Secure Bridges
New bridge built in Kharkiv, 2011
Absence of Common Criteria of Evaluation of RealtyWhat is the purpose of this bridge?
Public Spaces Shaping Community
How to Build Sustainable Peace in Ukraine
1. Mental border with Russia as a state and Russian World as an ideology
2. Personal friendly contacts with people across the Ukrainian border
3. True multiculturalism and security aware tolerance. Open Peaceful Islam
4. Education of active adults on conflict studies, dialogue practices, social psychology, behavioral economic, human security.
“We have to have the conversations our governments can't”
“Bridge of spies” 2015
Common Future
Kharkiv. 24 May, 2014Heroes do not die!
Thank you for attention!
Nataliya Zubar, Kharkiv, Ukraine, @nataliezubar