Chasing freedom: Untold stories from Ukrainian women

On Feb. 24, 2022, life changed for 44.13 million Ukrainians. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine from both Belarus and the Crimea Peninsula. Since the war began, it has killed thousands of both Russians and Ukrainians and displaced millions of families. Here are the stories of three brave women living in Ukraine today.

These stories have been collected by Oksana, a friend of my mother from when she formerly lived in Transcarpathia, a large region in Western Ukraine.

Oksana

Oksana was born in 1981 in a city called Berehovo. Oksana is currently living in a small village named Hut, located in Transcarpathia. Oksana is a freelance translator and entrepreneur. Her husband has been working abroad for 5 years and would typically visit twice a year. Unfortunately, the war will not allow him to come home due to the risk of losing his job. On Feb. 24 Oksana decided to begin working from home. “It was not easy, especially because we watched the TV all day long for the latest news. My husband wanted me to go to him, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy for us and our children to live abroad because of the money,” Oksana said. Fortunately for her and her children, the region of Transcarpathia has remained relatively safe. For Oksana work is one of the best ways to cope with war depression. “Continuing work and doing the usual routine made us bring back the sense of life.” The local kindergarten in Oksana’s village remained closed until September. The children are becoming accustomed to the air alarm, which goes off a few times a day, requiring them to go to shelters. Oksana’s children both have routines: one of her daughters goes to school and the other to kindergarten. Her mother-in-law is fortunately available to help around the house. Margareth

Margareth was born in 1961 in a small Transcarpathia village. She is currently still living in that same village with her husband. Right before the war, her husband had a stroke, and the left side of his body became paralyzed. He is a pensioner but with an extremely low pension. “Prices have risen significantly. In the beginning of the war, it was difficult to find medication for my husband. At the moment, the problem is already settled, but we need to economize on everything to be able to buy the necessary things,” said Margareth. Her son went abroad for work before the war, but since then, his wife and children have left Ukraine to safely be with him. Within her village it is mostly elderly who stayed. Most of the young people fled across the border to Hungary. Margareth was nervous about staying warm in the winter. “For the whole summer, I could not manage to find firewood, but thanks to my son and our relatives, we managed to buy some wood for winter.” As a housewife, her day consists of housework, working on their land and caring for her husband. She manages to visit her friends in the village and is fortunately able to speak with her son and grandchildren daily via online messaging.

Svetlana

Svetlana was born in Novoiehorivka, Mykolaivska Oblast in 1986. In April she and her two sons packed up and moved to the safer Western Ukraine. She and the other internally displaced persons (IDPs) were living in a local kindergarten in a small village in Transcarpathia. Svetlana’s husband is currently serving in the East and has been since the beginning of the war. “At the moment, I’m alone with my children. When we left our home, I was pregnant, and a month ago I gave birth to a child.” Even though Svetlana and her three children lost their home, she is relieved they are safe. Previously, Svetlana was a janitor, but she is currently on maternity leave. “I hope, when my husband is demobilized, we will be able to find some work and rent a place for our family,” said Svetlana. It was difficult for Svetlana and mostly everyone in Ukraine to understand why Russia would invade their country. “We were watching TV and just could not accept what was happening. We were shocked. Especially when we found out that the war was coming closer and closer to our home. I was staying at the hospital because of my pregnancy. Not far from the hospital there were missile strikes.” At that moment, Svetlana knew she had to flee. It is hard for Svetlana and many other IDPs to have motivation to do anything. “We mostly just layed in our beds, having no purpose and no interest in any activity.” Svetlana said the locals began to organize activities for families such as Easter egg painting or postcards. IDPs have also found work in factories. Svetlana is slowly but surely rebuilding her life and patiently waiting for her husband to come home.

photos from my mother’s time spent in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine in 1996.

A bike! A pony! A magical hairbrush that helps my hair grow longer than a rope! No matter what the gift may be, maintaining a budget and buying good quality gifts can be a struggle during the holiday season. Here are some tips you can use to avoid hurting your wallet!

Tip #1: First off, you want to set a reasonable budget for yourself. Each person will have a different budget based on their income, but placing a limit on how much you can spend can prevent you from spending more money than originally planned. Sticking to a budget may be difficult, but your future self will thank you.

Tip #2: Once you start shopping and purchasing gifts, it is important that you track your spending. Write down what you are buying and how much that item costs. This helps you keep a record of how much you are spending. This will also help you to stay on your budget by preventing you from overspending.

Tip #3: Who doesn’t love gift cards! Shopping for presents is the perfect time to go through old gift cards and use them when going Christmas shopping. By using these gift cards, you can discount anything you may be buying. You can also re-gift the gift cards once you put more money on it!

Tip #4: Cutting down on the number of gifts you give can be beneficial to your wallet. Only give gifts to your family and the people you are closest to. This allows you to spend more money on meaningful gifts for the people you are closest with but also allows you to save money buy not buying extra gifts,

Tip #5: If you do not want to exclude someone from your gift list, ask some friends if they want to chip in to get a group gift or someone. This helps everyone save money while getting a nicer gift for someone you all care about!

Tip #6: Re-gifting is also a smart way to save money and not waste someone else’s! Instead of throwing away a gift you won’t use or keep, you can re-gift it to someone you believe would have a better use for it.

All of these tips are little ways that you can save some money during one of the most expensive times of the year. By following them, you can make your wallet and bank account happy!

Stay green and shop clean

Gabi Hynes

You may have heard not to shop at fast fashion sites before. Shein, Romwe, Zara, the list goes on and on. It’s something we are told not to do but rarely told good alternatives. Here are some ways to avoid fast fashion and the negative impact that fast fashion has on the environment.

Fast fashion brands often put an emphasis on trendy clothing. Although it may be fun to follow trends, it is expensive to keep up with them. More importantly, it is detrimental to the environment. Trendy clothes come and go pretty quickly. By the time you see the trend and order the clothes, the next new trends are already around the corner, and the current trends are already dying. Following trends is not worth the effort, the money and the negative impact it has on the environment. A great way to avoid fast fashion is to buy classic and timeless pieces.

Clothes from fast fashion sites aren’t made to last. Since the quality is so low, you will have to continue to throw away clothes and keep replacing them. These shopping hauls add up, and in the long run cost you more money than it would to buy quality clothes less often. The lower quality clothes are also difficult to reuse. The clothes typically fall apart and have to be thrown away because they aren’t made with recyclable materials. Out of all the clothes that people get rid of yearly, only 15% of that gets donated or recycled. That leaves the other 85% of the textiles and fabrics to the landfills. That 85% is about 21 billion pounds.

Some good ways to shop sustainably is to simply check how eco-friendly the brand you might buy from is. Some good eco-friendly clothing brands to check out are La Relaxed, Girlfriend Collection, For Days, Levi’s and Fair Indigo. Stay green, and shop clean!

Lily O’Connor and Ella Martin

Lily:

My absolute favorite holiday is Christmas, so obviously my favorite genre of music is Christmas music. My favorite concert I’ve ever been to is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas show, and my all-time favorite song is “Carol of the Bells.” I think Christmas music should be an acceptable genre all year round. Most people consider country music to be music for the summer, yet plenty of people listen to it all year. Some songs even have an allusion to a season in the title like “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock or “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood.

Christmas is a time of joy for a lot of people–at least it is for me. Why wouldn’t you want to keep a piece of that joy throughout the year? Even if you think the cheesy songs like “Frosty the Snowman” by Jimmy Durante and “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry should be left in December, subtler and simpler songs like “Little Drummer Boy” by the Trapp Family and “Silver Bells” by Bing Crosby can definitely be year long classics. Along with that, some of the best classical and instrumental music is associated with Christmas. The upbeat melodies and sleigh bells makes for some of the cheeriest music that exists.

above. Holly Jolly Lily O’Connor believes the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear, even if it is all year long! graphic by Lily O’Connor

Ella:

Now, I’m a very consistent Christmas holiday celebrator, I will admit, but I believe there is a specific range of time in which the Christmas holiday should be celebrated. When the clock strikes 12 a.m. on November 1, my mind only thinks about decorating my tree, warm cookies and driving past Christmas displays on chilly Friday nights with friends. However, Christmas lights, decorations and especially music should not be displayed or played until at least the beginning of November until the end of December. I have never understood the idea of having Christmas music playing all year round, especially during the middle of the summer. Summer is associated with pool parties, outdoor concerts and hot weather. Why would music that is associated with hot chocolate, ice skating and freezing snowy weather be played during the summer time? There is also a difference in styles between winter music and other seasons of music. No one wants to listen to “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé while driving with friends on a cozy spring day when they could be listening to “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. There are certain genres of music that can be listened to all year round, but Christmas music is definitely not one of them. Christmas music excites people for the upcoming holiday and makes them look forward to the annual traditions and celebrations, but if it is played all year round, it takes the special feelings of expectation out of the song. So, no, Christmas music can absolutely not be played all year round.

above. Ella Martin plots to ruin Christmas for all who play Christmas music before the month of December. graphic by Lily O’Connor

Ideas of college always mean different things for everyone, especially for me. In this journey, I thought I was completely lost being first-generation college student and even sometimes embarrassed to ask questions that would seem knowledgeable to others. But something I have noticed the most is judgment and care of where someone goes to college.

How many times when looking for a college do we tend to look at acceptance rates? Or even how we sometimes tend to judge others if someone doesnt go to such a highly selective school? It is highly encouraged to go to college, but wherever anyone ends up, it is awesome. Nor is it someone’s business because when it comes down to certain people, affordability is a big part of it. It just bothers me that there is so much judgment.

I wish we didn’t put such light to more schools that are harder to get into or more attention if one gets into one college. People are working to their full potential to get to where they want, whether it’s college or not. Four years of work and effort into a college prep school is not easy, The nights one has a paper or a big test and is striving to put all of her time into that is where credit should go. I just want more attention to people that do not get the credit they should.Whatever college one ends up at, congratulations! They worked for it. One should never feel as if they are getting judged or people bothered if it doesn’t please other people because the only person it should please is themselves. Now for me, I do not know where I am going to end up, but what I do know is wherever it is, I know it will be the right fit for me. It will make me and my family happy because some might have goals that we don’t even know about. We should all be happy for all the accomplishments one makes because we never know what people are going through in life.

above. Insect swarms that populate the skies, such as in the image above, are as powerful as the lightning in a thunderstorm.

You know those sci-fi movies with cities that have flying cars and levitating buildings? What if I told you Saudi Arabia is building a megalopolis shaped like a line? Saudi Arabia has proposed a smart city, called “The Line.” The Line City will avoid carbon emissions all together, designed without streets or any other car accessible routes. Saudi Arabia is creating this city in order to give 380 thousand people jobs and 48 billion to the country’s GDP. The Line features a crazy design containing a full mirrored exterior wall that is 500 meters tall, 200 meters wide, and 105 miles long. With people all over the world skeptically watching, this groundbreaking proposal has actually broken ground.

The company responsible for this monstrous project is Neom, an architectural company founded by the Saudi Arabian government. The project has made its claim to fame from TikTok, Twitter and Instagram filled with criticism and support on both sides. The entire idea of the city is baffling for many people. Neom claims that the city will contain 105 mile end-to-end travel within 20 minutes. Neom also stated that there will be several walkable neighborhoods at a consistent micro-climate. This means the climate within the city will be completely different from the surrounding areas and will always be comfortable for its inhabitants. The timeline for this project is still unknown, which is why skeptics still exist. Ground was officially broken to begin the building of this project in October of 2021, but some skeptics believe the technology and design of this proposal seems a little too unreal. Saudi Arabian government officials and Neom architects shared that the goal is to have the entire city completed and livable by 2030.

The budget for this project is huge: a whopping $500 billion. Many Saudi Arabians are outraged, confused as to why there is so much poverty and the government is hoarding billions of dollars for unrealistic projects. The benefits to the city include how little it will affect the environment. The Line is going to be powered by renewable energy, sustainably connected and surrounded by nature that will be “re-greened.” This plan all sounds and looks like a movie, specifically a sci-fi movie. CNBC was able to interview Antoni Vives, who is the chief planning officer at Neom. Vives stated to CNBC, “I want to be clear about this:Neom is a complex, bold, and highly ambitious undertaking and most certainly not an easy one to deliver.” The Line is certainly an ambitious idea, but if completed it will change the face of our planet forever.

Daniella Hall

“A study published October 24 in ‘iScience’ suggests that the electricity naturally produced by swarming insects like honeybees and locusts is an unappreciated contributor to the overall electric charge of the atmosphere,” Darren Incorvaia wrote in “ScienceNews.”

Electricity working in our natural world can be easy to picture as a thunderstorm with lightning strikes meeting the Earth from the clouds. It can be more difficult to make the connection the power that thunderstorms hold compared to the electrical power that insect swarms create. Surprisingly, the power of both can be on the same level.

“Clouds of locusts could produce electricity on a per-meter basis on par with that in storm clouds, the scientists report,” Darren Incorvaia wrote in “ScienceNews.”

Insects and other bugs that inhabit the skies have charges that relate to big picture atmospheric charges. Whether it is flying or obtaining a foodsource, it is proven that insects have some effect on the overall charge of the natural world. After studies were conducted, it was found that the insects and other bugs’ electrical capabilities can be dangerous. As a society, we are more familiar with the research of lightning and thunderstorms; however, the advancement of the studies of insect swarms and their connection to electricity is less apparent and has only just begun. Additionally, tracking lightning may be made more difficult by the insect swarms.

“If you have something messing up our electric field measurements, that could cause a false alarm,” physicist Joseph Dwyer said to “ScienceNews.” “Or it could make you miss something that’s actually important.”

The correlation between insects and lightning is impressive, and the exploration of this correlation has really just begun. With our technology, a negative impact on our current understanding and tracking of the atmospheric electricity can derive from the insect swarms as the studies need to be further explored.

“There are many unsuspected links that can exist over different spatial scales, ranging from microbes in the soil and plant-pollinator interactions to insect swarms and the global electric circuit,” biologist Dr. Ellard Hunting revealed to “The New York Times.”

Oz of the Middle East

Lilly Coakley

above. The Line, planned futuristic city in Neom, Saudi Arabia, to be developed over 100 miles long. photo source https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/user:Luistxo