Spring 2024 Women and War Issue by readelysian

ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

DISPLAY UNTIL MAY 29, 2024

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E L Y S I Marlene Dietrich A N VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 1 THE WOMEN AND WAR ISSUE / ÉDITION FEMMES ET GUERRE PRINTEMPS 2024

54 BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

78 100

The City in Winter

The splendor of Ukraine before war. BY KATE MCMULLEN

Cleopatra in Art

114

The greatest woman warrior, leader, and beauty who has ever reigned. BY VERITY GALSWORTHY

Inspiring Women Lieutenant Colonel Sheri Biggs page 116 Phan Thi Kim Phuc page 128 INTERVIEWS BY KAREN FLOYD

146

The Women of WAR

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews twelve Ukrainian women behind the lines.

18 30

war&history Mata Hari— The mysterious life of the exotic dancer, and World War I spy. BY CORA WALDEN

architecture&interiors Color me red, white, and blue. BY CAROLINE RYAN

52 shopping

Army green with envy. BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

168

philanthropy When life sucks. BY CORA WALDEN

The Kim Foundation International—Nurturing, healing & hope. BY SONIA HENRY

184

back story

Team ELYSIAN and the ELYSIAN Circle celebrate an unforgettable Winter magazine launch in Aspen.

on the cover

Philanthropist and Lieutenant Colonel Sheri Biggs photographed by Michael Paniccia.

WAR PAINT—The history of makeup. BY PEARL LUSTRE

beauty&style

PHOTOGRAPH BY GROMOVATAYA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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EDITORIAL

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ALL IT TAKES FOR EVIL TO PREVAIL, IS FOR PEOPLE OF GOOD CONSCIENCE TO REMAIN SILENT.” hy in the world would you travel to Ukraine and put your life at risk to film a documentary?” I was repeatedly asked. The question surprised me. As the founder and publisher of the ELYSIAN ecosystem for almost a decade, I have adhered strictly to our editorial mantra, “Women Inspiring Women.” Since its conception in 2013, I have been privileged to interview over a thousand professional, philanthropic, trendsetting women who have been featured in our magazine’s award-winning pages and captured on film. The inspiring stories of women who overcome, persevere, and endure are what undergirds “everything” ELYSIAN. Many share their vulnerability and pain while others recount tales of gratitude and blessings. Giving women their voice, with the hope others would find inspiration and connection, is central to ELYSIAN’s ethos. On February 21st, 2022, when Russia invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine, something inside of me was awakened. In our complex world of incredible advancement from sending NFTs to the moon, cranial implants, electric vehicles, clean energy, and more . . . how could this happen?

I believe

every person has a purpose; mine is to give sound to the voiceless. With the invasion weighing heavily on my heart, I decided to capture the Ukrainian women’s voices in film and expose the truth through a documentary. For weeks that were exhilarating, depressing, exhausting, and perilous, our small crew consisting of a cinematographer, translator, and soldiers, traveled covertly throughout Ukraine, to Kiev, and the deadly frontlines. We filmed remarkable Ukrainian women whose courage, fortitude, and love of family and the motherland gave a new dimension to “inspiring women.” Perhaps for the first time in my life, I came to understand the decisive role strong women selflessly assume when everything they love and hold dear is put on the line. Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War reflected the interviews of a Supreme Court Justice, Nurse, Driver, Medic, Combat soldier, Widow expecting a child, Government official, Trainer, Interpreter, Reconnaissance soldier, Student, and Cook. They were brave in what were seemingly unnoticed, yet impactful ways. They maintained both their humanity and dignity in the face of evil. Their stories reminded me of an epiphany my only sister Kathy shared with me in her final stages of cancer. She was a world-class athlete, not to mention an academic with a doctorate and post-doctorate from Cal Tech. She was teaching at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. “We have it all wrong, Karen,” she said. “It is what each of us does every day that matters most - the small acts of bravery that are never seen, that move humanity forward.” Our 82-minute documentary, Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War, is a testimony to that notion. The resilience of women when thrust into the agonies of war, in Ukraine or any part of a world in conflict, is inspiring. Their strength enables human existence. The documentary was awarded/selected for 6 International Film Festivals, yet I felt there was a deeper story to be told. And so, for the second time, we traveled to Ukraine to film the sequel, Fight for Ukraine; For the Children. The storyline is based upon a simple premise, that because women bring life into this world they are also uniquely impacted by the spoils of war. Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group. I witnessed this in Ukraine, and central to genocide, was a systemic effort to remove hope and crush the human spirit. While filming there, we identified three horrific ways this was accomplished; the ultimate sacrifices of the soldiers, the isolation and despair of the women, and the marginalization and generational impact of war on children. In Kiev, there is a mural of three overlapping hands, a child, the mother, and the soldier. The mural is symbolic and portrays a visual “cry” to the world. It represents the hope and future of the country. The storyline Fight for Ukraine; For the Children focuses on these three central themes: why men are willing to die for the future of their motherland and their children; why women have a unique and formidable capacity to deal with suffering and still find meaning and hope, and finally why the children drive their united passion despite the horrors of war. For survivors of all war, it is my profound hope that they not just learn how to endure, survive, and exist, but to unlearn hate, animosity, and revenge. This issue is dedicated to all women who serve . . . because, as my sister Kathy explained, “True heroism stems from the quiet and unnoticed acts, oftentimes from women’s hands.” Much love,

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Karen Floyd Publisher

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war&history

mata hari BY CORA WALDEN

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he was an exotic dancer and courtesan from Leeuwarden, Netherlands, who was born in 1876 and died too young, age 41, on October 15, 1917, when she was captured, condemned, falsely convicted, and executed by firing squad in France as a German spy at the height of fighting during World War I. She was, in truth, a scapegoat and she will never be forgotten, because Margaretha Geertruida Zelle MacLeod was the femme fatale of all femme fatales, an incredible woman whose powers of seduction are legendary. The world, however, knows her by her stage name: MATA HARI.

The

firstborn and only daughter of four children of an affluent shop owner and investor, “M’greet,” as her family called her, had a privileged life until the age of 15, when her father went bankrupt and shortly after, her parents divorced and very soon after that, her mother died. Her father remarried a woman who cared nothing for M’greet and she was sent to live with her godfather in The Hague. She was 18 years old when she saw an ad in the newspaper placed by Dutch colonial army Captain Rudolf MacLeod, a descendant of the MacLeods of Skye and the Baroness Sweerts de Landas then living in the Dutch East Indies, who was in search of a wife. Her beauty was captured even in the rudimentary black and white photographs of the day, and the Captain proposed by mail, was accepted,

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KEYSTONE PRESS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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The firstborn and only daughter of four children of an affluent shop owner and investor, “M’greet,” as her family called her, had a privileged life until the age of 15, when her father went bankrupt. PWB IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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elebrating the body beautiful, “modesty” was not in Mata Hari’s vocabulary. Flaunting her curves, energized by her unbridled promiscuity, naughty and taunting, she was all the rage, and her audiences simply could not get enough of the woman. She posed as a Javanese princess of priestly Hindu birth and danced the sacred dances she had learned at the beginning of her marriage. Her only attire was a gold jeweled bra and nothing more. One French newspaper gushed, Mata Hari was “so feline, extremely feminine, majestically tragic, the thousand curves and movements of her body tremble in a thousand rhythms.” A Viennese journalist described her as “slender and tall with the flexible grace of a wild animal, and with blue-black hair” that gives her face “a strange foreign expression.”

the summer of 1916, while engaged in a dogfight against the Germans, Maslov was shot down and badly wounded, including the loss of his left eye, and taken to a French hospital on the Front. Despite being a citizen of a neutral country, Mata Hari was not permitted to be near the Front, but when word reached France’s Deuxième Bureau— France’s equivalent at that time of the KGB or M6—of her desperate desire to be reunited with her lover, France’s military intelligence agency offered her escort—providing she agreed to spy for France and to save Maslov’s life, she did. Prior to the outbreak of war, Mata Hari performed a number of times for Crown Prince Wilhelm, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was technically serving as a senior German general on the Western Front. This association was known to French Intelligence, and they instructed Mata Hari to seduce Prince Wilhelm with the mission of obtaining valuable military information. The truth was, Prince Wilhelm’s knowledge of military secrets was nil. He was appointed a general by his father as a front for German government propaganda to portray the successor of the Hohenzollern monarchs and the throne of Prussia as a great and powerful military leader and worthy successor to his brilliant father, Kaiser Wilhelm II. In point of fact, Prince Wilhelm was a party-going lush and womanizer who socialized way too much and way too closely with a group of far right-wing German politicians who wished to depose the Kaiser.

She met and fell in love with millionaire industrialist Émile Étienne Guimet, founder of the Musée Guimet, and became his longtime mistress. As the storm clouds of the Great War gathered, Mata Hari’s career declined and on March 13, 1915, at the age of 39, she performed her final show. Despite her ongoing affair with Guimet, she became a much-sought-after courtesan, engaging in relationships with high-ranking military officers, government officials, and powerful and influential men, often traveling in their company to many countries, frequenting Spain and Britain especially. When the war broke, she continued to travel freely for as a Dutch subject, Holland had proclaimed neutrality. Even so, as an international celebrity, she attracted attention wherever she went. It was during this time that she engaged in a passionate affair with Captain Vadim Maslov, a 23-yearold Russian pilot serving with the French. Despite the 15-year age difference, she would call him “the love of my life,” and proved that—because in the end, it was her devotion to him that would cost her her life.

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and returned to Amsterdam and wed his 19-year-old bride on July 11, 1895. Married into the Dutch upper class to a financially sound officer and living a life of luxury in Malang on the island of Java should have been her happily ever after but the union proved short-lived. Rejecting her two children much as her father rejected her, M’greet fled into the arms of another man when she could no longer bear her husband’s alcoholic tirades and physical abuse, and the repulsion of having to live openly with his concubine. During their separation, the disillusioned young woman immersed herself in Indonesian culture and joined a local Malaysian dance company. It was then that she adopted the performing name of Mata Hari which, in Malay, means “eye of the day.” This period of her life, too, was brief. At her husband’s urging she returned home to their son and daughter but shortly after, their infant son and daughter fell ill from syphilis contracted from both their parents and the little boy died. The couple, with their daughter, Jeanne, returned to Amsterdam, where they separated and divorced. M’greet was awarded custody of her daughter and Rudolf was legally required to pay child support but he never did; and after one court-allotted visit, he failed to return little Jeanne to her mother. Without the means to retain a lawyer and bring her ex-husband in front of the courts, she accepted the circumstances, convincing herself that as much as Rudolf had been an abusive husband, he had been a loving father. She never again saw her only child, who would die at the age of 21 from complications of syphilis. With no alimony or support from the wealthy MacLeod family, “Zelle,” as she now called herself, moved to Paris. The year was 1903 and she was twenty-seven. With no source of income, she performed as a circus horse rider under the name “Lady MacLeod,” despite her former married family’s protestations. She posed as an artist’s model and began performing in cabarets as an exotic dancer. There she caught the eye of booking agent Gabriel Astruc and on March 13, 1905, she opened her solo act as an exotic dancer in a special performance held at the Musée Guimet, the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts, in the 16th arrondissement in Paris. The woman the world would know as Mata Hari became an overnight success and in time joined Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis as one of the trailblazers of modern dance.

Mata Hari (stage name of Margaretha Geertruida “Grietje” Zelle, 1876-1917), Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan. She was accused of being a spy for Germany, and was executed by firing squad in France. Seen here in her garden at Neuilly, Paris, circa 1913. CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

ONE FRENCH NEWSPAPER GUSHED, MATA HARI WAS “SO FELINE, EXTREMELY FEMININE, MAJESTICALLY TRAGIC, THE THOUSAND CURVES AND MOVEMENTS OF HER BODY TREMBLE IN A THOUSAND RHYTHMS.” Mata Hari, as Agent H-21, transmitted her coded messages to French Intelligence for some months until late 1916, while traveling to Madrid, she was intercepted by a German military attaché named Major Arnold Kalle. Here history becomes clouded by intercepted messages, revelations of counter espionage, scandalous sex secrets divulged and circulated implicating French politicians and generals that all pointed to Mata Hari. Whatever the truth, six French double-agents embedded in Germany whose names were known to Mata Hari were captured and executed by the Germans. On February 13, 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace, accused of spying for Germany, and not only divulging the names of the six French spies but, by extension, causing the deaths of at least 50,000 French and Belgian soldiers. She testified, “My international connections are due of my work as a dancer, nothing else . . . Because I really did not spy, it is terrible that I cannot defend myself.” Most heartbreaking of all, however, was when she learned her embittered lover, Maslov, refused to testify in her defense, telling authorities he did not care if she was convicted or not. When she learned “the love of her life” had abandoned her, she fainted.

Her final words at the trial were, “A harlot? Yes, but a traitoress, never!” Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad of twelve soldiers as dawn was breaking on the morning of October 14, 1917, two days before her 42nd birthday. She refused to be bound or blindfolded and moments before the order “Fire” was given, she blew a kiss to the firing squad. Her body was unclaimed and appropriated for use for medical study. Her remains were stored in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris. Records from 1918 confirm this, however in 2000, it was discovered that her embalmed head was missing. In 2017, a century after her execution, the 1,275 pages of Mata Hari’s trial were unsealed and declassified by the French Army. In 2022, a spokesperson from the Mata Hari Foundation argued that at most, she was a low-level spy who provided no secrets to either side, stating: “We believe that there are sufficient doubts concerning the dossier of information that was used to convict her to warrant reopening the case. Maybe she wasn’t entirely innocent, but it seems clear she wasn’t the master spy whose information sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths, as has been claimed,” thus confirming what both Dutch Intelligence and MI5 concluded at the time, that Mata Hari was not guilty of the charges for which she was convicted. A petition to the French government issued by the Mata Hari Foundation to exonerate her conviction has yet to be addressed. ■

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In the early-morning hours of October 15, Mata Hari was awakened and taken by car from her Paris prison cell to an army barracks on the city’s outskirts where she was to meet her fate. Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad of twelve soldiers two days before her 42nd birthday. She refused to be bound or blindfolded and moments before the order “Fire” was given, she blew a kiss to the firing squad. CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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PHOTOGRAPH BY MED PHOTO STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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architecture&interiors

color me red, white & blue BY CAROLINE RYAN

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ed, white, and blue—this classic combination conjures up thoughts of patriotic celebrations, July 4 parties, nautical adventures, and flag-draped parades. However, this evocative trio can also be a striking and quintessential choice for those who want to create a sense of timelessness in their home décor. Each color carries its own symbolic and psychological association, and when combined correctly, can create a vibrant, balanced, and visually appealing palette that can transform home interiors into welcoming and enduring spaces.

Colors Have Meaning

According to a recent study by Aleksandra Ćurčić and associates at Serbia’s University of Niš, “one of the essential roles of design and architecture is to provide built environments that sustain the occupants’ psychological well-being. In modern society, more than 70 percent of a person’s lifespan is spent indoors . . . and interior design represents a considerably important factor that affects the users of a space, in functional, aesthetic, and psychological terms.” Thus, the symbolism of each color used in a room’s design can create a mood, and most designers advise experimenting with different shades of each color to create the exact vibe you are going for. RED, one of the warmest hues in a designer’s palette, is typically the color of passion and energy—this powerful color has the ability to stimulate emotions and grab your attention right away. It is also associated with warmth and coziness, making it an ideal choice for creating inviting spaces in your home. The use of red can also add touches of drama and flair, making it an excellent choice for accentuating specific areas or pieces of furniture. BLUE is the color most often associated with calm and serenity, making it an ideal choice for relaxation, clarity, and creating a more tranquil environment. The various shades of blue make it one of the most versatile colors in an interior designer’s palette—

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Red damask curtains with blue paneled window shutters in Victor Hugo’s Hauteville House. The house where Victor Hugo lived during his exile from France, located at 38 Hauteville in St. Peter Port in Guernsey. In March 1927, the centenary year of Romanticism, Hugo’s descendants Jeanne, Jean, Marguerite, and François donated the house to the City of Paris. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SAM ZIY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

from deep navy to vibrant sky blue to soft and muted baby blue, this color offers a wide range of moods and styles to customize the feel of your room. Because blue also conveys a sense of trust, it evokes a sense of stability, making it a favorite for creating harmonious spaces in the home. WHITE, one of the most flexible colors in the palette, symbolizes purity, cleanliness, and simplicity, and its use often makes spaces feel open, airy, and fresh. It can serve as a perfect base color, allowing other colors to pop and shine, and creates a perfect backdrop for various design elements. White is also timelessly elegant and is often associated with sophistication in interior design.

Color Schemes and Combinations

The various combinations of red, white, and blue in interior design can create different moods depending on which color you decide to emphasize, which permutations of each color you choose, and what aesthetic you are seeking. For instance, if you are going for a patriotic allure, using these three colors as a primary palette, can create a sense of national pride. If you are going for a more nautical theme, the combination of navy blue and white, accented with touches of red, evokes the ocean and a chic sailboat aesthetic. And if you are aiming for a more serene and spa-like feel, white with occasional light blue and soft red accents can create a calm and tranquil atmosphere. Rayman Boozer, principal designer at Apartment 48, who is known for combining bold colors and luxurious materials to create sophisticated and inviting spaces, believes that “you should avoid overwhelming spaces with all three colors in equal intensity. Instead, he suggests that you “opt for a balanced distribution of each to maintain harmony.” He also advises steering clear of intricate patterns that might clash with the boldness of the color scheme. Kelly Hoppen, of Kelly Hoppen Interiors, who is known for her use of clean lines and neutral tones, agrees. “To avoid overwhelming a space, it is essential to strike balance,” she says. “Incorporating these hues strategically as accents” is one way to use this trio. For instance, says Hoppen, “using red to add a touch of passion, or white to add a calming effect” is one technique. She also believes, like Boozer, that bold patterns should be used thoughtfully, and in particular, when using blue, “you should consider pairing it with taupes and silvers for a sophisticated and nuanced outcome.” Altering the shades of red and blue can help you deviate from the traditional patriotic ethos. Boozer suggests experimenting with light blues and red clay tones, or incorporating deep maroon reds with oceanic blue hues to subtly adjust the overall appearance of a space. He is also a fan of incorporating pink as a “delightful alternative to red. A room with blue and pink elements, complemented by white accents, can achieve a charming and contemporary aesthetic.” Both designers are advocates of gradually incorporating red, white, and blue elements into your décor to strike the right sense of balance and harmony. Hoppen calls this approach “gradual integration” and recommends starting with small accents

A restoration daybed or lit de repos covered in red silk satin by Prelle in a blue room, with white columns, gilded wall sconces and lion skin rug with mounted head adorn the Parisian home of interior designers Coorengel and Calvagrac. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / GETTYIMAGES.COM

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This Georgian barn conversion in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, features Chinese artwork with antique sofa and an eclectic mix of fabrics. • Opposite: Blue tongue and groove book shelves along with a burnt red sofa and red shelf accents are the showstoppers in this 1930s arts and crafts style home located in Hove, East Sussex, United Kingdom.

such as cushions or artwork to infuse vibrancy while maintaining a harmonious balance with a neutral base. She also thinks that incorporating red in luxurious textures like velvets and linens is also an approach to making your interiors pop. Boozer says that “intensifying the shade of one color while toning down the others” can change the “emotion of a room. For example, deepening blues creates a more serene atmosphere, while adding bolder reds can infuse passion into a space.”

Balance is Key

Being mindful of the proportion of each color used in a space to maintain a harmonious and visually appealing environment will ensure you don’t tire of your space. Boozer said he has come across red, white, and blue implementations that stand out for their beauty and effectiveness, and the key to their success is “thoughtful balance and strategic placement to highlight the unique qualities of each color.” He cites a recent project he completed on Park Avenue in New York as an example. “It was a child’s room with a vibrant red, white and blue palette, he recalls.” The walls were adorned with a playful red and white striped wallpaper that created a dynamic backdrop. The ceiling was painted in a calming robin’s egg blue, while the door added a touch of sophistication with a deep navy shade. Using these primary colors allowed a versatile base for layering additional colors.” Boozer also cited the example of a kitchen featuring blue cabinets paired with white counters and small red accents. Using red, white, and blue can be stylish and enduring, but the key is striking a balance, for example, “adopting a bold approach with one of the colors and maintaining a more subtle presence with the other two,” he says. To emphasize a particular feel, he believes that intensifying the shade of one color while toning down the others, (for instance deepening a blue or opting for a bolder red) can infuse passion or serenity into a space, depending on your wishes. Hoppen, who tends toward more neutral motifs, still recognizes the effectiveness of a red, white, and blue palette. “While this is not my predominant choice (when designing), I have come across instances, especially in coastal or nautical themes, where the red, white, and blue palette, was used effectively, she said. “It’s about finding the right balance that suits the specific design context. When incorporating these colors, consider the richness of the red, the versatility of the white, and the sophistication achieved by pairing blue with taupes and silvers.” Some other tips for incorporating these three classic colors into your décor are to layer textures in each of the hues to add depth and interest, to incorporate natural materials, such as wood and greenery to complement the colors’ vibrancy; to experiment with shades within each color family to create a nuanced and personal space; and to incorporate personal items or art with red, white, and blue themes to add character and warmth. By using these three colors in harmony with each other, you can create a versatile and classic space that transcends trends. With careful execution, these colors can breathe life into any interior, making a lasting and vibrant impression. ■

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war

beauty&style

paint BY PEARL LUSTRE

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ar paint, or face paint, was an important ritual among certain peoples that prepared warriors for battle. In North America, for instance, for centuries, Native Indians used various colors of face paint and applied very specific symbols to communicate messages. For example, the Beothuk tribe used red to cover their face, hair, and even clothing, though rather than for war, it has been speculated the color served as protection from biting insects. Some historians maintain red paint is the reason Indians were nicknamed “red skins” in those early days of yore. On the other hand, Blackfoot tribal warriors of the American Plains painted their faces black. The Teton Sioux used black war paint to proclaim victory and white paint at times of mourning. The Catawbas of the Southeast painted a white circle around one eye and a black circle around another to frighten their enemies. The Seminole tribes of Florida had purposes for certain colors. Namely, red paint signified blood; green paint near the eyes gave a person better night vision, and yellow paint, the color of death, “means a man has lived his life and will fight to the finish,” according to National Geographic contributor Louis Capron. This said, war paint was only for use by warriors; Seminole women were forbidden to paint their faces or bodies, ever. In Montana, the warriors of the Assiniboine tribe painted their faces red and black but the chief, and only the chief, painted his face yellow. War paint was randomly applied. It was almost sacred. The symbols meant something, and the paint was very carefully applied. According to historian Karl Gröning, “The combination of color and motif was very important to the individual, who saw it as

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WOMEN HAVE USED WAR PAINT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, WAS EVE WEARING SOME WHEN SHE LURED ADAM WITH THAT APPLE?” his ‘medicine,’ his personal tutelary spirit.” Certain symbols related thoughts or spiritual ideas. Geometric symbols represented celestial bodies; there were symbols for birds and other animals, lightning and thunder, etc. The composition of war paint, of course, came from natural ingredients such as bird excrement, animal fat, and more pleasantly, dyes from herbs, flowers, leaves, and fruit. War paint was generally two major colors—red ochre, taken from red clay, and charcoal. War paint is referred to in classic literature and art. For example, American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), who first popularized the term “war paint,” refers to it throughout his Leatherstocking novels. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), in his epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha, writes of the Great Spirit Gitche Manito, who commands the Indian warriors to “Bathe now in the stream before you, Wash the war paint from your faces.” Artist George Catlin (1796-1872), who is credited as the first American portrait painter to document the West, painted 500 hundred portraits of Native Americans from 48 different tribes. So, when you stop to think about it, not much is different from the war paint of long ago and the war paint used today. Black and shades thereof, for example, is the preferred color for eyeliner, mascara, and eyebrows. Red, from Barbi pink to burgundy, is for lips and blush. Women have used war paint since the beginning of time, which begs the question, was Eve wearing some when she lured Adam with that apple?

here was a time not all that long ago when a woman caught wearing makeup was no lady at all; and conversely, ladies wearing makeup in the saloons of the Old West were “soiled doves.” This said, before this period of Westward expansion and Baptist constraints, makeup in America prior to the onset of the American Revolutionary War was worn by women and by men. Lead was used in white makeup, which was worn by both sexes (and, in fact, has been determined as the cause of death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, who wore layers of zinc foundation to cover her smallpox scars.) Both sexes wore powdered wigs (often powdered with flour and worn for months on end, inviting fleas and mites.) And, both sexes used lip stains from berries to rosy their lips. Our American forefathers dispensed with all this because, in point of fact, wigs and makeup on men were “fashion statements” imported by the French and the occasional Englishman who was a little light in the loafers. The fashion in men ended abruptly with the first shot of the Revolution, fired on April 19, 1775, at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts— the famous “shot heard around the world.” Women, too, stopped wearing makeup. After all, it’s not like it was available at the local drugstore. Secretly, however, women circulated recipes between women friends and family members and cooked up their own lotions to lighten their complexions, lip stains from berries and petals to plump up their lips and cheeks, and ashes to darken their eyebrows and eyelashes. Needless to say, they achieved a “natural” look . . . That is, until the late 19th century. Some very astute women realized

they could cash in on every woman’s dream to look beautiful. And so, in the 1880s, women-owned small businesses started making products for complexion, eyes, brows, lips, and lashes called cosmetics. These homemade products were sold through a distribution system called the California Perfume Company, which later was renamed Avon. And the rest, as they say, is history. One woman, the daughter of a tenant farmer by the name of Florence Nightingale Graham (no relation to the famous nurse) opened an exclusive beauty shop to sell her line of cosmetics. She reinvented herself, dressing beautifully, beautifully made-up, and beautifully poised, and changed her name to Elizabeth Arden. Born in 1881, she died in 1966. By 1929 she personally owned over 150 salons in Europe and the United States and today, her company manufactures over 1,000 different products sold in 22 countries around the world. Indeed, the girl raised on a farm in Ontario, Canada, became, at the height of her career, the richest woman in the world. This is not only a testimony to her as an inventor and a businesswoman, but the vastness of the cosmetics market--$300 billion worldwide, projected to catapult to $417 billion by 2030. At the same time, Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove, 1867-1919) created her line of African-American beauty products, taking her on a fast train from poverty to success as the first female self-made millionaire in America. By the Roaring Twenties makeup on women was not only fashionable, but an absolute requirement among young women in their late teens, twenties, and thirties. A woman who left the house without her makeup was considered not properly dressed, and though most women were homemakers, wives, and mothers, more and more women had joined the workforce. When they dressed in their best and went to the local movie house on Saturdays for a double feature, they went home and mimicked the makeup worn by their favorite Hollywood stars—a practice that continues today as you see more and more women wearing “Taylor Swift red” lipstick, or the Elizabeth Taylor black kohl-lined eyes and lashes that Adele favors, or Princess Kate of England’s more natural look by day and edgier look by night. Whichever of the numerous beauty products available today that you’ve got in your medicine cabinet or makeup bag, let’s face it—literally—there’s a reason why you wear it. And that reason isn’t that much different from the Native Americans applying their War Paint. Modern cosmetics are our form of war paint. We wear it when we go out, and in different ways. There’s the way we apply makeup to reflect our professional self. There’s the heavier way, perhaps, that we apply it when we want to show a brave face. And sometimes, we apply makeup like a mask we can hide behind—not really a mask, of course, but false eyelashes do wonders. At night you take off your makeup and look in the mirror and see the real “you.” That’s good. That keeps us grounded. That reminds us that, at the end of the day, no makeup can hide your true beauty, which comes from a kind heart and a loving spirit. (This said, the only person I know of who goes to bed wearing makeup is Dolly Parton. Her beauty shines brightly from within, we all know that. But that’s because she rises every morning at three o’clock, ready to greet the day and make the most of it. God bless you, Dolly!) ■

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SIRTRAVELALOT / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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army green with envy

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BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

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5. 6.

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Star, Singer, Soldier, Spy

by Laurie Bogart Wiles

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arie Magdalene “Marlene” Dietrich was born on December 27, 1901, in Schöneberg, an ancient district of Berlin dating to medieval times, and even while she was growing up as a child, it was the political epicenter of Europe. Her mother, Wilhelmina Elisabeth Josefine (née Felsing), called Josefine, was from an established, affluent Berlin family that owned and operated Felsing Clockmakers, founded by Conrad Felsing, whose family, originally named Voltzing, had been watch and clockmakers since 1733. The business was passed down from father to son through the generations. In 1877, the company was awarded a Royal Patent from the King of Prussia, elevating Felsing’s prestige, and his class of clientele. To fulfill the surge in business, the company expanded its offerings to include fine jewelry. As with so many small businesses, Felsing Clockmakers did not survive World War 2—though if you look hard enough, their clocks and watches come up from time to time for sale on the antique market. Marlene’s father, Louis Erich Otto Dietrich, called Otto, was born on August 26, 1867. He was a police lieutenant before serving as a Prussian officer during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Josefine had two children by Otto, both daughters: the eldest, Ottilie Josephine Elisabeth Dietrich, called “Liesel,” was born on February 5, 1900, just twenty-two months before her little sister, Marlene. Tragically, their father met his death in August of 1907 (or 1908) in the Herero War, most likely while fighting in German South West Africa (Namibia.) Seven years after Otto’s death, Josefine married her late husband’s best friend, Eduard von Losch, an aristocrat who was serving as a first lieutenant in the Grenadiers. He, too, died, in July 1916, from injuries sustained in World War 1. Marlene began her career as a chorus girl touring with Guido Thielscher’s Girl-Kabarett, then performing with German popular music composer Rudolf Nelson and the Waghalter Jazz Orchestra in

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German and American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, whose career spanned from the 1910s to the 1980s. In 1920s Berlin, Dietrich performed on the stage and in silent films, photographed here in 1928. ARCHIVE COLLECTION / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

German Marlene Dietrich film star photographed on the roof terrace of the exclusive Carlton Hotel during a visit to London England. CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Berlin. Small dramatic stage roles led to small parts in silent films. She made her film debut in 1923 in The Little Napoleon, followed by Tragedy of Love where, on the set, she met Rudolf Sieber, whom she married on May 17th that same year and with whom Marlene had her only child, a daughter, Maria Elisabeth Sieber, born December 13, 1924.)

For

the next six years, she continued to appear on stage in Vienna and Berlin, and in films, including Frank Wedekind’s Pandora’s Box, William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and George Bernard Shaw’s Back to Methuselah and Misalliance. But her talent and popularity were attributed to her performances in musicals and revues, such as Broadway, Es liegt in der Luft, and Zwei Krawatten. By 1927, she had scored the female leads in Café Elektric (1927), I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (1928), and The Ship of Lost Souls (1929). But it was her performance as Lola-Lola in Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel (1930) that catapulted her to fame and gave her her signature song, Falling in Love Again. Her performance also landed Marlene her first contract, with Paramount Pictures. Von Sternberg effectively created Marlene’s sultry image of the glamorous, mysterious femme fatale. He came to Hollywood to direct her in the film version of The Blue Angel and made six more movies with her in rapid succession over five years: Morocco (1930), in which she played opposite Gary Cooper and earned her only Academy Award nomination, Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express and Blonde Venus (both 1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil Is a Woman (1935). In Morocco, again playing a cabaret singer, Marlene dressed in a man’s formal white tie

Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper on the set of 1936’s Desire, an American romantic crime comedy-drama film directed by Frank Borzage and produced by Borzage and Ernst Lubitsch. The picture is a remake of the 1933 German film Happy Days in Aranjuez. Above: Shanghai Express, a 1932 American pre-Code film about a group of train passengers held hostage by a warlord during the Chinese Civil War. It was directed by Josef von Sternberg and stars Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong and Warner Oland. PICTORIAL PRESS LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Marlene Dietrich with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Richard Tauber and his wife Diana Napier at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1936 Promotional Event United Artists. MASHETER MOVIE ARCHIVE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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64 Marlene Dietrich and costar Charles Boyer in the American adventure drama romance The Garden of Allah, 1936. MASHETER MOVIE ARCHIVE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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attire, kisses another woman while performing her song. Even looked upon as taboo in the provocative Roaring Twenties, this tantalizing scene most closely resembled Marlene’s penchant in her personal life to dress in men’s clothing and enjoy sex with men and with women, often both in the same day, generally multiple times a day with different partners. To put it demurely, sex was like mother’s milk to Marlene and the publicity department at the studio worked furiously to keep that aspect of her life out of the tabloids. Her string of movies directed by von Sternberg only got better and better and grossed bigger and bigger at the box office. Her knockout performance playing a spy inspired by Mata Hari in Dishonored with Victor McLaglen got raves. The following year, she received even more critical acclaim in the role of Anna May Wong in Shanghai Express, earning the film a staggering $1.5 million at the box office ($31 million today.) 1932 saw her in Blonde Venus opposite a handsome heartthrob named Cary Grant, who Mae West would grab the following year as her love interest in She Done Him Wrong. Her films with Von Sternberg were interrupted for the first time in three years when, somewhat out of character, she played a naïve German peasant in Song of Songs, directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Followed were Dietrich’s last two films together; though their last film together was their lowest-grossing film, Marlene later remarked she never appeared more beautiful—in part, thanks to Von Sternberg’s ability to light the actress in the same way as chiaroscuro is applied to master painting, with shadows in contrast to indirect light. With the exception of the ten films Katharine

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Hepburn made with director George Cukor, there has never been a greater collaboration than the seven films Marlene made with Von Sternberg.

1936, Hollywood’s major studios were falling over one another to lure Marlene away from Paramount with lead roles in extravagant films offering her more money than almost any other actor at the time. She made her first color film, The Garden of Allah, for independent producer David O. Selznick, who paid her a staggering $200,000 when, three years later, he would pay the “King of Hollywood,” Clark Gable, only $120,000 for his starring role as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. A year later, in 1937, she traveled to England to film producer Alexander Korda’s largely forgotten 1937 film, Knight Without Armor, for which she was paid $450,000 ($14 million today), making her the highest-paid actor at the time. Her popularity catapulted her to fame and by the end of her career, she had become one of the highest-paid actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood. As Adolph Hitler and the threat of war in Europe loomed on the horizon, Marlene’s popularity plummeted to 126 in the box office rankings, and by mid-1938, she was declared “box office poison.” In 1939, after a two-year hiatus from films, Marlene agreed to play the bawdy saloon entertainer, Frenchie, in producer Joe Pasternak’s American

Marlene Dietrich photographed in her 1926 Beverly Hills Spanish Revival home. COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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western comedy Destry Rides Again opposite James Stewart. Written for the film was another song that would bear her brand, “See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have.” It was recorded on the Decca label and became an instant hit. Followed were Seven Sinners (1940) and The Spoilers (1942), both with John Wayne, and both in the same manner as Frenchie. Along with German-born director Billy Wilder, Marlene had started a fund late in the 1930s to assist German Jews and dissidents escape from Germany. In 1937, she instructed that her entire salary for Knight Without Armor ($450,000) was put in escrow to help the refugees, and in 1939, she renounced her German citizenship and became an American citizen. On December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Dietrich became one of the first public figures to come forward and sell war bonds. She toured the U.S. from January 1942 to September 1943, entertaining more than 250,000 troops in the Pacific theater of war alone. When all was said and done, Marlene had sold more war bonds than any other Hollywood star. Between 1944 and 1945, for a total of eighteen months, Marlene made two extended USO tours, performing for Allied troops in Algeria, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and when General George S. Patton entered Germany, she was there, in the face of incredible danger, with his courageous army on the frontlines. It was not the first time. Billy Wilder would remark that Marlene was at the frontline more often than General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1944, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forefather of the CIA, initiated the Musak Project, a series of musical propaganda broadcasts meant to demoralize German soldiers. Whether Marlene was an OSS agent is speculation, but she was the only performer briefed by the OSS’s Morale Operations Branch, and it was well-known to the head of the OSS, Major General William J. Donovan, that her recordings, including Lili Marleen, equally a favorite of Allied and Axis troops, were being made for this use. Little is written about Marlene’s sister, Liesel, though through the years, despite distance, differing political allegiances, and Marlene’s international fame, the sisters remained close. Liesel married Georg Hugo Will, a wellknown German cabaret and theater manager, and a successful businessman. It was Will, a staunch Nazi, who was directed by Reich propaganda leader Joseph Goebbels to persuade his sister-in-law to return to Germany in 1937, as the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over Europe. Adolf Hitler greatly admired the German-born star and was convinced Marlene would be a huge asset in those early days of indoctrinating Germans into the Nazi Party. But Marlene refused, and in defiance, in 1939, gave up her German citizenship to become a naturalized United States citizen. Will was then ordered to take over the management of the Wehrmacht’s three largest troupe cinemas—Oerbke in the Lüneburger Heide; Wildflecken, in the Rhön; and later, assigned to personally manage the Bergen-Belsen concentrations camp’s cinema, the largest troupe cinema in Germany, with 2,000 seats. Marlene would visit Liesel at her home in Belsen, on May 7, 1945, the day before VE Day in Europe and a week after the presumed suicide of Adolf Hitler. However, Marlene used the visit to publicly “disown” her sister so as not to compromise the star’s anti-Nazi image. The charade, as it is presumed, worked and the sisters were able to secretly remain in contact until Liesel died in 1973. Not once, in her entire life, did Liesel grant a single interview about her famous sibling. In November 1947, Marlene received the Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, for her “extraordinary record entertaining troops overseas during the war,” which she said was her proudest accomplishment, and France’s highest civilian award, the Légion d’honneur, bestowed upon her by President Charles De Gaulle.

after

the War, Marlene starred in a number of films, including Billy Wilder’s A Foreign Affair (1948), Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950); Fritz Lang’s Rancho Notorious (1952), again directed by Wilder; Stanley Kramer’s masterwork, Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil (1958), whom she considered a genius; and Stanley Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg (1961.) Her performances in Witness for the Prosecution, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Destry Rides Again were Oscar-worthy performances but incredibly, Marlene was ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1962, she narrated a documentary film, Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Although she appeared ageless, in the 1950s Hollywood began introducing a new generation of younger actresses, including Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly. Accepting her time as a sex goddess was over, she switched gears and focused on a new chapter in her career—or rather, returned to her early beginnings in cabaret, headlining marquees all over the world with her live-show, sold-out performances, which would prove to be more lucrative than her film career. Thus Marlene’s 70-year career began as it ended, performing cabaret. Invariably, she sang Lili Marleen to the audiences’ delight and thunderous applause. Her figure still amazing, she famously wore her skin-tight “nude dress”—this, long before Marilyn Monroe’s infamous “Happy

A still from 2001’s Marlene Dietrich - Her Own Song, the amazing story of the great star’s wartime exploits, produced by David Riva, Marlene’s grandson. ALBUM / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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RAF Deenethorpe - 401st Bombardment Group with Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich.

Birthday” tribute at Madison Square Garden to President John Kennedy—a heavily beaded gown on silk soufflé, designed especially for her by fashion designer Jean Louise. She commissioned Swarovski to supply the beaded crystals for her “nude dress.” Jean Louis explained, “She wanted a dress that glows, she wanted to be able to control it herself from the stage and she knew she could have died of an electric stroke had it ever been realized,” referring to wiring that indeed electrically lit up the dress. She was keenly aware her appearance was her bread and butter, Marlene meticulously planned everything she wore and every “look” she created throughout her life. “I dress for the image,” she said. “Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men. If I dressed for myself, I wouldn’t bother at all. Clothes bore me. I’d wear jeans. I adore jeans. I get them in a public store— men’s, of course; I can’t wear women’s trousers. But I dress for the profession.” Multiple Oscar-

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ERAZA COLLECTION / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

award-winning Hollywood fashion designer Edith Head remarked, Dietrich knew more about fashion than any other actress.” She favored Dior. For the second half of her show, she would change into a top hat and tails, singing songs sung by men, such as, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, from My Fair Lady, and One for My Baby. At the start of her “new” career in the 1950s, Marlene hired a young, up-andcoming composer by the name of Burt Bacharach as her musical arranger. Together they refined and expanded her one-woman show and repertoire, Bacharach cleverly masking Marlene’s contralto voice and limited vocal range to maximum dramatic effect. Together they would record four LPs and several singles between 1957 and 1964, and Marlene would forever after credit him as her “inspiration” when she performed in those nascent years. When he went on to fame and fortune, Marlene wrote in her diary: “From that fateful day on, I have worked like a robot, trying to recapture the wonderful woman he helped make out of me. I even succeeded in this effort for years, because I always thought of him, always longed for him, always looked for him in the wings, and always fought against self-pity . . . He had become so indispensable to me that, without him, I no longer took much joy in singing. When he left me, I felt like giving everything up. I had lost my director, my support, my teacher, my maestro.” And yet, she carried on. “She . . . transcends her material,” gushed director Peter Bogdanovich. “Whether it’s a flighty old tune like I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby, a schmaltzy German love song, Das Lied ist Aus, or the French standard, La Vie en Rose, she

lends each an air of the aristocrat, yet she never patronizes.’” Marlene continued to defy aging, wearing girdles and other body-sculpting undergarments, applying surgical tape for nonsurgical, temporary facelifts, wearing expert makeup, gorgeous wigs, and as ever, careful stage lighting. British writer Francis Wyndham, in 1964, wrote, “What she does is neither difficult nor diverting, but the fact that she does it at all fills the onlookers with wonder. It takes two to make a conjuring trick: the illusionist’s sleight of hand and the stooge’s desire to be deceived. To these necessary elements (her own technical competence and her audience’s sentimentality) Marlene Dietrich adds a third—the mysterious force of her belief in her own magic. Those who find themselves unable to share this belief tend to blame themselves rather than her.” In 1960, Marlene returned to her native (West) Germany to give a concert tour. She was received as a traitor, with loud protests from crowds, negative press, two bomb threats, and chants of “Marlene, go home!” She completed the tour emotionally and physically exhausted, determined never to return again. From there she went to Israel to perform (in 1965, made history as the first woman and likewise, the first German-born person to receive the Israeli Medallion of Valor.) In 1964 she made her live concert album, Dietrich in London, at the Queen’s Theatre, and in 1967 and 1968, she performed on Broadway and received a Tony Award. In 1972, a version of her Broadway show, An Evening with Marlene Dietrich, was filmed for television in London and aired both in the U.K. and the United States. Though paid $250,000 for the TV special, she was not pleased with the result.

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1965, Marlene’s health deteriorated. In 1965, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She suffered poor circulation in her legs and became increasingly dependent on painkillers and alcohol. She never gave up— in 1973, she fell on stage at the Shade Grove Music Fair in Maryland and fractured her left thigh, necessitating a skin graft, and the following year, she fractured her right leg. Still, she persevered until her career came to an abrupt and painful end when, on September 29, 1975, she fell onstage during a performance in Sydney, Australia, and broke her thigh bone. The following year, her husband, Rudolf Siber, to whom she had remained married for 53 years despite numerous infidelities on her part, died of cancer. The last thirteen years of Marlene’s life were spent bedridden and withdrawn in her Paris apartment from all but a few family members and employees.

Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, autographs the cast on the leg of ‘Tec 4’ Earl McFarland of Cavider, Texas, recovering from his war wounds at a U.S. hospital in Belgium. EVERETT COLLECTION INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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During this final phase of her life, she was a prolific letter-writer and was constantly on the telephone with friends, including Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Margaret Thatcher, to the tune of $3,000 a month in telephone bills. She wrote her autobiography, Nehmt nur mein Leben (Take Just My Life), which was published in 1979. In 1982, with the stipulation that she would not be filmed, Marlene agreed to participate in a documentary film about her life, directed by actor Maximilian Schell. A collage of interviews, film clips, and cuts from her motion pictures, Marlene was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Documentary of 1984. Newsweek magazine heralded the film as “a unique film, perhaps the most fascinating and affecting documentary ever made about a great movie star.” In 1988, Dietrich recorded introductions to an album of nostalgic songs called Udo Lindenberg. In the spring of 1990, she was broadcast on television via telephone from her home on the occasion of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Marlene Dietrich died on May 6, 1992, from kidney failure. She was 90 years old. Though raised Lutheran, she stipulated a Catholic requiem mass. It was held at La Madeleine, in Paris. One thousand, five hundred mourners attended, among them ambassadors from the United States, England, Germany, and Russia who, though enemies, united in peace to pay tribute to a great woman. Her closed coffin was draped with the French flag, atop which was a simple bouquet of white wildflowers and roses from French President François Mitterrand. At the foot of her coffin were France’s Legion of Honour and the U.S. Medal of Freedom that had been awarded to her in her fight against Nazi Germany and evil. No better tribute could have been given her than these words from the Catholic priest who officiated over her mass: “Everyone knew her life as an artist of film and song, and everyone knew her tough stands . . . She lived like a soldier and would like to be buried like a soldier.” ■ Editor’s note: In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth greatest female screen legend of Hollywood cinema.

Marlene Dietrich sitting on a piano with G.I.’s and wounded soldiers gathered around listening to her sing. Picture taken at an evacuation hospital area near the front lines in Italy. PHOTOGRAPH BY RBM VINTAGE IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Above: Marlene Dietrich Overseas was the first Marlene Dietrich album. Orchestra conducted by Jimmy Carroll. Issued on 10” LP by Columbia Records under the catalogue number LP GL105. All the vocals are in German translated by Lothar Metzl. Released in1952.

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Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich chats with a group of WAC’s at the headquarters of the 12th Army Group, somewhere in France. The movie star was touring the fighting areas entertaining the GI Joes and Janes. RBM VINTAGE IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

A land that time will not forget by Kate McMullen

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Ornate statue on the building of the former Galician Savings Bank, now a Museum of Ethnography and Art Crafts in the Old Town of Lviv city, largest city in western Ukraine. PHOTOGRAPH BY RUSLAN LYTVYN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

While many of these landscapes, cityscapes, and cultural landmarks are under siege amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is in remembering their beauty and power that we uphold their importance and significance. Ukraine is truly a hidden gem, a country with a powerful cultural history, diverse and astonishing landscapes, and heritage that deserves to be honored and kept safe.

estled in the heart of Eastern Europe, Ukraine is a hidden gem that beckons with its enchanting landscapes, vibrant culture, and architectural marvels. On a journey exploring the pictorial beauty of Ukraine, there is no shortage of ways to be immersed in a tapestry of colors, textures, and landscapes of the stunning country. Join us as we unveil the picturesque allure of this Eastern European treasure, where every corner is a photo-worthy moment waiting to be discovered. Imagine a landscape that unfolds like a romantic novel—the Carpathian Mountains, draped in emerald green, offer a breathtaking backdrop. Quaint villages nestled among rolling hills, where wildflowers sway in the gentle breeze, create a scene straight out of a fairy tale. The Carpathians traverse several countries, including Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia. The mountainous terrain creates a dramatic, undulating profile, blanketed by extensive and dense forests of spruce and pine trees, contributing to the mountains’ green, lush appearance. The forests are not only visually stunning but also home to a diverse array of plant and animal species. At higher elevations, one can find picturesque alpine meadows. These meadows burst into a riot of colors during the warmer months, as a variety of wildflowers bloom, creating a vibrant and enchanting landscape. These open spaces provide grazing grounds for wildlife and offer hikers a serene setting for exploration. Nestled amid the mountains are glittering, pristine glacial lakes, often surrounded by dense forests. Synevir Lake, located in the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians, is the largest mountain lake in the country. During the winter months, the Carpathian Mountains transform into a winter wonderland.

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81 The Church of Sts. Olha and Elizabeth is a Catholic church located in Lviv, Ukraine, between the city’s main rail station and the Old Town. It was originally built as a Western Catholic church and today serves as a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church. PHOTOGRAPH BY RUSLAN LYTVYN / UNSPLASH.COM

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elysian.com Kamianets-Podilskyi in the Springtime. It’s known for its well-preserved Old Town and Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle, a medieval fortress featuring several original towers. Castle Bridge, which leads to the city proper, also dates from the Middle Ages. PHOTOGRAPH BY TARAS VERKHOVYNETS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

84 Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra, also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kyiv.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SERHII BROVKO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Sofiyivsky Park is an arboretum and a scientific-researching institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The park is located in the northern part of the City of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, near the Kamianka River. PHOTOGRAPH BY TARAS VERKHOVYNETS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Opposite: The Ukrainian Carpathians are a section of the Eastern Carpathians, within the borders of modern Ukraine. PHOTOGRAPH BY ROMAN MIKHAILIUK / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Snow blankets the peaks, and the dense forests take on a magical appearance. The Crimean Peninsula, kissed by the Black Sea, boasts golden beaches, rugged cliffs, and historic castles, a jewel in Ukraine’s crown. Sandy beaches, rugged cliffs, and serene landscapes dotted the coastline, offering a retreat for those seeking the perfect blend of sun, sea, and history. The Swallow’s Nest Castle, perched dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea, epitomizes the architectural marvels that adorn this region. The “Swallow’s Nest” is not actually a castle, but a decorative castle-like structure. Built from 1911-1912 near Yalta, Crimea, during the time of the Russian Empire, it was designed by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood. The original purpose of the structure was to serve as a decorative residence and a symbol of wealth. The Swallow’s Nest Castle is designed in a flamboyant Gothic style with elements of Art Nouveau. Its slender towers and decorative details give it a fairytale appearance. The castle is perched on a steep, 40-meter-high cliff, providing panoramic views of the Black Sea. The Swallow’s Nest Castle has a relatively short history compared to many European castles. It served as a vacation home and later as a restaurant. During the Soviet era, it was used for different purposes, including a reading club. Despite its small size, the Swallow’s Nest Castle has managed to capture the imagination of visitors due to its picturesque location and distinctive architecture. Over the years, the Swallow’s Nest Castle has become a cultural symbol, representing the romantic and picturesque aspects of Crimea.

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Ukrainian steppes, vast and endless, showcase the beauty of simplicity with fields of golden wheat swaying in rhythm with the wind. Each season paints a new masterpiece, from the lush greens of spring to the golden hues of summer and the serene white landscapes of winter. Nature becomes the ultimate artist, and Ukraine, its canvas. This agrarian landscape not only contributes to Ukraine’s status as the “breadbasket of Europe” but also adds a rustic charm to the countryside. The Dnipro River, one of Europe’s longest waterways, meanders through the heart of Ukraine, shaping the land and providing a lifeline for countless communities. The riverbanks, adorned with lush greenery and historical landmarks, offer scenic vistas that have inspired poets and artists alike. Boat rides along the Dnipro become a leisurely exploration of the country’s natural splendor. The river has played a pivotal role in the history of Ukraine. Its banks have been home to ancient civilizations, and the river serves as a vital trade route connecting the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Settlements along the Dnipro have witnessed the rise and fall of various empires, including the Kyivan Rus, the Mongol Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Ukraine’s cities are a treasure trove of architectural wonders that seamlessly blend the old and the new. Kyiv, the capital city, is a living museum with golden-domed cathedrals like St. Sophia’s, standing as testaments to the city’s rich history. The church is an iconic architectural and cultural landmark with a history dating back over a millennium. St. Sophia’s Cathedral was founded by Yaroslav the Wise, the Grand Prince of Kyiv, in 1037. The construction of the cathedral was part of Yaroslav’s efforts to enhance the cultural and religious significance of Kyiv. The cathedral was named after the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), and its design was influenced by Byzantine architecture. The cathedral is characterized by its central dome, golden mosaics, and intricate frescoes. The interior is adorned with medieval paintings and decorative elements that reflect the cultural and artistic achievements of the time. The streets of Lviv, a city frozen in time, are lined with pastel-colored buildings adorned with intricate facades, inviting you to wander and get lost in its charming alleyways. The Lviv Opera House, a stunning example of Neo-Renaissance architecture, is renowned for its performances and adds to the city’s cultural allure. Lviv is also home to a thriving contemporary art scene, making it a dynamic cultural hub. Chernivtsi, in the Bukovina region, boasts a UNESCO-listed university that is as much a work of art as it is an educational institution. The blend of Gothic, Moorish, and Byzantine influences creates a visual feast for architecture enthusiasts. In every corner of Ukraine, history and modernity dance together, creating a unique and visually stunning atmosphere. Ukraine’s cultural richness is not just found in its architecture but is deeply ingrained in the fabric of daily

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Ukrainians view the vibrant sunflower as a symbol of peace and resilience. After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986, Ukrainians planted sunflowers in the devastated area. The flowers not only represented renewal and hope, but they helped extract toxins from the soil. PHOTOGRAPH BY DOBRA KOBRA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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In Ukraine, pysanky, or colored eggs, are typically made to be given to family members and respected outsiders. To give a pysanka is to give a symbolic gift of life, which is why the egg must remain whole. Furthermore, the design, a combination of the motifs and colors on a traditional folk pysanka, has a deep, symbolic meaning. PHOTOGRAPH BY MOSTOVYI SERGII IGOREVICH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

9 2 Two Ukrainian women in Ukrainian national embroidered dress called vyshyvanka. Vyshyvanka is used as a talisman to protect the person wearing it and to tell a story. A geometric pattern woven in the past by adding red or black threads into the light thread was later imitated by embroidery, and believed to have the power to protect a person from all harm. PHOTOGRAPH BY BONDART PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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life. Traditional folk music and dance, with their colorful costumes and spirited performances, invite you to join the celebration of life. Festivals that showcase local arts and crafts provide a glimpse into the diversity of Ukrainian culture, inviting you to immerse yourself in the joyous atmosphere. The literary tradition, with poets like Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko, paints vivid pictures of the Ukrainian spirit. It’s a culture where storytelling is not just a pastime but a way of preserving the essence of a nation. Beyond the urban landscapes and cultural treasures, Ukraine harbors natural wonders that leave a lasting imprint on those fortunate enough to witness them. Sofiyivka Park in Uman is a masterpiece of landscape architecture with its winding paths, waterfalls, and artificial lakes. This oasis of tranquility is a testament to human creativity harmonizing with the beauty of nature. Sofiyivka Park was founded in 1796 by Stanisław Potocki, a Polish nobleman, as a gift to his wife, Sofia. The park was named in her honor, and its design was inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, as well as English landscape gardening trends of the time. The park spans over 180 hectares and is designed in the English landscape style, characterized by a naturalistic layout that contrasts with the more formal French garden design. It features winding paths, picturesque waterways, and a diverse collection of plant life. One of the most striking aspects of Sofiyivka Park is its intricate network of water features. The park includes artificial lakes, cascading waterfalls, and meandering streams. The Great Waterfall, designed to resemble the tears of Sofia, is a central focal point. A system of canals and bridges enhances the park’s charm, creating a series of picturesque vistas. Sofiyivka Park features several islands within its lakes, each with its own unique charm. The Island of Love is particularly noteworthy, with a rotunda symbolizing eternal love. The park also includes grottoes, such as the Bath of Venus, adding a touch of mystique and mythology to the landscape. The park is home to a diverse collection of trees, plants, and flowers from around the world. The carefully curated botanical gardens showcase the beauty of nature in various seasons. Visitors can explore themed areas, including the Japanese Garden, Dutch Garden, and Exotic Plant Greenhouse, each offering a different botanical experience. ■

Above: Scenic view of Pink Pavilion on Island of Anti-Circe in Sofiyivka park, Uman, Ukraine. PHOTOGRAPH BY HAIDAMAC / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Opposite: One of the most romantic places in Ukraine is the Tunnel of Love, an arch-shaped 4-kilometre long corridor of majestic trees engulfing train tracks. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDER ISHCHENKO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

The majestic beauty of the Ukraine Carpathians, located in the southwestern corner of Western Ukraine. PHOTOGRAPH BY CREATIVE TRAVEL PROJECTS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Most of Ukraine is flat, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the south of the Crimean Peninsula (the Crimeans). The country’s fertile plains, called steppes, are ideal for growing crops like wheat. PHOTOGRAPH BY DENIS BELITSKY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Cleopatra in Art by Verity Galsworthy

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Marble statue of the ancient Egyptian princess Cleopatra, made by Girolamo Masini in 1882, exposed in Galleria di Arte Moderna, Rome. PHOTOGRAPH BY WIRESTOCK CREATORS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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D own through the ages, the name Cleopatra has been synonymous with great beauty and power. The great Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt ruled for 21 years, from 51 to 30 BCE, as Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, or “father-loving goddess.” More than any other woman in ancient history, she has been portrayed in art, fashion, film, music, opera, and even comic books and advertising too numerous to mention. Remarkably educated at a time when only men were, pharaohs, teachers, wise men, and tutors were at Cleopatra’s beck and call. She was as thirsty for learning as it is purported she was thirsty for power and sex. Indeed, according to Duane W. Roller, author of Cleopatra: A Biography, “She was said to take an almost sensuous pleasure in learning and scholarship.” Economics, law, linguistics, and military strategy were her greatest interests, and though you could argue these topics were accorded a ruler, her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who ruled jointly with his sister from 51 to 47 BCE, had no interest in education whatsoever. Perhaps if he had he would have had the military acumen to defend himself when Julius Caesar combined forces with Cleopatra during the Battle of the Nile to gain full control of the crown, only to result in the premature death, mysteriously, of her brother Ptolemy XIII. In fact, Cleopatra’s family feud extended to protecting her autonomous power when she arranged for Mark Antony to execute her half-sister, Arsinoe IV, in her attempt to wrest power in a siege, and she poisoned her 15-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIV to ensure the succession of her son by Julius Caesar as pharaoh. Fluent in nine languages, her ability to directly communicate with heads of state and political allies, such as Herod the Great, opened up trade routes and commerce. And despite her dark side, she was adored by her subjects. “She had a way of making people feel at ease and was able to win over even the most skeptical of individuals with her wit and charm. This made her an effective leader, as she was able to inspire loyalty and respect from those around her,” Shannon Bowen, professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of South Carolina points out. Moreover, Cleopatra was the first female ruler to be a skilled naval commander since Artemisia of Halicarnassus, a Greek queen, four

One of the few depictions painted during the lifetime of Cleopatra was a mural in the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, dated 46 BCE, called Venus and Cupid, which is believed to have been inspired by the infamous statue of Cleopatra unveiled by Julius Caesar as a romantic gesture to his paramour that same year in Rome.

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10 4 Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel, 1887. It shows Cleopatra VII reclining on a banquette, observing the effects of poisons on prisoners, as described in Mark Antony’s Plutarch’s Lives. It is considered a canonical work of 19th-century orientalism and has been used as a model for plays and early films.

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1 0 6 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s 1744 painting, The Banquet of Cleopatra, depicts the female pharaoh as a white Elizabethan-era princess.

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The Triumph of Cleopatra, also known as Cleopatra’s Arrival in Cilicia and The Arrival of Cleopatra in Cilicia, is an oil painting by English artist William Etty. The painting illustrates a scene from Plutarch’s Life of Antony and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, in which Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, travels to Tarsus in Cilicia aboard a magnificently decorated ship to cement an alliance with the Roman general Mark Antony.

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centuries before. It was Cleopatra’s formidable fleet that carried her to Greece to join forces with Mark Antony against Caesar’s assassin, Cassius. She led her navy to defeat in 31 BCE at the Battle of Actium, but historians claim it was bad weather rather than bad commands that was to blame. Of course, today we know Cleopatra as the great beauty captured on film as early as 1917 by Theda Bara, in 1934 by Claudette Colbert, and in 1963 by Elizabeth Taylor—storylines that were fabricated for the benefit of the box office. But was she a great beauty? According to Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch (46-119 AD), “for her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her,” meaning she was not a stand-out beauty but, he continues, she had “an irresistible charm,” a sweet voice, persuasive nature, and stimulating presence. The New York Times described her as “unafraid to show her age or blemishes” when they referred to ancient coins with her portrait that revealed her wrinkles. Some say she was less than five feet tall and was overweight; many say she had a large nose—as we see among the countless depictions of Ancient Egypt’s most famous ruler. So how has Cleopatra been represented in art down through the ages? One of the few depictions painted during her lifetime was a mural in the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, dated 46 BCE, called Venus and Cupid, which is believed to have been inspired by the infamous statue of Cleopatra unveiled by Julius Caesar as a romantic gesture to his paramour that same year in Rome. The statue, alas, has long been lost but the mural, excavated from the ruins of Pompeii, depicts a woman with a long “Roman” nose, large eyes, full lips, and a narrow forehead.

an 1866 genre oil painting, French artist Jean-Leon Gerome painted a barechested Cleopatra emerging from a rolled-up carpet—a scene depicted a century later by Elizabeth Taylor on film, and one that historians agree never, in life, really happened. After Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798, a period of “Egyptomania” emerged throughout the 19th century in which artists traveled to North Africa and the Middle East to paint their Orientalist canvases. In Gerome’s painting, Cleopatra is a perfect size 6, 34DD, with a long, aquiline nose and heavily lashed eyes under thick dark brows. American sculptor Edmonia Lewis was inspired by Cleopatra’s death in her 1876 sculpture, The Death of Cleopatra, which today is housed in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Lewis studied ancient coinage to help her determine her subject’s appearance and rendered her with a cleft chin, full lips, and likewise a prominent nose. British artist Chris Ofili’s 1992 abstract painting portrays Cleopatra as a Black queen with no distinct facial features at all. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s 1744 painting, The Banquet of Cleopatra depicts the female pharaoh as a white Elizabethan-era princess. Sir Joshua Reynolds painted Catherine Maria “Kitty” Fischer, in 1759, as his model for Cleopatra Dissolving the Pearl, in which the fair-skinned, delicate, prominent British courtesan bears no resemblance whatsoever to the great queen other than being a kindred beauty. A Roman bust of Cleopatra dated the 1st century BC is on display in the Altes Museum, Antikensammlung, Berlin, and this is the most accurate depiction of all. Her nose is indeed large, her almond eyes under narrow brows wide and wise, her lips full and her chin prominent. Not dissimilar in facial appearance is the full-size statue of Cleopatra near the Tomba di Nerone at the Vatican. Likewise, surely the least flattering depiction of the Egyptian queen is an engraving by French artist Elisabeth Sophie Chéron (1648–1711), inspired by a medallion of Cleopatra struck from the Hellenistic period, depicted her in profile with the largest hooked nose, a double chin, and a “turkey neck.” Even renowned sporting dog artist Robert K. Abbott, who was also an illustrator of book covers—over 20 covers of Tarzan paperbacks published by Ballantine—painted the cover of Jeffrey K. Garnder’s novel, Cleopatra, published in 1962 by Pyramid Books, with the sultry, well-endowed queen with high cheekbones and heavily kohled eyes, seductively draped on an Egyptian throne, an asp clasped to the nipple of one exposed breast. Which of the countless artists and sculptors over more than two millennia came closest to the actual woman no one will ever know. Whether goddess or grotesque, Cleopatra remains in the annals of history as one of the most magnificent women who ever walked the earth. ■

Cleopatra and Caesar, also known as Cleopatra Before Caesar, painted by the nineteenth century French painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme, completed in 1866. Gérôme’s painting is one of the earliest modern depictions of Cleopatra emerging from a carpet in the presence of Julius Caesar, a minor historical inaccuracy that arose out of the translation of a scene from Plutarch’s Life of Caesar and the semantic change of the word “carpet” over time. The work is considered a classic example of Egyptomania.

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112 The Death of Cleopatra, also known simply as Cleopatra, is an 1881 oil painting by the Filipino painter Juan Luna. It depicts the death of Cleopatra, the last active ruler of Ancient Egypt. Painted during a time of increased national consciousness, The Death of Cleopatra not only served as a representation of a colonized people standing up against their colonizer, but also brought to attention the ability of Filipino artists, and particularly Luna himself, to surpass their European contemporaries.

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THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US INTERVIEWS BY KAREN FLOYD

Women Inspiring Women . . .

* Copy edited for length and clarity. * Interview videos are available to watch at elysianwomen.com

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LYSIAN was the result of Karen Floyd’s personal quest to tell and listen to stories about exceptional women. From her early twenties as a young prosecutor . . . to the women she has interviewed over the past eight years as ELYSIAN’s publisher and editor, Floyd shares insights that are intended to encourage and move our readers. On the surface, Floyd’s interviews are about women succeeding, overcoming, persevering, and enduring. As the number of years and interviews have grown, Floyd no longer asks, “Is it timing, virtue, luck, funding, perseverance, faith, endurance or passion?” Instead, she concludes, “While there is no one roadmap to achievement, these remarkable women have similar attributes. At some point, each woman ‘went against the grain’ and as a result they share qualities like courage, passion, steadfast persistence, hard work, un-deterring focus, strong loyalty, self-awareness, and independence. Though some led . . . others built, created, and changed the world. Their interviews reveal a sense of self and a belief in something greater, many call faith.” With the thousands of interviews, Floyd emphasizes, “Their journey was often lonely, but their hardships created inner strength, enlightenment, and ultimately an intention to uplift others.” It is that purposeful determination that Floyd mirrors in the women she interviews as she shares their inspiring stories.

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Interview Date: August 8th, 2023

sheri Sheri Biggs has a servant’s heart, strengthened by her faith and her

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PANICCIA

training. Sheri joined the military at age 40 and has since been deployed as a medical crew director in the Middle East. Today, she is a lieutenant colonel at Joint Force Headquarters & serves in operations as a liaison of Air Force & Army resources. Throughout her life, Sheri has worked with veterans, and she has dedicated a tremendous amount of time to counseling veterans contemplating suicide. Her legacy is one of compassion, a trait that has defined her character in all aspects of her life.

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WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING A PERSON LEAVE, ARE THERE TAKEAWAYS THAT YOU CAN SHARE?

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You grew up in a very rural setting in a small town in Mississippi, Kosciusko. How many people were in your graduating class of high school? Kosciusko is north of Jackson and I graduated high school with one hundred classmates. What was your father’s occupation? My father was in car sales. Your husband Bill is a successful businessman with a gift for marketing and sales. Do you see characteristics of your father in your husband? There are a lot of similarities. I respect both very much. Your mother was very traditional. Yes. I call my mother “Our Rock” because she never was outwardly upset by anything. She was always steady and made sure that everything was taken care of. Is that where your temperament came from? You are seemingly a very steady person. Not at all. I think I unfortunately act a little more like my dad now. That is funny because I do not see any “wavering” as a part of you. I see a very tempered and consistent leader. Does your father have a short trigger or a long trigger? Short trigger. And your mother was very tempered with a long fuse? Very much so. Which of the two are you most alike? I am a combination of both. But with the things that I feel very passionate about, I do not mind speaking up. When I met you, I had no idea that you were in the military. You are the consummate refined and elegant, southern woman. Are people confused by your profession? Sometimes. People tend to think that strong leaders are tall, loud, and very outgoing, which is not always the case. There are the silent servant leaders. I would agree with that. What was your first job? The first job I had was to babysit, and that was long before I was old enough to work. Later, I was introduced to a lady at my church that had a clothing store. I could not wait until I was 16 and was able to work for her. I find it interesting that many of the Elysian Circle Inspiring Women are multidimensional, in that they have ascended in a certain professional path and yet are also attracted to design, fashion, and art. What are your thoughts on that? But for me growing up in a small town, my parents worked very hard. I’m extremely grateful for the values instilled in my brother & me. Our parents focused on core values in a faith-based family. We worked hard for what we had. They sacrificed much & I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything. What lesson did you learn from your experiences in working retail? Ms. Elizabeth Joseph, the woman I worked for, was a dear friend of our family’s. I had so much respect for her. When she came to me and told me that I did a good job it was so very rewarding. I wanted to please her and to do well . . . and that desire and drive led to my success. Is that what defines leadership? Helping people understand their potential? Core to success I believe, is finding satisfaction in what you do. Whatever that means to you as an individual, it will be different for everyone. For me, it was rewarding to work for her because I felt it was a job I could do well and I enjoyed the work. In the final analysis, I guess what we did

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ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews automne 2023 • l’édition artistique • readelysian.com • Lieutenant Colonel Sheri Biggs, while visiting with her in her Alabama home.

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also made people happy, which was satisfying. How did you enter the field of nursing? I was in high school, and my teacher recommended me to a local healthcare clinic, the Family Medicine Clinic. I applied and that was the beginning of my healthcare career. Your first job was babysitting. Was there a natural propensity to be a care-giver or was it from watching your mother? I am not sure. I did not find out until years later, but my grandmother, my dad’s mother whom I was very close to, was a caregiver. She did not have a nursing degree, but she worked as a nurse which was a goal of hers. Back in those days, it was not looked favorably upon, by her parents, to have employment. It was something that young ladies just did not do. It is odd how things change. At a young age, I knew what I would do for the rest of my life. You had a very traditional life in that you married at age 26. Did you work during that time as a nurse? I went straight from college into nursing. My first job was in the intensive care unit which coincidentally was the area that I felt most inadequate in school. It was a little intimidating. Was that by choice? Yes, there was an opening in that area. I felt if I could work there and be successful, then I could work in any area. What about intensive care made you uncomfortable? The ventilators, equipment, and plethora of medications were intimidating. You witnessed a significant amount of death and dying at a young age. Do you remember the first time that you experienced death? Actually, I do.

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And was the person older or younger? They were older, which I think helps, but there still was a sense of loss. As years went on, I grew to realize that there are a lot worse things than death. When you are watching a person leave, are there takeaways that you can share? If there is something left unsaid with any person, no matter if you are healthy or sick, you should speak. Do not let the day pass before you share that information with them because there is no guarantee for a tomorrow. Knowing where you personally stand, spiritually is also very important. Your faith has been an important part of your life. Was there ever a period when you lost your faith? I never completely lost my faith, but I went “off track” and it affected me. How do you recalibrate to make sure that that does not happen again? Reading scripture, being prayerful on a daily basis, and reflecting on where I am in my relationships. Is that part of your daily routine? Most definitely. I try to make that a priority in the early mornings when it is quiet. In all the years of your nursing was there one incident that caused you the most heartache? I can’t really recall a specific incident but the loss of younger people to me is the most difficult to reconcile and harder to cope with. As a caregiver is there a heightened responsibility with those on the verge of death? Oh yes. Being with that person and letting them know that you are there at the end is important. I have made it a point

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PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PANICCIA

IF THERE IS SOMETHING LEFT UNSAID WITH ANY PERSON, NO MATTER IF YOU ARE HEALTHY OR SICK, YOU SHOULD SPEAK. DO NOT LET THE DAY PASS BEFORE YOU SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THEM BECAUSE THERE IS NO GUARANTEE FOR A TOMORROW. KNOWING WHERE YOU PERSONALLY STAND, SPIRITUALLY IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT.

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to be with veterans while they are actively dying, particularly those who do not have family members. Why do you do that? Sharing that experience and being there with each other at the end, is compassion. Tell me about your son Austin. Austin is very much like me. He cares deeply about people, is compassionate, and loves animals. He is a hard worker. I call him an old soul. From the time he was very young, he was like a little man in a kid’s body. He loves talking to people. He is a very bright spot in my life. At what time did you decide to enter the military? I was 40 years old at that time. I had my nursing degree, as well as a licensed nursing home administrator. It was when I was discussing my regret not having previously considered the military, that the General informed me special consideration was given to medical professionals, despite age. What did you do to join? I didn’t interact really with the recruiters. I commissioned in front of the state veterans affairs board for which I worked & the residents of the Home. Then, I went to Officers Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base and on to Wright Patterson Flight School in Ohio. Was there ever a point during that process that you said,“This is not for me?” Yes, definitely. When I showed up for Officer Training school, and as I was being in-processed, the officer started yelling at me because my hair was not within regulations. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know how to salute properly, and this soldier was yelling at me at 40 years old. I figured it out pretty quickly from there. Did you reach a point where you knew it was a perfect fit? The military is never something that I feel 100% comfortable with. I always feel like there is more to learn, much more to do. In the military, there is always an agenda. During my deployment in the Middle East, the light bulb finally came on because all the training I had done previously was put into play. It was a very rewarding experience for me. When were you deployed, and how many women were in your crew? I was deployed to the Middle East in 2017. There were other women from my squadron, but my position was as a medical crew director running the AE crew in the back of the plane. I was the only female on the crew. What is an AE and what does that entail? Aeromedical evacuation. Basically, we set up a hospital in the back of an aircraft. We ran several missions. The patients are categorized according to their priority level. Typically, you provided assistance to Americans that had been wounded mostly with IEDs, I assume? There were different reasons for treatment. We helped mentally ill patients as well. Mental health is a big issue in the military, stemming from what happens to people under tremendous stress. Mental illness does not just affect veterans. Post covid, as a nation, people are struggling with an inability to cope. Whether from a lack of resources or support structure, mental illness is a big challenge for our country. What is the number one reason you provide medical aid in Air Vac? Just like in a hospital, people are treated for different things . . . a combination of combat and non-combat illnesses and injuries, if considered life-threatening. How long were you deployed? It was six months and lasted into 2018. I was planning on being gone this year, but my job changed. Currently, I work at Joint Force Headquarters as a liaison between the Army and the Air Force.

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This is preparation for what? Anything that may be coming around the corner, be it natural disasters or wartime. What is your fundamental belief about war? I go back to the basics and what our country was founded on. I do not think we should look for trouble, but we should never back down. Should the situation cause us to stand up for our freedoms, and the things that our forefathers have fought so hard for, then war is appropriate. We live in a complicated world right now. It is. People are angry and I do not think that helps. I hope one day we work together and compromise for a greater cause or solution . . . and become as independent as possible as a nation. You currently serve as a lieutenant colonel in the armed services. What does that require?

• printemps 2024 • édition femmes et guerre • readelysian.com

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews internationally sought-after scientific leader, spokesperson, and innovator in health and wellness, Dr. Christina Rahm.

ELYSIAN ‘Inspiring Woman’ Lieutenant Colonel Sheri Biggs, with Dr. Anthony Hassan President & CEO Cohen Veterans Network, and (left) Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt at the Republican Governors Association Conference in Orlando, Florida.

You are held to higher leadership standards. In hierarchy, over lieutenant colonel is colonel . . . and over that is? General. Are there any women generals? Yes, there are a few. Are any of them a former nurse? Not currently, but there have been in the past. One of my mentors was an army nurse, General Martha Jo Leslie. In fact, the veteran’s home that I worked for years earlier is named after her. She was over the state Veterans Affairs board when I went to work there. She has been a wonderful mentor

to me, gave me good advice and I have always looked up to her. Other than your previous mentor, to your knowledge are there any other generals who joined the military as nurses? No. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet General Catherine Lutz of the Mississippi National Guard. She began her career as a nurse. When did you meet your husband, Bill? I met Bill when I was in the long-term care industry years ago professionally. We reconnected in 2016 when I went to work for him as a consultant. Did you have any idea that you would be married? Never. Do you and Bill laugh about it now? We do. Professional colleagues first, that grew into a friendship. When did it shift from friendship to a life partner? He started showing up at whichever location I was working, which I noticed. I invited him to go with me to a friend’s wedding in New Orleans, but the invitation was extended just as friends. I think that event was a turning point. What does he think about you being on another deployment? He does not enjoy it as much as I do. I look forward to it and find it challenging but Bill is promilitary and understands sacrificing for the needs of our country. He is very supportive. I could not ask for anyone any better, but I also know he worries when I am gone. Do you see deployment as a possibility in the future? Yes, I think so. Are you ever frightened? Not for myself. And why is that? I am not sure. I know when I was getting ready to go over to the Middle East, I was uncertain as to how I would respond in a combat situation. A lot of not being afraid has to do with my faith. We are vulnerable in many ways, but I did not worry about those things. I always think about the Bible verse “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” You are comfortable with death? I am. There is a randomness of death. Do you believe when it’s your time, it’s your time? Certainly. I go back to my faith. It is not our plan and we do not have control. There are reasons that things happen, and we cannot see the big picture. We will one day, but until then, I don’t think we can explain why things happen as they do, including death. What do you want to be remembered for? I think that people may forget what you say. They may forget what you do, but they never forget how you make them feel. I want people to remember how I made them feel. You have dedicated a tremendous amount of time to counseling military veterans who are suicidal. Why? I was put on this earth to serve in a lot of different capacities. It is our obligation to take care of each other. If I can offer one glimmer of hope to someone who is struggling, then there is a chance that that person can find a brighter day. Have you ever counseled a person contemplating suicide who followed through? Not yet. Yet you have counseled many, many, many soldiers and vets? I have, but when I was completing my doctorate, they told us “It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when.” I do not look forward to that day. I do know it is a possibility. What do you tell a person contemplating suicide? I think is important for people to know that someone cares.

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Lieutenant Colonel Sheri Biggs with husband Bill, and son Austin at Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Inaugural event in Little Rock, Arkansas. Opposite: Sheri on a life-changing experience in Peru, where she visted an orphanage to help with funding and various needs.

How do you sustain a feeling of caring for someone when you’re transient in their life? Well, I think it goes along with what I just said about how you make them feel. If you are engaged and let them know that you are genuine and sincere, and you truly want something better for that person, I think they feel it. Is this type of work emotionally draining for you? Some days, yes, it is. And how do you stay healthy and whole? My spiritual well-being plays a big part for me and asking God for direction in my life. What is my next move? Where do you want me? You have this very calm facade, but you have pressure. How do you release the stress? I am a notetaker, so as I check things off my list, it helps. I love walking and I live on a lake, so I take my dogs out on the trails and just enjoy being outdoors. Nature is a big part of your well-being. Oh yes. If you get to ask God one question, what would you ask him? First & foremost, I would praise Him for my salvation.

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I would express my deepest gratitude for overflowing blessings and His tremendous grace shown to me. Why did you go to Peru? My son and I went to Peru to visit an orphanage run by Israel & Cynthia Mendez. I was able to meet with them and tour the home and a school which is right there on the property. There were seven of us who went to work to see what we could do to help with funding and the various things that they needed. It was a life-changing event for me for sure. How many children were in the orphanage? There were 53 children there. Mi Refugio Children’s Home is located about one and a half hours from Iquitos, Peru and thirty minutes from Nauta. Nathan Sears is the Pastor responsible for starting this great ministry. Israel and Cynthia Mendez are the directors of the Children’s Home and live there full-time. They have outreach missions, La Roca, in the surrounding communities to set up churches and teach families about Jesus Christ. There is a school on the property of the Orphanage that allows local children to attend from the surrounding areas. The government graciously provides teachers to educate the children. Did you want to adopt any of the children? I wanted to bring them all home, but the problem is, how I would go in and walk out with one child or two children and leave the others? Many of the children have experienced trauma and have stories that will follow them throughout their lives. You just look at them and wonder how anybody could mistreat a child. We brought small gifts, and they were so appreciative. We had interpreters to help with the communication and held children’s bible studies while we were there. I want you to pretend that I am a young woman. What “one nugget of gold” or advice can you share that could potentially help me . . . something that you experienced? Growing up in a small town, I lacked self-confidence. I learned that no matter where you come from, regardless of your socioeconomic background, you have the potential to be and do anything that you want. My faith was the most important thing in acquiring that strength and courage to know that I can accomplish anything that I dream of. ■ Editor’s note: The views expressed here are personal to Sheri Biggs and do not in any way represent those of the United States military.

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Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the main subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Nick Ut’s Terror of War photo taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972, stands in front of the Cao Dai Temple in Trang Bàng where she was hit by napalm. PHOTOGRAPH BY ZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Interview Date: August 30th, 2023

Kim PHAN THI KIM PHUC had only recently turned 9 years old when a soldier told her to run. It was June 8, 1972, in the latter years of the Vietnam War. Kim Phuc ran, but she stopped to help a child. Then the fire came. It burned away her clothing, and the anguish of “the little napalm girl” was captured for the world by an Associated Press photographer. Following many painful years of recovery, she became a victim again—this time as a symbol by the communist government. Today, Kim Phuc has regained her spirituality, her wellbeing. She has launched The KIM Foundation International to help child-victims of war, violence, and deprivation. As she so eloquently says, “The only thing that I hope people learn from my life story is that ‘the little napalm girl’ is no longer a victim.”

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You are known globally from a photograph taken during the Vietnam War and carried on the cover of Time Magazine. What is your name? My name is Kim Phuc Phan Thi, but people know me as “the little Napalm girl.” Kim Phuc is my first name which means golden happiness. Kim means gold, and Phuc happiness so Kim Phuc together translates to Golden Happiness. Happiness . . . so you were blessed from the very beginning? Yes. It was my father who named me. How many children did your parents have? In total my mother carried 10 children, but because of a miscarriage and death at a young age, there were eight children. There are seven remaining because my fifth brother passed away in 2004. Kim, I am so sorry. Can you tell our readers about the day you were named “the little Napalm girl?” We were hiding in the Cao Dai temple where the religious group was gathered. They created Cao Dai in Vietnam in 1925 and most of the people follow it in our province. I had just turned nine years old. What did it feel like hiding in the Cao Dai temple? As a child, I do not remember any fear at all. I was playing with my favorite cousin, Danh, when a black bird flew into the temple. My cousin, my brother, and I started chasing the bird. It was just after lunch and I still remember the moment when the soldier told us to leave quickly because if we stayed where we were, we would be killed. He said, “Just run.” We were with the South Vietnamese, twenty-fifth division soldiers, who were tasked with protecting the adults, children, and babies. We hid in that temple because we believed the temple was a holy place, and therefore nothing bad would happen to us if we assembled there. But it was wartime, and we were all wrong. Why did the soldiers tell you to run for your life? They saw the “color mark” which meant the temple was about to be bombed. As soon as the soldiers ordered us to run out of that temple, the children ran first because we were faster than the others. I began running with my brothers but left them to help my three-year-old cousin until a soldier came along and picked him up. Because my brothers were faster than me, they missed that fire from the napalm bomb. But because I slowed down to help my cousin, I was caught in the bomb and burned. My mom barely missed being injured. Was the cousin that perished the child you slowed down to help? Yes. He was three years old. We were together, running from that spot up to the front of the temple. I heard a very loud sound and saw a big airplane as I looked up. At that time, I saw four bombs landing and heard the noise, boom, boom, boom, boom. Suddenly fire was everywhere around me which burned off my clothes. I saw the fire all over my left arm, and I used my right hand to wipe it up, which is why I was burned there too (holds up her right hand with noticeable burns). I learned that the soldier who was carrying my little cousin was burned so badly that he couldn’t carry him anymore and threw him on the street. I was so terrified. I do not remember seeing anybody around me, just the fire. I still remember what I was thinking. What were you thinking? I thought, oh my goodness, I will be ugly. I will not be normal, and people will see me in a different way. I was terrified, horrified, and so scared. I ran through the fire and saw two of my brothers and two of my cousins and some of the South Vietnamese soldiers. All together we ran and ran and ran on the road. That is all I remember. There was another child that perished, another cousin who was a brother to the three-year-old . . . Yes. They are brothers.

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Were they twins? No, one child was three years old and the other was nine months. Their mother is my aunt who was also burned on her leg. Like me, she used her hands to “wipe up” the fire with her hand, which is why her hand was also burned. Because of the burns, she ran back to the temple. My mom told me that she was not able to carry the nine-month-old baby, so another uncle picked up the baby. But it was too late. Of course. I learned later, but at that time, I didn’t know, that one hour later, the three-year-old passed away and the baby died about two months later. So, he struggled for two months? Yes. Because of the burns . . . Who is Uncle Ut and what is his connection to you?

• printemps 2024 • édition femmes et guerre • readelysian.com

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews internationally sought-after scientific leader, spokesperson, and innovator in health and wellness, Dr. Christina Rahm.

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews South Vietnamese-born Canadian Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a woman best known as the nine-year-old child photographed running from her village after being burned in a napalm attack during the Vietnam War.

Uncle Ut is the photographer who took the picture of me running down the street after the napalm had burned my clothing off. He was the person who carried the injured children to Cu Chi hospital nearby my village. Do you remember seeing Uncle Ut? No, as a child I didn’t know who Uncle Ut was yet. I just kept running and running until I felt so tired, I could not run anymore, so I stopped. I saw many, many people standing on the street. I said it was “Too hot. Too hot.” One of the soldiers gave me some water to drink because each of the soldiers had a canteen filled with water. I drank the water and I continued to

say, it was “Too hot. Too hot.” He was trying to help me, which is why he poured water on me. To pour water on a burn victim is not helpful at all . . . Absolutely not. I think he was a young soldier. Now they know about the horrible effects of napalm, but not back then. Later, I learned how napalm reacts with oxygen. When he poured water onto the affected burn, the oxygen in the water literally cooked me. As soon as the water was poured over me, I passed out. Because there is so much pain? Yes, the water causes the burn to go deeper, which sounds bad, right? But I am so thankful. Do you know why? Because if I had remained conscious, I would have had more pain. Yes. But when I passed out, it ceased. I didn’t feel as much pain as I could have. You passed out quite a bit as they were treating you. What do you remember? I do not remember anything during the time that followed. I can only tell you what I was told by Uncle Ut, my mom, the reporter, and the doctor. But you were in the hospital for over a year. Do you remember when you first became conscious? I remember that the nurses came every morning to wake me up and move me to the burn bath to clean the burned skin off. It was a terrible moment for me, I called it the “death time.” Can you tell our readers the “Uncle Ut story?” Uncle Ut was standing so close to us when he saw me running from the fire, that he took my picture. There were journalists assembled from everywhere, Vietnam, America, and England. They were grouped together, blocked in, and could not pass on the road. So, when the bombs dropped, they captured everything on film, everything. When I saw the film footage, 10 years later, I was just amazed, speechless really. I could hear the voice of my grandma as she fled carrying my cousin. For the decade prior to watching the film footage, I just saw a still picture. But when I saw that clip, I just couldn’t believe why anyone would let me run for so long and why no one helped me. They all saw me running from the flames and on fire, yet they let me keep running while they filmed me. So, I asked Uncle Ut who explained at the time they believed they had to film first and would help me later. One of my uncles asked Uncle Ut to bring the wounded children to the hospital because he had transportation. He drove us to a small hospital-like clinic. When he stopped in the front, they refused to take us in because of the severity of our injuries. They saw our burns and they said, “No, we can’t help.” But when Uncle Ut threatened to expose them (by working with the AP) in the media they were frightened by the potential negative publicity, which is why they took the children in. He said, “If you do not admit these children today, tomorrow your hospital will be on the front page of the newspapers.” From there you were transported to multiple hospitals. Exactly. I have no idea how many, which is a good thing because I don’t remember anything. I asked my brother, who was only four or five years old at the time, what he remembered. He recalled me being dropped off at the clinic. The nurse or the doctor put the two jars of Vaseline to cover my burned skin, and I was bandaged. Uncle Ut said after they admitted me into that clinic, he left me there because he didn’t know what else to do. He then went to the darkroom in Saigon and developed his roll of film, which is how they found the picture. A Pulitzer Prize-winning picture. Yes. The next morning, he went back to the village to find out what my name was for the credits. He was also wounded there, by a Vietcong mortar bomb. His friends brought him back to Saigon. When they finally learned my name, the story broke. Can you also tell our readers “Your mother’s story?” My mom’s story is incredible. There are no words to explain

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Photographer Nick Ut’s pictures of the ‘Napalm Girl’ on June 03, 2012, at the Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, California. Phan Thi Kim Phuc was the child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. PHOTOGRAPH BY ZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

NOTHING POSITIVE COMES FROM WAR . . . THE PAIN, THE LOSS, THE BITTERNESS. VICTIMS OF WAR SUFFER NOT ONLY FROM WHAT IS HAPPENING FROM OUTSIDE… THEY MIGHT LOSE EVERYTHING TANGIBLE AND MATERIAL, BUT WITH A HEALTHY BODY AND MIND THEY CAN STILL ENDURE AND OVERCOME. BUT BECAUSE MY BURNS WERE SO SEVERE, I WAS PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO REBOUND. I LOST EVERYTHING INCLUDING MY SPIRITUALITY. I DEVOTED SO MUCH TO PRAYING TO THE MANY GODS, BUT NONE OF THEM ANSWERED MY PRAYER.”

how people can inflict suffering on others. My mom knew from my uncle and the village people that I had been severely burned. From the village, she walked for three days, through the fields and sometimes on the road, because it was forbidden to have a car. She traveled with my brother who was only 11 years old at that time. Yes. My entire family searched for me. My father, my uncle, and my mother each went to different hospitals looking for me. They felt they could cover more territory by dividing. When my mom finally arrived at the Children’s Hospital, she was terribly disappointed because she couldn’t find me anywhere. She told one of the workers who was cleaning the hospital that she was not able to find her child who was burned. She explained that I was nine years old and what had happened. He said that if she couldn’t find me anywhere on the floor, there would be only one place left and he pointed in the direction of the morgue. My fifth brother overheard the conversation and because he ran faster than my mom, he found me there. In the morgue? In the morgue. But you were obviously alive? Exactly. After three days of searching, she found me in the morgue. Those details really upset me. But as I will tell you later, it was a miracle. What happened after your brother found you in the morgue? My brother found me first and called “Mommy, mommy, my sister is here.” I asked her later what she witnessed when she found me. Because for three days nobody had cared for me or my burns, I smelled horrible. You know, the heart of a mother, she just picked me up to carry me home because she had no more hope. When she picked me up, I had very shallow breathing, and one deep breath, like I was dying, but not completely dead. Neither she nor my brother expected me to survive, and they were taking my body back to the village for burial. And then a miracle happened. As she was carrying my body out of the hospital, literally in the entrance, my dad arrived from another hospital. At that exact moment, my father recognized an old friend who he had studied with in the university. Their paths crossed at the same time. Because my father’s old friend wore the uniform of the doctor, my father recognized him and pleaded, “Please help my child. She was burned in our village in the war . . . and now she’s dying. Please help her if you can.” My dad knew nothing about Napalm and thought it was just burn. The doctor was on his way home but was delayed waiting for something. It was a miracle. He made a phone call and made arrangements for an ambulance to transport me to the Barsky Burn Clinic, an American Hospital. Arthur Barsky was a missionary doctor who worked post-Hiroshima to help the survivors. When he was done, he moved to Vietnam. The Barsky Burn Clinic is a private clinic. There he gathered international doctors who wanted to volunteer in Vietnam whether for two weeks, one week, or one month. My family went with me to the Barsky Burn Clinic. 25 years later, I met the doctor who admitted me. You call it a miracle; some call this God’s grace. What do you think? For me, it was by the grace of God, a miracle. I believe that God had the plan specifically for that little girl. I was not a coincidence. Why does God pick some and not other children? I believe that is in his power, “His will be done.” I have asked myself many times before, “Why me?” and then I ask back, “Why not me?” Then through it all, I remember how much I suffered, how much I endured . . . beginning with the photograph of me running on that road. I have no idea . . . if not by the grace of God and not by his love, why me? I am not here to answer all the questions, but I believe in God; He is invisible, spiritual. His power, His freedom to choose, His love—these are things I am still learning, still experiencing. That faith helped me to move on, gave me strength, and answered so many questions and so much doubt. On that “fire road” that I went through, that is my path. How many surgeries did you have in the first year and a half ? 16 surgeries, primarily for skin grafts. I had very deep burns, in some places and less in others.

Miami, USA. 06th Jan, 2017. Phan Thi Kim Phuc, 53, was all smiles in Miami, where she was preparing for her final laser treatment from Dr. Jill Waibel of the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute. Kim holds a laptop showing one of the first photos taken of her back by Dr. Waibel before all of the healing Lumenis Ultra Pulse laser treatments she has received.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY LLC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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In 2019 Phan Thi Kim Phuc received the 10th International Peace Prize from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent at the Semper Opera, in Dresden, Germany. PHOTOGRAPH BY DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

At the time they required 35% healthy skin for the grafting to be successful. If you had less than 35% you could not survive . . . Yes, and that is exactly what I had, 35 % healthy skin. You see, again, a miracle. Recently, I was in Quebec, and I visited the lab where today they can harvest skin and the burn victims do not have to suffer like I did. They can do this by removing a little bit of your healthy skin. If you counted every surgery and laser treatment, how many procedures have you endured? In the first year, I received 16 skin transplant operations. And then in 1984, I did one in Germany, it was 17. I have done 13 laser treatments. 30 procedures. On a scale of 1-10, what is the pain level? The 13 laser treatments have really helped with the pain. The scale of the pain from zero to 10 is now in the middle. I have read that you do not take medication. Yet, in the formative years of your recovery, you were in horrific pain and suffered depression. I lived in a very hot climate. But with the scar tissue, I do not have any pores to sweat. Napalm is a very dangerous chemical because of the way in which the burn heals causes tremendous physical pain. When I became older the emotional suffering hit. I was mad about what happened which is why I was so shy. My personality is quiet. Like with most of the Vietnamese people, we are very quiet, and we just endure our suffering. How did you transition back to living a normal life after experiencing such physical and mental trauma? When I was hospitalized, every patient was treated the same. No one was special, despite their injuries, except the doctor or nurses. But when I came home, it became real to me that this was my life. No one around me was scarred or wounded. My friends were afraid of how I looked, and they feared my scars. They looked at me like I was disabled. Did you feel alone? Yes. I felt alone and I questioned . . . I asked why. I wished they would just come to my home, hug me, and play, like before. I missed them. But they never came. At some point South Vietnam fell and you became a puppet for propaganda. How did the government reach out to you? They did not find me right away, but 10 years later. In the middle of quietness, the storm came. Suddenly four of the government officers travelled to my school. They stared at me from head to toe and couldn’t believe it was me, because they didn’t see any scars. You had them covered? Of course. I wore long sleeves to hide them. The officer looked at me and asked, “Are you Kim Phuc?” From that point forward, journalists from all over the world visited Vietnam and wanted to interview the “little napalm girl.” The government in Tay Ninh was so happy and proud that they had found me. Every time I was interviewed and filmed, they would take me back to the province Tay Ninh where the government offices were, and then they took me to Trang Bang, the very place where they dropped the bomb. How many times did you have to do that? It was countless. Did you not feel betrayed or angry that those people who hurt you were the same ones who were exploiting you? Yes. But at the beginning, honestly, I didn’t feel that way. I was happy because suddenly, as an ordinary girl, I had a lot of attention with interviews, pictures, and filming, like a celebrity.

Did they help your family during that time as well? No. You know communists, they threatened my mom and dad. I became a very, very important person at that time, a symbol. Why did they feel that way? Because you survived it? Yes, because I was the subject of a very famous picture known throughout the world. And the napalm that injured me represented South Vietnamese and Americans working together, the American war in Vietnam. Do you know why? Because you are a beautiful woman who represents everything lovely about Vietnam, perhaps with hidden scars . . . in your quiet elegant way. I still survived. Yes, you survived and thrived. But because the picture was so famous, they wanted to control me. Once they decided I represented the symbol for war, they wanted me to work for them as propaganda. They stopped my studies. They took back my family’s residency and forced me back to our province to work. My principal, teachers, and everyone called me, saying “Kim, we love you. You can study here but it is out of our control. The Tay Ninh province has revoked your paperwork, so you are not allowed to remain here.” That decision destroyed my future. I am sure it crushed your dreams. I had no more hope. Immediately what came to my mind, my soul, was that I had become another victim. Why me again? I had no power and I just wanted to escape. You were quite young? Yes. I had just turned 19 years old, and it was the period before I became Christian. That period of my life felt like an eternity because of how much hatred, bitterness, and anger I held inside. I was devoted to Cao Dai and strived to be the best person possible. In their doctrine, you must be good in this life, for the next life to be good. The theory is that if you do good work, it will come back to you. I kept asking, why do I have to suffer like this? The Cao Dai religion involves reincarnation of sorts. Yes. It is said that if a person eats chicken, pork, or beef, in the next life, they transform into that animal. I tried to do my best. But when I was faced with the government from Tay Ninh treating me that way, it caused me so much pain, hatred, and anger; I reverted to that little girl, the victim of war. My normal friends were still able to study. But why not me? Being a victim of war, what can you share with the reader? Nothing positive comes from war.. . . . the pain, the loss, the bitterness. Victims of war suffer not only from what is happening from outside . . . they might lose everything tangible and material, but with a healthy body and mind they can still endure and overcome. But because my burns were so severe, I was physically unable to rebound. I lost everything including my spirituality. I devoted so much to praying to the many gods, but none of them answered my prayer. Were your parents aware of your feelings of desperation? My parents had such a strong faith in Cao Dai. Yes. They were also suffering and often cried, which did not bring me any peace. When I became Christian, I told them I believed in Jesus Christ and would not follow Cao Dai. My mom was angry and felt that I had betrayed her religion. Did she ever convert to Christianity or is she still a Cao Dai? My entire family has converted to Christianity. I have interviewed lots of people experiencing moments of desperation, hopelessness, and despair. They ask God, where are you? Why me?

Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a 2003 speaker at North America’s foremost women’s lecture series Unique Lives & Experiences in Toronto. The series was developed in response to women’s requests for intellectual entertainment and provides them with a forum for meaningful dialogue and stimulating interaction. Phuc credits religion and her family, including sons Stephen, and Thomas, for helping her learn to cope with that hard time.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Phan Thi Kim Phuc reacts when Hannibal Lokumbe performs his 1973 composition Children of the Fire for the first time in the presence of the Girl in the Picture, in Philadelphia, PA, on December 7, 2019. PHOTOGRAPH BY NURPHOTO SRL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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I have been there. What do you tell those people? I tell them that I understand them perfectly because I was there. Continue seeking for the purpose of your life and the answers to your questions, and never give up hope; reach out for help. This idea of perseverance and never giving up is a characteristic that your mother had. Is that hard-wired in you? Yes. I think I got that from her, the will to never give up. Can you share three things a victim of war can do to move themselves forward instead of staying in a space of darkness? Number one is to never give up hope, even though I almost did. I fantasized about dying in a car accident because I thought if I died, I would have no more suffering. Number two is to seek the truth. Why did this happen to me? Where are you, God? Because believe me, every child growing up in any country with war is asking God something. I am not speaking about religion either, but just God, because God gives humans something to believe in. I would tell them, keep seeking, looking, learning. Open your mind, open your heart. Never, never say or accept that what is happening to you “is my destiny.” Number three is to practice the Three D’s. The first D is to have desire. The second D is to be determined and the third D is to have discipline. I must discipline myself, to fulfill my desire and determination. Without discipline, you cannot have a good result. I want to talk to you about religion and forgiveness, complex concepts. Believe me it is. Religion alone is not the answer. Just like the clothes you wear, or your name… religion describes a component about you. I am Christian, I am Buddhist. I am Hindu. I am Muslim . . . but it is just a name. My personal relationship, between God and me, is what changed my heart, changed my attitude, changed my behavior, and taught me forgiveness. When you were in the most pain and suffering, how were you able to distract yourself to get through it . . . and did it help when you did good deeds for others? Yes. I learned that concept later in my journey but at the beginning, I just focused on my pain. I learned to distract myself by praying to God. I would ask, “Please give me enough strength to carry on with the pain.” The next step was to serve other people. When the pain comes, I take that time, run to the Lord, and I pray for hours and hours. For the many people that are in my heart, I pray for them. I include my family, people who are close to me, and friends all over the world. The more I pray, the more peace I have. During the time I am experiencing pain physically, I use my mind and I pray. At the end, wow, the pain is gone. The more I pray, the more peace I have. It has really helped me to have a close relationship with God by praying and trusting him. The pain and the scars are my protection as I serve as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO and promote The KIM Foundation International. But you know that you are beautiful, don’t you? I know. God showed me that. I grew up with the scars. I compared even my worst scars to buffalo skin because my scars had no pores and were really rough to the touch. But I learned how to conquer and overcome that kind of ugliness, from a little girl seeing my burnt skin because I changed my attitude. God made a mark on me to remind me, “I am with you, Kim. You are nothing. I’m with you. I can make you beautiful.” That is the beauty. It comes from inside, not from outside. You see that is everything. See, I see that in you. I see the beauty. You can see that the beauty, the peace, the joy is from inside

out, not from outside in. Every victim of war needs to have that. God, not religion, don’t talk about religion. But God suffered so much for us through Jesus. He has the power to mend my broken body and heal my skin. All kinds of ugliness become his beautiful art. I believe that living with beauty, love, and forgiveness, that God makes us beautiful art. A beautiful vessel. Have you been back to Vietnam? Yes. In 1996, I applied for a visa. They didn’t answer me. When my fifth brother passed away in 2004, I said, this is the time I must go back and apply for the visa. They allowed me to go for one month, I had to be very low-key. And was that emotional for you? Yes. I took my children back to the place that, on the road, was where the photo was taken, and it made a strong impression on them. “Mommy we know your story, but right now, it has become a reality.” We stayed in the very place that they bombed. My stories became part of history. How old are your boys? My Thomas, 29. My second, Stephen, 26. I have four grandchildren. Yeah. Two boys and two girls. Yes. The KIM Foundation International. Yes. you have so many initiatives that are in play at any given time. How can a person donate to The KIM Foundation International? Visit my website, kimfoundation.com. What do you want to be remembered for? I want my story to represent the love of God. It doesn’t matter what happens to you, God is in control. The only thing that I hope people learn from my life story is that the little napalm girl is no longer a victim. She is a survivor calling out for peace and joy. I want people to know that the “little napalm girl” found both. My son Thomas is in this picture taken by my friend and photographer Ann Bayin. She took the picture showing the scar on my back. The more I look at the photograph I love it because I have so many more scars. I wanted to create something else. The symbolism of the picture of my back represents that although I still carry on my past, I won’t forget it. How can I forget? But then you see the beautiful skin of my son Thomas. It means something new is coming and reminds me to never stay in the past. My smile represents hope. There are three points I want people to remember from this photograph. War did not define or kill me. The war could not destroy my hope. The war could not kill my future. You see the love between a mother and son. When you see him, you don’t see his face, but you see his ear is so close to my mouth… as I whisper my story to him about what I experienced as a child. He listens carefully as I teach him. He looks forward to the future and does not look back. I travel around the world to share my story, to tell people how horrible war is, but also how beautiful the world can be. If everyone could learn to live with love, hope, and forgiveness, we would not have war. I challenge everyone, if that little girl can do it, you can do it too. I encourage people not to wait too long. Just be yourself. Be a blessing. You can help yourself, another person, people in your community, a nation, and all over the world. The value of one individual is unending. We cannot change history, but with love, we can heal the future. My story and what it represents in this photograph focuses on love, forgiveness, and hope. I want people to remember that and not see that “little napalm girl” in a horrible picture. ■

Phan Thi Kim Phuc welcomes Ukrainian refugees on their way to Canada at the Warsaw airport on August 11, 2022, in Warsaw, Poland. Pilot Enrique Pineyro, a pilot and founder of the organization, Solidaire, planned to fly that plane from Warsaw to Regina with more than 230 Ukrainians on board; Kim got to join three of five total flights which brought over 1,000 refugees to Canada. Phan Thi Kim Phuc is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and has spent years traveling around the world giving lectures and sharing her story. She also founded The KIM Foundation International to support children affected by war and suffering.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK UT/GETTY IMAGES

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Vietnam war survivor Phan Thi Kim Phuc, ‘’Napalm Girl ‘’ and Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press photographer Nick Ut visit and speak at War/Photography at Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. PHOTOGRAPH BY ZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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WOMEN ofWAR 146

BEHIND THE UKRAINE LINES— INTERVIEWS BY KAREN FLOYD

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LESIA BODNARCHUK— Front Line Medic / Medical Assistance for Ukrainian Soldiers on the Frontlines

lesia

I was

born in Kyiv. My personal war started early. It’s true to say that there was a difference between the war in 2014 and the war today because on the one hand, there is war, and on the other hand there is no war. What I mean to say is that the war today—the Russians invaded our land, capturing cities and territories and citizens. The way war existed before, though I wasn’t really involved with that…that was completely different . . . In 2014, we had this situation where it was a more conventional conflict. There was a war zone somewhere in the east, somewhere in the south, but there were safe zones and we still felt like we were a civilization. The war today became our problem. The Russians invaded us, and all those fears and horrors (of war) spread all over—and this feeling of horror and fear has spread all over Europe. Now, the feeling of safety is false; even when someone tells you that you are in a safe place, you’re not. And that’s what scares us. The multiple-launch rocket systems, the reconnaissance drones, the mortars—the Russians never used these to target civilian sites before—but now they are. The number of wounded has increased seriously since Russian forces launched missile attacks near Kyiv and Kharkiv, on the Russian border, on February 21, 2022, and as the numbers of wounded began multiplying, medical assistance has not been able to keep up and has failed. That is why Ukraine is really grateful for the support of other countries because the lacks (deficits) and needs would be big without the help, and definitely more difficult. More people would die and so our nation is really grateful. One of the things that is really important to understand is the Russian influence. Even I am originally a Russian-speaking Ukrainian. I took my UA (?) and studied to speak the Ukrainian language. I called everybody I knew to do the same and change their language to Ukrainian because if we did not take that position, then we would not be loyal anymore. Everything matters in a language here—language is everything. We had a joke that on February 21st, you fell asleep as a normal person, and on the 22nd you awoke as a rebel in the national movement. This was the way we could fight the aggressive cultural influence of Russia to make good things look bad. Of all the injuries that are inflicted on soldiers and civilians, the most dangerous is burns. Russians use a lot of shelling, artillery, and bombing with cluster bombs, and the phosphorus bombs make burns of such severity that we see more casualties and life-threatening injuries, and those who survive will suffer from their injuries the rest of their lives. There are three stages: first, when an individual is directly hit by the bomb. Second, he receives preliminary care to keep him alive as he is transported to the hospital. Depending on where he is and how many are

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injured, this could last hours and maybe even days. Finally, is how soon he can get medical care because such casualties need care that activates (need to be taken care of) immediately. So, the longer it takes from the moment of being wounded till they get to the hospital is really hard. And that’s just the beginning. Then you have to rehabilitate a person afterward. Explosive devices are a type of warfare which has really been involved since the beginning and the most serious are the casualties they are bleeding from shrapnel from IED (Improvised Explosive Devices. These are handmade.) The Russians target places that are not well defended knowing there is no medical equipment and more likelihood of casualties. Massive bleeding is a challenge for the medics. Shrapnel moves around the body and causes massive internal bleeding that persists, and you need a high-level medic who knows how to stop the bleeding. IEDs are meant to stop as many people as possible. On the other hand, bombs, mortars, and landmines are meant to kill. The worst thing is Russian mines. Russians can send up 16 at once and go deep inside the front lines. They are dropped all around you so there is no chance to stay alive. It’s like hunting. It’s killing by booby trap. This is just one of the things that results in a lot of casualties. Russian warfare also entails a lot of explosive devices that are dropped in positions of defense, like trenches, bunkers, and explosives that go directly into the body to maim and kill. Burns, broken limbs, and shrapnel inside the body that goes into important organs—you never know what the damage is going to be. I have two sons. The youngest is seven and the oldest is 22. The oldest is studying right now and he wants to go fight. My husband is also fighting. He started as a volunteer and became a soldier, but he sustained serious injuries. Even so, he still protects the country as a commander because it is the right thing to do. He had a lot of concussions and there are a lot of issues that don’t allow him to be on the front right now. The biggest fear I had was to miss his phone calls because phone calls are limited. I suppose I am not the one to say I have had hard times because I know a lot of people who have gone through worse than I have. I refuse to be the person to complain. I know it is the right thing to persevere and the only thing is to stay strong—for myself, for my husband and children, and for my country. There are too many worse moments, too many such stories. I trained as a medic, and I am directly involved with people. The worst feeling I have is when people are calling you for help. All those calls are being checked. It is really important not to wait if you need help because when you finally get around to asking for help, it may be too late. There is the danger of hopelessness. You can’t feel hopeless when for months and weeks, 24/7, you are dealing with

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situations where people are literally begging for help, medical assistance, safe houses, and even though we have opened the chain of supply, it is still not enough. Even right now it doesn’t end. I had a call yesterday from the front lines saying the stretchers were broken because they were so soaked with blood they failed and there was no way to carry injured soldiers. It was two hours before we could send relief. Hopefully, no one died during those two hours. I do not know. My foundation is military-specific. We deal in supplying soldiers on the front lines. The biggest need is front-line tactical medicine kits for the doctors and medics. We do not have enough tourniquets. The second most important is emergency vehicles to get people out of the front to safe zones where they can be stabilized and then taken to the hospital. The third is medical equipment for the hospitals. The hardest time was the beginning of the invasion. People were not prepared, not informed, and didn’t know what to do. And this is not just soldiers fighting. This is a civilian massacre. To be honest, I don’t understand. I don’t know why the international media doesn’t report that since 2014, there were places in Ukraine where Russians stayed for long periods. Now, Russia is killing for nothing. Is this the way of things in Russia? The name of the foundation I founded and oversee is called TO BE. We support military requests for medical supplies for the front. What we would like is to get donations for medicine and equipment. That is what’s really needed: bandages, pain killers, and medication to cut down the fever; needles, antibiotics, stretchers, and sutures are really important because they can save the veins and can save the limbs for the soldier; and bug dope— mosquitoes provide a lot of problems. There is no primary supplier of medical supplies. Unfortunately, right now there is a lack of everything. We are fundraising but the challenge is to find where to get the supplies. It has to happen right now. We need help. We just need to stay strong. All we want is to live a normal life. I don’t want to jump up at night because of some explosion anymore. I don’t want to grab my child and run down the corridor to see the walls have fallen in. I don’t want to have to figure out how to stay alive every moment. But I do—I do it for my husband and our sons. You need to be stronger, a little stronger, for your children. You have to show them not fear, but that it’s okay to show rage and anger. We are really hurting as a family. I am really afraid to lose my family because danger is with us all the time. Being the wife of a soldier is the scariest thing. One time, I was on my shift in the military hospital when I heard my husband’s name called out that he was dead. It ended up being a different person, not my husband, and the two minutes it took to learn it was not my husband were the most awful moments of my life. This fear of

losing—that has to stop, and I know I will need a little help to end this endless fear after the war is all over. Those situations of horror I have had too many. Days, weeks, months go by and It’s not just about husbands: it’s about husbands, sons, relatives, and friends, and the shocking thing, is I cannot believe that in these times, when humanity is so evolved and so progressive, that war can happen. But it does. So, I work harder, I try to be better, I am trying to earn my place in the world, and to be constructive. It is awful that, despite communications and deal-making, that in this civilized world a country can invade another country and rob it of its humanity. I just don’t understand how this is. The value of life is underestimated by the world. It’s not just the soldier who is killed-it is his relatives, his friends, his soulmate and so when he dies, something in each one of them dies and changes their fate. The impact of the loss of just one life is therefore multiplied. You should understand that we work as hard to the bone as men do. It is not a natural activity for women. In our history, men are used to fighting and know they could lose their lives; before, the role of women used to be to save and protect the family. Now we women, too, fight to protect our families and loved ones. So, when a woman loses someone or people she loves, it is way more difficult for us because men who fight are used to it. The disaster is that in our lifetimes, we face losing who we once were as women because war defines who we now are and will become. All nations have the most precious thing—and that is heritage. Ukrainian women vow to save our heritage so we may pass it forward to our children and generations to come. That is the importance of women. I want to impress upon all the world: keep your relatives safe and keep your country free. You can’t imagine how beautiful it is to live in a peaceful country and how awful and horrible it is to live in war. I wouldn’t want anybody to experience what Ukraine is experiencing today. I want to take this opportunity to say I am grateful on behalf of Ukraine for the help from the United States. Medical help as much as possible is needed. For our medical system to override our present circumstances, it is really important to look to the future. We have needs beyond first aid. There is no availability for post-medical treatment, and we need help to establish a bridge, a link, to move these wounded people to recovery so they can be physically operational for the remainder of their lifetimes. We also need specialized medical care. Right now, if a person is wounded by an explosion and, say, he loses his jaw, he needs reconstructive surgery, and our system of medicine has no reconstructive surgeons. The numbers are huge—and growing bigger every day. Again, on behalf of my beloved country, I’m happy to know there is a chance for our story to be told. ■

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Even with an interpreter, it was just as important to me that I looked at each woman I interviewed and tried to follow her train of thought, through her expressions, through her gestures, through her tears. For example, Anastasiia’s “theme” was, despite the Maiden Uprising in 2013, that Ukraine was unprepared for the Russian invasion in February 2022. She points out that it was difficult to get information. She ends with her concerns on how people will get information when the conflict is over on how to heal and go forward in the future. On the other hand, she’s very evasive about talking about the battlefield. I was able to interview her on the occasion of both my visits. The energetic, happy, vibrant young woman I met on my first visit is not the woman I met on my return visit. Basically, what you’re looking at with Anastasiia now is a broken young woman. Here are her interviews.

In 2014,

I was 15. I remember the first Russian bombing and how all the people gathered in the city center and didn’t understand what was happening. And that was quite confusing to my young mind because it was the first time in my life that I experienced what it was to be truly terrified. I was lucky to be involved with a deeply patriotic group in our society, which is not really common among young people. I studied theology and language at university and was surrounded by poets, writers, and philosophers who loved the motherland. At the very beginning, I started out as a volunteer information rights activist. Then I served as a volunteer combatant and after six years, began my training as a soldier. It took me three years before I was qualified to go into combat. I have been a combat soldier for three years. I consider my experience as a soldier has formed me, not changed me. Who I am today is very different from who I was as a civilian. It’s a short distance between my family home and the Russian border so there was no question that the conflict would begin in our region. My family lived in one of the first three cities that fell under invasion by the Russian army. It is unfortunate, but even now I have this feeling that our borders will never be secure. I feel—we all feel—this terrifying sense of imminent aggression from our Russian neighbors will never go away and it is really terrifying to know that whatever happens, the fear will always be there. A bad neighbor is always a bad neighbor. It doesn’t matter if they are living quietly or

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aggressively beside you. There will always be that suspicion, that fear. There is no difference between emotions and actions. It’s normal to be afraid and to experience hard feelings. But never, at any time, was there ever a thought that we shouldn’t fight. It’s just what you should do for the motherland. Look, no one is born for war. No one should see what we all see right now. But that is the reality, and right now that is what surrounds us—and we have no other option but to live it and live through it. I am really grateful to all the countries that support Ukraine. It gives us, individually as Ukrainians and as a nation, a deep and abiding feeling of unity. It is our hope that we will continue to receive support and assistance from other nations. We can’t get along on our own. We have needs and face problems that are impossible for others to imagine. For nine years, we as a country have faced constant, intense, life-threatening situations every day. But we not only want help. We want to share our unique experience of war so that others may understand that we are not only fighting for our families—we are fighting for the motherland. I am a combat medic. I serve in a company under the brigade command. In my brigade, there are 6,000 men and 20 medics. I am the only female medic in the brigade. In my position, I can be attached to other units under the chain of command—to combat squads and operational units, in the trenches and defended positions, and on the front lines, whenever it is necessary, and I may be called at any moment. I do not consider this as a horrible thing because war is not beautiful. It just is what it is. It is important to communicate with the wounded. I consider communication to be the first and most important thing. I am obligated to not only find out the wounded soldier’s injury and physical condition but his emotional state, as well. It is a status check—to determine immediately the extent of the soldier’s injuries, what he is feeling, and how responsive he is. I have a moral understanding that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, or who you are with, you should always try to do your best. I was lucky to have had a happy childhood. War makes you get older faster. It takes away your youth. As my personal war started, I suppose that each event I experienced changed me. The ones that change you most—change you permanently—are the ones you face when your brothers and sisters-in-arms who are fighting with you are killed in action. Unfortunately, I have lost so

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ANASTASIIA PODOBAILO— Front Line Medic / “The Angel”

ANASTASIIA many—in particular, three people I was really close to. One of them was my first combat commander. He introduced me to this life of being a soldier. I would not have become the soldier I am without this officer’s influence. We were in combat on the front when I learned he had been killed. I went to the place where he fell, and I saw the body, [emotional pause] and went to the funeral. He had no right to die. All those who have died are heroes because they gave their lives and all that they had for Ukraine. I am really curious what it will be like when the war is over. What will it be like to be a girlfriend, a wife, a mother, to have a job, and to lead a normal life? I really think and believe that we will win our fight for the motherland and return to peace and the way of life we once enjoyed. If something I said moves emotion in even one person who may hear what I have told you—well, that would be really cool because it means that what I have done, and am doing, is worth something. You ask me if I believe in God. No, what I believe is there is something bigger than us. It is more than a desire to believe. It is believing that everything you have done has been worthwhile and will impact the future for the greater good. Do I believe in God? I believe in the faith that good will prevail—and if that is God, then yes, I believe. Because we are living in hard times does not give you the right to be weak. Yes, I feel fear. I believe that a good fighter is one who has fear. Being afraid gives you a clear sense of what is around you, what you are dealing with, and what you must do. I presume that a fearless fighter is one who does not see clearly and gets lost, even unto himself. Nothing of what happened before matters. What matters is today, supporting your brothers-in-arms as we fight alongside one another, and to understand that whatever the situation is, our combined strength will force the situation toward victory in the end. Our relatives and loved ones are praying for victory for our motherland—and it is up to us soldiers. I really wish I had a superpower that would allow me to transfer, to share, this feeling of love of life that every single soldier feels especially on the battlefield. I believe that this love of life is the main driving force behind every soldier. The very first thing a wounded soldier will talk about is not his injuries or his fear—it is always about how much he loves his family and relatives and the motherland. All soldiers fight for

somebody or something they love. These situations are hard when you are with a wounded soldier who is crying and shouting for his mother or wife, never for the medic. Recently there was one particularly difficult situation I experienced when I was tending to a badly wounded soldier whose wife was pregnant. He told me she was going to have an ultrasound the next day to find out whether their child was a boy or a girl. “It will be a son!” he said. [emotional pause.] Soon after, the soldier died so he’ll never know…it doesn’t matter…no fucking way…whether he had a son or daughter. But after the baby was born, I found out it was a boy. And to be truthful, he was there, that soldier, in the trenches and the filth, because what mattered to him most was, he was there because he loved his family, and he was fighting for a better life for them. That’s the gift he gave his son—he gave his life for his son’s future. Women know and understand how hard it is to bring a life into the world. I know plenty of soldiers who are fighting on the front and each one is different. I know emotional men. I know tough women. You need to understand it isn’t about gender. It’s confusing for me—and for all Ukrainians, perhaps—why people like you are risking your life to come to the front to witness our crusade. Why is it so? You, Karen, are the same as me. I have a desire to make my life a purposeful life. You make your life purposeful by telling women’s stories for today and for the next generation of women, all over the world, isn’t that right? The history of Ukraine as an independent nation is only 20 or 30 years old—that is our timeline, and that is what you need to consider. We are an ancient civilization, and our history is made up of many histories. You have chosen me randomly and have given me the opportunity to share my story and the possibility that you may pass on what I have told you so others might know. But my story is just one of many, many other stories. What we share, what we Ukrainians have in common, is we do as much as we can for our motherland. We just do it. Just like the ancient Knights of Malta who said, “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum,” which translates “Nurturing, witnessing and protecting the faith and serving the poor and the sick.” Do what you can do—and let it be. What is to be, is to be. ■

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THERE ARE PLENTY OF TIMES I LOOK BACK ON MY LIFE AND ASK MYSELF WHY. AS A GIRL, I WANTED TO BE A MATH TEACHER, HAVE PLENTY OF KIDS, A CAR, AND A DRIVER’S LICENSE. [SHE LAUGHS.] I NEVER KNEW I WOULD BE LIVING MY LIFE LIKE THIS. NADIA BOGOVICH— Deep Reconnaissance Tactical Team Leader / One of the Most Hunted Ukrainian Women by the Russians

NADIA She is animated, talkative, probably in her early 40s but looks older. Her eyes are hard and full of pain. She looks tired. She wears her waist-long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She does not have time to dye her hair, the roots are grey. Though she is married, she wears no wedding ring. The only jewelry she wears is simple drop earrings. I ask her a few questions, but then she talks openly and without fear.

Am I tired?

I am certainly not as tired as the guys in the trenches! But yes—I am tired. I deal with casualties every day, ever since 2019, and the number of wounded gets greater and greater. But I am strong. Ukrainian women are strong. I don’t know how women are in the United States, but 85 percent of all Ukrainian women are strong— we are wolves—and if you get in our face, we will crush you. I volunteered to the fight. I was not called up; no one asked me. What I do I do for my family and the motherland. I meet a lot of soldiers. We become family. So, when a soldier you know is wounded or dies, he is like family. Just the other day, one of the guys in reconnaissance who was like a brother to me was killed by the Russians. He was 26 years old. Earlier today we lost a 19-year-old. [She pauses, and her voice gets hard, her mouth set. She resumes.] It has been a hard month because the casualties keep coming and coming. Yes, it is difficult. I am barely able to talk about it. I am a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. The one thing you can’t understand is when a child is killed. As volunteers, we know that we are saving the children. Ukraine is not just our

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homeland. Ukraine is our motherland. It is not permittable to let our people die, to allow children to be killed. In this, we stand together as a people, as a nation. The war really escalated two months after the Russians invaded. It was then that I decided there are only two ways out: victory or death. What am I afraid of ? I am afraid of being captured. The Russians torture their captives and take a little piece of them at a time—a finger, a hand—to prolong the suffering. The Russians have a list of those of us volunteers who are the most critical fighters and nothing good awaits you if captured. I am in reconnaissance operations and if I were captured, there would be no way out. If I am captured, suicide would be better. [She points to an emblem on her flak jacket.] This is my guardian angel. I have worn this angel since I was wounded in 2018 when I was recovering in hospital. She protects me. It is funny, but when I woke up in hospital, the nurse was the first woman I had seen in 10 months. Yes, I do believe in God and that He is the One and Only God and that he watches over us. I feel the Lord’s presence in my life. It is a true miracle that we have saved so many civilian lives since the invasion. That is a sign that God exists. [To her right, images of Mother Mary and Jesus Christ are taped to the window.] No, there is no difference between women who fight and men who fight. Women and men are the same. We are all fighting for the motherland. Now, the younger soldiers . . . of course, at the beginning, they find war difficult. I cannot complain that it is difficult for me. I am older, and I have seen more, and done more. Am I a hero? No. I am a Ukrainian. Everyone who fights,

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everyone in combat, we are Ukrainians. The heroes—those are the ones who died fighting for the motherland. You ask me what is important to me. Laughter is important. You ask if I had a question to ask God? I would ask, “Why must children die.” How would I wish to be remembered? For how strong my love is for my family and the motherland. I have one child, a daughter, and one grandson. The child is young, so my daughter stays at home. From 2015 to 2020, before she was married and had her child, she was a volunteer soldier. The one thing we have in common is our love of Ukraine the Motherland, and our family. I know that if I die, she will persevere and carry on that love. As for me, I am part of the rescue team. I am the only woman in a reconnaissance unit in the Grey Zone, which is made up of anywhere between 80 and 150 men. The beginning of this year, Russian tactics changed, and I was forced to get more deeply involved in reconnaissance. Right now, the difficulty is moving all our guys from the Grey Zone to support the worse theaters of war—the Red Zone. I engineer the logistics of the cover units so the reconnaissance fighters can do their job. We have to move when the frontline moves, we have to cover the soldiers when they go in and when they come out. We go in, in the shadows, to bring out the wounded and the dead. We work five or six days at a stretch. No, we do not rotate. We all work continuously until the job is done. If a soldier gets injured in a minefield, on the battlefield, it doesn’t matter that we may be in the line of fire, we go after them. No one is left behind. Ever. I don’t understand why you think I save lives. I am just doing my job.

Burnout? I never worry about burnout. It is not an option. I sleep about two or three hours a night. The longest I ever worked without a break was in Marinka when I worked for eight days straight without sleep. There are plenty of times I look back on my life and ask myself why. As a girl, I wanted to be a math teacher, have plenty of kids, a car, and a driver’s license. [She laughs.] I never knew I would be living my life like this. Will we win? That is really hard. Sometimes, from here, it seems as though we have hit a dead-end. But I am curious. As an American, Karen, how does it look to you? Do you think Ukraine will win? I think you will win some of your land back but not all of it, and as long as Putin is alive, Ukraine will continue to fight. It isn’t long for him . . . But let me ask you: Do you Americans understand that right now Ukraine is at a critical moment? We are doing better, and we are more positive now that the United States and other foreign allies are involved in supporting our struggle. All soldiers on the frontlines really feel this and understand this, and we pray other countries like yours will continue to support us. Because if we fall, then the world beware because the Russians will stop at nothing. We haven’t seen any women from other countries who have come just to see the war. I am astonished that you have come so far, Karen. It is not common for someone to come from another city to help you, let alone for someone to come from another country, and one so far away as across the ocean. Your being here means a lot to me—to all of us—and I want to thank you. ■

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I was born

and raised in the city of Dnipro in Ukraine. I had my first child when I was 17. Now I am 19. Soon I will have two daughters. The little newcomer is expected in eight days. My husband’s name was Felix. He was a soldier—and he was killed. The first time I met him he introduced himself to me by asking, “Do you love cats?” Yes! I love cats! That was the very first moment, but mostly what attracted me to him was his honest smile and honesty: that was the first sign. No, I didn’t realize until later when we started seeing each other that he was in the military. I considered this a good thing because it is special to love, and be loved by, such a man who is willing to defend his country. Men who fight for the motherland make it possible for us to sleep at night. Yes, I considered Felix being a soldier a good thing, not bad and certainly not wrong. I was proud to love such a man. We were very much alike. He was full of life, like me. He loved life. So, as we came to know one another our relationship grew stronger, and that made us both feel stronger, and we both enjoyed life more when we were together. Yes, well, Ukraine means love—love of your parents, your

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family, and your friends—because Ukraine is the motherland. Would I ever consider leaving? No, never. I never would consider leaving because despite the bombing, I always feel safe somehow because here is where I belong. I wake up on a typical day, dress, and make breakfast, and after breakfast, I study my lessons online. Then I make activities for my daughter. It is important to spend time with our children. We are a family, and I will work late into the night so I can spend the daytime with my child. Felix loved our daughter very much. I don’t see any change to where I am living after the new baby arrives, though life really changed after the invasion, but we try to keep things together and live as normally as possible and I am grateful for every day we can. War has shown us how much you should appreciate life and life values, even when times are difficult. Felix died on the third of November 2022 so it will be a year this coming November. I am strong and always positive, and I try to smile a lot. Felix told me I should always stay positive. Felix and I always believed our main purpose in life was our children. Children give you something to live for. When the newborn comes, I will

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UKRAINE MEANS LOVE—LOVE OF YOUR PARENTS, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR FRIENDS—BECAUSE UKRAINE IS THE MOTHERLAND. WOULD I EVER CONSIDER LEAVING? NO, NEVER. I NEVER WOULD CONSIDER LEAVING BECAUSE DESPITE THE BOMBING, I ALWAYS FEEL SAFE SOMEHOW BECAUSE HERE IS WHERE I BELONG. DIANA DIDENKO— Young War Widow

DIANA need to be both mother and father. It’s funny, but the last day Felix and I were together, he was really calm, but he was worried about the mission. He said, “I’m worried a little bit,” and because he was worried, I felt I had to stay calm for him. He left me a farewell letter—all the soldiers do—and he told me I deserved to be happy because I am a good person, and that being happy was my obligation to him. It’s important to find good things in life because life should be good. It is your responsibility to make a good life for yourself and your children. It is not a choice. Being happy is what you should be. Mostly it comes from being a mother and wanting the best for your children. Children are the future. The duty of men is to defend our country, serving, protecting—this is what men do. Our duty as mothers, from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep, is to love and raise our children the best we can. Will I find love again? I was in love with one man, and I can’t see myself with anyone else. Yes, I understand that time heals and there is a time for everything, but for now,

nobody can replace Felix. Nobody ever will. What all women want more than anything is for the war to end and for our men to safely return home. I want the world to know the truth of how it really is in Ukraine and understand what we are going through. The world doesn’t really know about our tragedy, of how many innocent people have died. Not just men who are fighting but women, children, young and old whose homes are destroyed by missiles—innocent deaths, and nobody can imagine the scale! The world does not know what it is like to have to start life all over again, each and every morning, after night after night of bombing. We only sleep when there is no air raid alarm or explosions. That’s when we go downstairs and if we are lucky, get a few hours of sleep. As a parent, when you are dealing with your children it is important that you tell them not to panic. You must remain calm. Continue to do the normal stuff that makes your child comfortable, like reading or playing games. Try to keep life as normal as possible. I believe our children will be proud of their mothers and fathers in the future. They definitely should be proud. ■

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IRYNA ZHELTOBRIUKH —Supreme Court of Ukraine / Administrative Court of Appeals

IRYNA It is a long

and difficult road for any woman to become a Supreme Court justice, especially in my country. I worked hard, I did a lot, and I desired from the very beginning to advance my career in the judiciary. At the beginning—the first level—I was appointed. It took me five years in that position to gain enough experience to enter an election. I was running against a number of people and the competition was hard and long—it lasted more than a year—and what made it even more difficult was, this was the first election where an international panel of experts was involved in overseeing the election. I won my first election and held the position of a first-level judge for seven years. Then I ran for the Court of Appeals and won and held that position for eight years. By the time I ran for the Supreme Court, I already had 16 years of experience. I have served as a Supreme Court justice now for seven years and during this time, witnessed close-up the escalation of the war. To be precise, in order to understand the war, you have to look at the period before the invasion and after. You need to understand each of the territories—the occupied territories, the front lines, and the Green Zone. You see, the judiciary in each of those territories and throughout each of those two periods were very different from one another. Yes, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over war crimes. I specifically serve in the administrative chamber, so war crimes are not my specific area. But I can assure you that there are many, many cases the court must deal with. You ask if I am in danger. Yes, every day. I am on Russia’s “killing list”—I have information that this is so. I am a target. I never was delusional about Russia’s intentions. I understand Russian behavior, so it was no surprise that they

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invaded or the military tactics they commanded. It’s historic. The conflict between the area that was The Ukraine and Russia has appeared for centuries and throughout this time, Russia was aggressive to the point where their plan was to destroy our country and degrade our people. There is no possibility for Ukraine and Russia to be combined, not in any way or on any level, because our two countries radically differ. We are like water and oil. The only thing I want is to keep my children safe. Even when the risk is at its highest, the only thing that ever matters is the children. The second day after the invasion, my brother was recruited as a volunteer. It took him six days standing in line to get processed because the number of men who wanted to volunteer was so large, and there were more men than Ukraine had the ability to train and equip. It was some months after the invasion—a little later—that my husband was mobilized also. Even now they both continue to serve. I am grateful that you mention that—yes, I suggest there are two things we deal with constantly, and that is mental strength and moral courage. These two things give us the stability we require, and we have learned this, even from the time we were girls. Women have been a foundation of the motherland in times of war—there is no distinction between a female soldier and a male soldier. Our will to fight comes to us naturally: it has been passed down through our mothers and grandmothers. because of all the political situations and all consequences that came from it. The Ukraine has been fighting political powers since 1654. And, yes, that’s what I would like your audience to understand: we are not Russian. We never were Russian. We were and always will be Ukrainians. My daughter is studying in England, and she tells me

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the English people think the war is all about control over oil. To some extent I agree as I suppose there are multiple interests in the purpose of the invasion—but above all, it is the imperialistic behavior and wishes of Russia to subordinate our culture and drive Ukraine into submission. Yes, I believe this unconditionally and when I say it, I get a chill down my spine. When the Russians entered Kyiv, I was at my apartment. That was a hard year because my husband and my brother were both fighting on the front lines. As a mother, I was so terrified we would run out of food. I always buy more food, just to be safe. There is, I suppose, a bright side. Our infrastructure is limited. We only have three hours of electricity a day. So, during the winter we do not need a refrigerator—we use the terrace. That helps keep food cold and fresh. We must keep to a very strict schedule. During the three hours of electricity, we turn on the heat, cook food, do the washing— all the important things that require electricity. I have 10 people living under my roof: my mother, my brothers’ families, my two children, and myself. My mother has cancer. It has been difficult getting treatment for her. You have to understand it is difficult to get from one side of the city to the other. All my family and friends—everyone I know—are still in Ukraine. Leaving has never been a question for me. I will definitely stay, no matter what. But I can’t blame anyone who wants to leave. I pray and I hope every minute of every day that Ukrainian victory will be ours. Those who do not know their history past do not have any future. For centuries the Russians prohibited us to speak our language. But we still speak it—and we always will. Ukraine is the best and most beautiful place in the world. That’s

maybe why it is so desired. We need lots of weapons to stop the Russians. Without the support of America and other foreign countries, we would not have a chance. We believe the rules, principles, and common goals are the basis for international coexistence. If only the world would allow peaceful coexistence to prevail rather than allow one nation to destroy another. The only political ideology Russia has is to possess absolute power. Yes, I believe in God. It may sound strange, but I live in faith all the time. I believe in God. My faith in God has taken me through the worst part of the war. I am not sure if you are aware of religion in Ukraine. There are several religions, but the largest is the Russian Orthodox Church. So, when we found out that the Church is controlled directly by the KGB, we realized the Russians were using the Church to enslave our minds, our words, and our hearts. It is hard even now, when we see this so clearly, to understand the Moscow church’s position is that Russian superiority comes from God. That is why it is so hard to worship right now. I am most afraid that there will be a settlement. No, we must not compromise. We must finish what we started. The only option we have is to win. It’s not a dream—it is an objective: to win back the motherland. This we must do. The Russians won’t stop. They haven’t stopped. Our president has a plan that consists of 10 steps and the final step is Ukraine will become part of NATO. Then we won’t need to be as militarized as Russia. We are only a small country compared to Russia. And those countries that are also small and belong to NATO feel safe. Ukraine is most grateful to America. We feel the support of America and it is really important that America realizes how important your country is to all Ukrainians. ■

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Let me explain.

That was one of the reasons I couldn’t leave Kyiv because he’s like, 17 years old and he doesn’t like being put in a box and when I was carrying him down into the basement, he didn’t like that. My husband tried to trick me into leaving him . . . we were fully dressed, there are sirens, the first minutes of bombing, and we have our backpacks on and he said, “Leave the cat,” and I said, “How can we come back if we’re fully dressed?” and he said, “No, leave him, he’ll be fine,” and I’m like, You’re trying to trick me into leaving the cat!” But he understood and we stayed. It was really hard to come to terms with this idea that this (the Russian invasion) has actually happened. I remember that about a month before the 24 February, everybody was talking about it and wondering when Russia was going to strike, and I was the one, actually, who was not believing. No! Putin is not a fool, he is not that crazy, but there were back-and-forth talks, and sure enough, we were all very naïve and believed that he would not have the nerve to invade, that war would happen. I would say that we were very much asleep all that time and it wasn’t only for the past eight years since they first invaded. The whole world, the whole humanity, we kind of got comfortable with the idea that we lived in the 21st century and those who lived through the First World War, the Second World War, they have passed away now, and we don’t see those people anymore and we don’t hear their stories, and we kind of like started to forget. The memories and the horrors of war started to fade so, as humanity, we had lost this feeling that this could happen again. That’s what tyranny does. They wait for people to get comfortable and his (Putin’s) idea was that no one would even care or notice and that he could get away with anything. So I think this idea of being not punished and getting away with anything for all these years and we look after World War 2 and we talk about the Germans… they, at least, kind of like, you know, accepted what they’d done and maybe did some healing but not Russians—they were living with the idea that “We are the winners, we are the ones that brought victory to the world” and (they) got too proud about it and they didn’t reconcile with their own history and with their own past—so they decided just to repeat it. Women working? I would say that for Ukraine it has always been the case of working women and that is because we were oppressed throughout our history. We have (always) been fighting for freedom and country. Usually, men go to war and women stay back because they have families to raise and everybody else to care for and women also go to work so when you go back in history, we kind of see these periods when men are gone and women are back at work and as funny as it may sound, women have more rights in Ukraine. I know many women in the Western world who are fighting for their rights for equality but for Ukraine it was never the

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case because our men were away fighting in the first place, so we were given the rights and the obligations of the men in the family in addition to our responsibilities as the women in the family. How did I feel when Kyiv was invaded? I would say that my first reaction, like, the only day I cried—that was the first day, the first hours—I wasn’t really crying tears of sorrow or despair, it was just out of shock. I remember we walked out of my house, and we were kind of searching for a place where we could hide because again, nobody was prepared for the invasion, so nobody knew where to go. And I’m walking across the street, just wandering around with so many other people, and just tears are flowing, and people came up to me and said, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.” And I’m like, “I’m not worried. I’m fine!” “But like, your face is flooded with tears!” And I’m like, “Yeah, but that’s not it—I’m in shock!” In the next two or three hours, I got this job—but it’s not a job, it’s a volunteer thing. I saw that people started getting together and arranging stuff very quickly, like, “What do we do? Do we volunteer? Do we evacuate? Do we start a new channel? So, I and some other people very soon understood that people should know the truth firsthand, and we started this channel called UKRAINE NOW, and we started in all possible languages, like Ukrainian, English, Spanish, German, etc., so the news was flooding every minute through the UK news channel. There was someone needed to translate from Ukrainian, first in English and later in other languages, and I was, like, “That’s me, I’m going to do that!” So, I took on this volunteer job probably in the first four or five hours after the invasion and what happened was, it became my saving point. I was glued to my phone so my job was that every minute there was some news, I would translate it and post it back to the English station. So, it was literally like that—like, there was an air siren and everyone was running somewhere, and I am with my phone translating and posting immediately—and that lasted for the next three or four months. You know, this is the thing: when you find something bigger than yourself, you stick with it. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about myself or saving my life; it was something I was able to contribute. Like, in the first moments, so many people were like, “What can I do?” Me, I don’t have a car and I can’t drive so I couldn’t help people to evacuate for example, or maybe I don’t have some other skills. But I could translate. The bombing didn’t happen immediately. From my window—I live on the ninth floor—I saw a tank riding on the main street. Then we heard some rumors of some Russian combat groups, but they were quickly eradicated by Ukrainian troops. So, in Kyiv, they couldn’t do much. They (Russian troops) were waiting but they couldn’t (move in) because the police and the armed forces were really effective. But 10 km away from Kyiv and from my house,

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IRYNA SUTUGINA —Founder, “English as a Second Language” School in Kyiv

IRYNA I could literally see that two suburbs were completely occupied. Ukrainian Armed Forces had multi-launch systems that launched missiles, so they were flying across the sky every day and every night, 24/7. At first, it was so loud; when you first heard the noise it was very loud and you couldn’t sleep, you couldn’t concentrate. But eventually, you get used to it, and it becomes your white noise. I remember the day the bombs stopped. It fell completely silent. It was so weird. It was way scarier when they stopped and that was because Kyiv was being liberated. That was the beginning of April. You can imagine that for one month and a half, you lived with the sound of bombing and then the bombs stopped. That moment was scariest. It was like, what happened? Like, we kind of knew but we didn’t know, and because soldiers were standing in the streets. There is a big mall and Russians were targeting it so Ukrainian soldiers were shooting one way and the Russians were shooting the other and bullets were flying back and forth. Was I afraid to die? At that point, I already accepted my fate and I kind of had this feeling that it is what it is, and you’ve got to do what you got to do while you still can—and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. I am at peace with this. But here is the thing: I don’t judge anyone because everyone has their own story. I had an English school to run. I have 163 women of different ages and one of the first things they were asking is, “What should we do?” Should we go or should we stay?” I think that is a personal decision everyone has to make for themselves. Some people left, some people stayed, like my close friends and colleagues who help me to run the school. They stayed and while I was doing the translations, they were doing the volunteer work such as cooking food, helping the elderly, etc. Yes, I was often asked why I didn’t leave. There were several reasons. First of all, I didn’t want to take up someone else’s place who would benefit (from leaving) because there were a lot of women with children and if you look back at the photos and saw how people evacuated with children, for many, many hours they had no food and no sleep. I didn’t feel worthy of taking up a place, on the one hand, on the other hand, I thought I could be more useful if I stayed and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to somehow contribute to Ukraine’s victory even though, at that point, we didn’t know if we would win. I wanted to do whatever I could to somehow interfere with Russia’s victory. I was even ready to get in a street fight if need be. But I knew I could be useful as a translator and help broadcast the truth. My husband is right by my side. First, everybody who felt like getting into the military started to find ways to get involved. My husband went with his friends to enlist in the volunteer army, but there were questions like, “What do you know? What can you do? My husband is a programmer, an IT person, and he had no weapon training. At that time, our Minister of Digital Information needed to protect cybersecurity from Russian infiltration because they were severely attacking our infrastructure and trying to put

down our banking system and shut down the economy. So, there was a big need for IT people who could program cyberattacks on Russian cybersecurity and my husband was one of a bunch of volunteers who joined the IT Army of the Ukraine. I like to say my husband was throwing food in me and taking care of me because many people left and at one point there was almost no food left, and there was no petrol left, and all sorts of stuff, and we were not allowed to leave our homes, so you had to prepare for three or more days at a time. My husband would go find food supplies while I was on my phone translating reports into English. Actually, my eyesight was 20/20 before the war and right now, I can barely see someone sitting in front of me because 24/7, day and night, all I did was work and when my husband wasn’t working, he was taking care of me and our 17-year-old cat. The beginning? That was a strange time. February 24, 2022, was actually so surreal because if you think of it, at first Russia didn’t attack our infrastructure. Why? Even after people began to leave, in Kyiv we still had hot water, electricity, internet was flying, I was happiest! There was no one in our apartment building except for an elderly man on the 7th floor and a lady across the hall. At night, my husband and I would go outside just to breathe some fresh air, and everything was completely black. Maybe you’d see a light on in one window across the street and we would say, “Oh, look! There is someone there!” Why didn’t the Russians bomb our infrastructure at first? They believed they would come and take over Kyiv in three days— so why would they destroy our infrastructure? They needed it for themselves. But by the 10th of October, that’s when things suddenly changed. The Russians came to this understanding that they probably were not going to win anytime soon, so they got really angry, and they started to bomb the infrastructure, just to destroy everything and to make our lives impossible. First, there were blackouts—24 hours, 36 hours, 48 hours . . . At first, it wasn’t that bad to stay warm because it was autumn. Then, when it was wintertime, of course, (we wore) socks, blankets, everything, and we would walk around, you know, just to stay warm. My husband and I would go out and walk—you walk out and then you come back. It was actually a fun time, in a strange way. People got creative. They started to make handmade hand warmers with candles. I was actually lucky because my apartment has gas, so we at least had gas to cook food. My closest friend doesn’t have gas— she has an electric stove—and one time I asked her, “What are you doing?” and she said, “I am making pastry,” and I asked why, and she said, “Right now I have two hours of electricity and I need to cook so we have enough food to eat for the next three days.” It is important to understand that even within Kyiv, we had different experiences because our apartments are different, scheduling was different, it was also a fun time because

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everyone was texting, “Do you have electricity? Can I come over? Do you have hot water?” So, like, everybody got very creative just visiting family and friends. We have one spot in my office at our school where there is always electricity—I don’t know why—so everybody gets together there. When the cell towers go down and we can’t call or text or anything and there is no internet, that’s actually the worst because you are left completely in the dark—completely in the dark and literally in the dark—and you don’t know what’s happening to your friends and family; it’s horrible. So, we had this agreement that if something happens, if there’s a blackout, just meet there, just get there, like do something, walk, just get there we’ll meet at my office, the school and we’ll decide what to do then. In the first hours, weeks, and months of the invasion, there were no foreign friends and, like, our guys—if somebody was called into the Army we had to supply them with everything ourselves: we had to find where to buy the armor, where to buy the vests, the helmets, to raise money for that, and so many women started just to supply their husbands, their sons, their brothers, and then went on to become volunteers to supply the entire platoon or battalion, just to keep doing that. I would say every woman who stayed—and even those who didn’t—they did some work and sacrificed. Some, of course, didn’t want to leave but they had to leave because of the children. I don’t have children and I don’t know what it is like. I think that if I had, I probably would act differently because you are responsible for someone who cannot make decisions on their own, so it’s not like, I want to stay, I want to go—it’s not like that—but there are so many women that stayed because they knew this was the right thing to do. They had to be this backbone for the country. It’s very hard to predict what will happen when you just don’t know, but on terms of a global scale, when you let the enemy take a piece of your land and they conquer it, the consequences are huge. Hopefully, we will push the Russians back and we will win. Definitely, there is no doubt about that, that we will win— but the question is at what cost? We just need to look at history. The same happened after World War II when women had to take on so many roles and responsibilities which had to be filled in after the war and this is very painful because the best of us actually died in this horrific war, and I don’t know who we are going to be left with. There is one phrase that I heard that struck me at the time…it sounds a little bit harsh, but if you think about it, it is actually true. It goes like this: if you think of that, we are the descendants of the worst. Because the best of us, they perished. They were the ones who enlisted, they were the ones who stood up first, and unfortunately…we shouldn’t be idealizing everybody…like, everybody is so good? No, not everybody. Not every Ukrainian is the best, the bravest, the smartest, brightest. So, it’s like, the best of us—and this is apocalyptic . . . this is apocalyptic. Because every street and every building can be rebuilt. But those people you cannot replace. My family members are safe, as safe as we can be in Kyiv, because none of us ever left, we always stayed here. Actually, one of my students—her name is Evgenia—she is a great example. All her life she has been a businesswoman, has had a career, and 10-year-old daughter, but she was always interested in weapons. Her father was in the military, and he trained her, and she had some weapons at home so on the first day of the invasion, she sent her mother and daughter to safety, bought food to help everyone she could, took her weapons, and signed up for the military. She became a sniper. She served during spring and summer. In the military she met her now husband, and in September, October, we all found out she was pregnant. Less than a month ago, she gave birth. Now she is here in Kyiv as a stay-at-home mom with a kid and her husband is back in the military and she is back telling her

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story of being a woman in the Army, her love story, but also war stories. I wouldn’t know for sure if she was on the frontline, but she was definitely in some hot spots until she got pregnant. I can very quickly tell you maybe you, will get something out of it, as I said I’m one of the executives of the English as a Second Language School. We have, like, maybe five boys. All the others are women and girls, mostly ages 18, 25, 30, so very young. So, for us that was a point of concern. We have 3,000 online students and we have obligations to them so on March 17, we actually decided to restart the online program, even though we were under occupation and the bombs are flying. The reason is, I have a very strong female team so my salesperson—she is crazy, I love her, she is amazing—she stayed in Kyiv with her husband. My other executive woman, she actually lives on the outskirts of the city, close to the airport, which was bombed, and it was horrible. On March 17, she’s there at home, we’re here, texting, “Did you hear that?” That’s when we decided to restart the online English program, to be able to maintain, to help our people to be busy, to learn while taking care of someone else. We make sure everyone is safe. We have a few colleagues we can’t get hold of because they are under Russian occupation and that is the worst thing, not knowing where people are. At first, we didn’t know how people would react if people would join a Zoom call, but the response was amazing. “Oh my God,” they all said, “you guys are going to restart? Oh, yeah! Sure! I’m in!” Eighty percent were able to restart their education and they were so happy, grateful. We have so many stories of students during blackouts. They would tell us, “I’m going to go to this café with my candle to mobile internet.” We had students in the trenches and sometimes we would get a text saying, “I am sorry, Teacher, I cannot be on Zoom today I am going on a mission.” Others would text us, “You people are amazing. You have raised the spirit of the people and now people can come together online and help each other.” One of the things I hear the most is, “Thank you for being this stable point that we all can go to and feel normal again. I feel normal now because of you.” Sometimes we see our students are in difficult circumstances, maybe some of them are traumatized, and I discuss with my instructors, how are we going to handle this? So, if a student is sad about something or something has triggered her, we are prepared up front to offer help. About war. We as a humanity should be way over war. It’s unacceptable that we have AI, rockets flying to space, and then these horrific, barbaric actions being taken at the same time. I thought we were way over war, that nations should handle business differently. The thing is, we are above war, and no one should ever think about getting into this messy, horrible business of killing. Because as humans, we are better than that. Even animals don’t do the horrible things Russians do. That is the lesson. We shouldn’t get too comfortable. We shouldn’t be trying to play with a tyrant. It never worked, and it never works. Tyrants should be eradicated from the face of the earth. I don’t want the world to view Ukraine as weak or like a victim, or that we are asking for charity. If Ukraine falls—if Russia does not stop (and it will not stop . . . next could be Holland, it could be Moldova, Latvia) because this is what Russia wants. They want power over all the world. We in Ukraine are fighting for all of us, for all in Europe to be able to live in peace and not to endure those horrific things which we have to endure. In some countries, some politicians ask, “Why should we (help Ukraine.) Because if you don’t help Ukraine today, tomorrow you may have to send your own son, or your father, or your brother, and I don’t wish that for anyone. So, I think this is not just Ukraine’s war against Russia. This is a war of good against everything barbaric and evil. These times should not be existing in the 21st century—and we Ukrainians will be the ones to put an end to it. ■

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HANNA VASHCHELKO—Frontline Medic / Parachute Instructor

HANNA Outside the window of Hanna’s apartment shows normal life in Kyiv as though nothing unusual was going on. Hanna understands English and sometimes speaks in English, but the interview is conducted largely through the translator in Ukrainian. The translator speaks very softly. And so does Hanna, at the beginning.

name is Hanna Vashchelko. Thank you for your support from your country. My definition of war? War is full of pain. Although it brings out the worst in people, it also brings out the best in people. The path we (Ukraine) are on will definitely lead to the victory of us, but when we win it’s not going to be a celebration, it’s never going to be a happy day—it’s going to be a victory, yes, but it will also be a painful day full of tears. I have lost people, yes—two of the people I was training in my former life as a parachute jumping instructor—died defending our native city of Kyiv. What advice I would give my child? I would say, “Dear son, never give in to people who want to hurt you. Be brave and honest to your heart, to your country, to your family.” There was a guy who was twenty years old who had enlisted as a volunteer, and he was shot. He was so young and was brave enough to joke about his injuries, but he didn’t make it. His eyes will haunt me forever because he was so young; and yet, even with his injuries he was willing to return to the frontlines to fight, he wanted to go back. His eyes will haunt me forever. Yes, I hope I will be able to live a normal life after the war. It’s very hard for me, but I try to be a mother and to be a strong woman. I try to find a balance. I don’t know. . . . I try really hard to find this softness inside me and it is never easy because war leaves scars. Sometimes I feel I am being too tough on my (10-year-old) child when I should be nice and sweet, but I can’t let myself 100% go because if I do, I don’t think I will be able to ever pull myself back together. I try to not “man up” and still stay nice and sweet, etc., but this is war, and you have to be determined, you have to be brave. Yes, as a medic, I have to block my emotions when I take care of my patients. I can say that I can’t completely turn off my emotions

when I am treating a patient, but I can turn them on fully when a life-and-death situation is eliminated. If a person is conscious, I try to talk to them to learn more about them and their personal details so there is something they can fight for, to stay alive for. This is how I help them to survive. At the moment, they need to fight for their own lives, and I believe our brain can heal from within. I myself don’t have a war story. I do know of some stories of people who have died. I want you to know that I worked in the frontline hospitals where soldiers who were severely injured are first taken, and once they are stabilized, they are shipped out—oftentimes it’s in one hour, two hours—and after they are shipped out, I don’t know whether they make it or not. If I were to ask God one question it would be (takes time to think) “When will Putin die?” I know it sounds ridiculous but that’s the first thing that came to my mind. . . Sometimes I wonder if God is here. God is love and everything that is happening around us has no love. Originally, I worked for a TV station, and we were filming extreme sports, so that is how I decided to train as a parachute jumper and ended up having two professions, as a parachute jumping instructor and as a medic. Jumping out of a plane and being on the frontline...I suppose you can say those are different types of excitements. Parachute jumping...you are all excited and happy. Not so on the frontlines of war. So, it’s a different thing. I wouldn’t say these two things are connected somehow, but being a parachute jumper has taught me to make decisions fast, and to be organized. It is a very algorithmic sport and so all these procedures, all these skills, have helped me to adapt very quickly. Being a medic also has algorithmic actions and decisions that must be made quickly and that helped me. You know, I never thought I was unique or unusual because I tend to minimize my skills and abilities...but, yes, I do believe having these skills has set me apart from other women. Where will Ukraine be in five years? I hope our country will retain our land within the borders that were established in 1981, and hopefully be in the European Union. To my son and the children of his generation, I would say: Never, ever be afraid of anything. Dream of more things you can ever imagine. If you are dedicated, you will be able to realize your dreams. ■

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YULIA BONDARENKO—Resident of Kyiv

YULIA I wish

I could forget everything that has happened. Whenever I remember, I am sad. When the Russians came into my city, I was at home. It was approximately 4 o’clock in the morning when my boyfriend woke me and said, “It’s begun.” I didn’t understand, so I went to the window and there was shooting on the street. Even at that moment, there were soldiers fighting already under my window and I couldn’t believe this was happening. “How could this be? I thought.” I thought, should I call my parents or not? Do my parents know it has begun? We had to vacate our apartment and we went underground to the bunker and lived there for a week. Then my boyfriend said we had to leave the city, but I didn’t want to leave my parents, so I went to my parents’ house in the south, on the border, and my boyfriend went to his parents’ house. I got there by bus and was happy to be together with them. My parents live 40 km from the frontlines. First, after I got there, there were air strikes and then for two days bombing—it was frightening, it didn’t stop. One morning I told my parents we had to leave—and we walked away. Happily, their car still worked, and we drove to my boyfriend’s parents’ house in central Ukraine and stayed there for a month.

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My own home was occupied and bombed and of course, the Russians stole everything. I really wanted to go back to my apartment but there is no water, food, or electricity and it would be too hard for me, and very traumatic. But I shouldn’t complain. I want people to understand what is going on in Ukraine affects the world and people should not consider their own interests only. In the end, war impacts everyone. And when it does, it doesn’t matter how long you hide. The horror comes after you. I have a lot of fears and that is stressful— for example, I don’t have enough food for my cat, and I am always afraid for my parents. I hope and believe that Ukrainian forces will achieve victory and drive the Russians away. Though I don’t have children, I believe children shouldn’t see war. It is not for their eyes. It is too frightening. I advise women with children to stay safe because children are our biggest treasure. We all have to stay safe. We all have to do something to bring victory closer so that peace will prevail. I would tell Ukrainian people to pass on any information they have. Learn the language. I myself speak a dialect that is half-Ukrainian and half-Russian. I only learned to speak Ukrainian last year. Language is a weapon. ■

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I FEAR HOW THE RECOVERY WILL BE AFTER THE FIGHTING IS OVER. BUT I FEAR FOR THE SOLDIERS WHO MIGHT BE CAPTURED ON RUSSIAN SOIL. AS A WOMAN, I HAVE NO FEAR FOR MYSELF. ALISA SAZONOVA—Administrator of a Facility That Prepares Meals for the Frontlines

ALISA

became a chef 10 years ago. Three years ago, six men were assisting me cooking. After the Russians invaded, there were no men. That changed my job. We need to cook healthy food. We provide all the food and food plans for the military and special operations. We were the first one in Ukraine to become endorsed as a World Central Kitchen. We have the support of a foundation that provides us with food, goods, and supplies. I am sure we will win but I fear how the recovery will be after the fighting is over. But I fear for the soldiers who might be captured on Russian soil. As a woman, I have no fear for myself. There was a missile strike here and windows were broken, and it

was frightening—but I continued to cook and do my job. Ukraine is an ancient country. We have a great and long history. We are not Russian. We never were. We must never forget about our past. What is happening to Ukraine makes no sense. Here in our kitchens, we have a division that provides meals and a division that provides snacks. As you see, we are making Goulash, which is a Hungarian dish. Ukraine and Hungary share many of the same foods. We have a lot of support from a Polish foundation and Polish people who donate to us. We feed a unit of 50 up to a battalion of 450, at any time. The problem is always with logistics. ■

OLENA STRELTSOVA—A Ukrainian Jew

OLENA

y M

name is Olena. I see no hope for peace until the situation with Russia no longer exists in the world. Actually, Jewish people in the Ukraine have great support here. Since the beginning of the invasion, Jewish people also had the right to leave the country and there were several places immediately made available to them. This being said, the Ukrainian government has tried to help all people in general, not just Jews. Jews are caring about their own kind, of course, but despite misinformation that was spread, we live in harmony with Ukrainians of all faiths. However, I will say that Jews are not compatible with Russians, and Russians understand that Jewish people are a force to be reckoned with. Jews have a deeper understanding, perhaps, of war and are more prepared than Ukrainians because of our past, and what we as Jews went through in World War II. I definitely knew something was coming but I was unprepared. Then I saw the tanks coming. My husband called me to the window, and I watched the tanks entering the city for six hours straight. Then there was a missile strike across the street—we saw it, we heard, but still I thought it was something else, it could not be happening to us. It was a regular work day, and I was obsessed with getting to work, I had meetings planned—I am a hard and dedicated worker and time is tight—and I was worried if I didn’t maintain my schedule, the work would not be done. [But then, of course, no one went to work that day and for many days after that.] Actually, the gravity of the situation dawned upon us very quickly. The house across the street was on fire, there were military vehicles on the highway that goes to the airport, and I saw a lot of civilians coming into the streets trying

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to find out from the soldiers what was going on. Soldiers told them the Russians had invaded and that they should be organized and ready to go to shelters and bunkers. That we should have enough food for several days, medicines, water, clothes, and our legal papers and documents. It surprised me that the citizens didn’t take long to form small groups within their communities. They provided for the people in the bunkers, bringing beds and benches, places for children to sleep, even beds for their dogs, to make it as comfortable as possible. What was really amazing was the government began channeling information through social media informing us of the situation about 15 minutes after the start of the invasion. The traffic jams were awful because parents of infants and small children were seeking safety but for the most part, everyone tried to get back to normal after the first shock passed. All stores and pharmacies were open. If you called an ambulance, it arrived. I had an attack of high blood pressure and thought I was having a stroke, so I was taken to the hospital. Yes, I was concerned the Russians would bomb the hospital. Where the Russians entered towns and cities all communications were lost. Friends, relatives, and people who I knew, stopped communicating. People were not allowed to go out onto the streets. We had to stay in our homes. Some people just disappeared, and soldiers were sent out to find them. Some who were taken were tied by the hands and feet and tortured. Their eyes were cut out. In those first days, in one village the entire family of the head of the village were publicly executed. In some places, bodies were found buried deep in the ground showing signs of torture. I know of one woman who refused to cooperate with the Russians. She was old and couldn’t resist physically, so when

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she told them she would not do what they asked, she was tortured and killed. All my relatives are safe for now. Some close friends of mine who lived in one of the occupied territories, we just don’t know what’s happened to them—there’s no communication. I pray they are alive. All my close friends and relatives are Jews. I am the youngest in my family. I know a community of Jews who have lived in the Ukraine for centuries and refuse to leave because this is their homeland, this is where their ancestors are buried. Fortunately, their town is in the central part of the country, far from the border, where they are in less danger. The world should know how many lives, property, dreams, and wishes have been killed. People need to understand it is nonsense to have such behavior in the 21st century. But maybe it is impossible for people to understand unless they see it with their own eyes. Those who survive suffer from the trauma of what they have been subjected to, but I speak for Jewish people when I say we are strong, we are clever, and acts of aggression and war haven’t stopped us before. Even I, who have no military background or training, am ready to fight if I am called to fight. Just like the horrors and atrocities of World War II cause us, even now, to be enraged and angry, the destruction we are suffering at the hands of Russia enrage and anger us today. But we stick together. That is our power. We are in a permanent position of readiness to be involved in battle. There is no time to be soft and weak. No Ukrainian ever uses the word ‘defeat!’ Can’t you see we are going to win? But we need modern equipment to be really efficient. Yes, I am married. I am a mother. My husband is an

engineer and is needed here, in Kyiv, and my son is also working. At this moment, I see no other option but for us to leave Ukraine for Israel and make a life there. It’s funny, but till now I have never been to Israel; I am the only one in my family who has not. I was always too busy doing my job. But now, I think that is where my family and I will go. I really want to see the place where my family came from, and where my family should be. It will be very useful to find my roots. I have had this call inside me for 20 years, but I realize now it is time. Maybe it should have been a little earlier. You (Americans) need to be more interested in our situation and show more compassion. It seems people outside Ukraine are barely informed. They should take what Russia is doing as a huge lesson and understand how bloody war is. Look at the previous countries Russia invaded! In a way, this is a huge gift because it allows us to be prepared and informed and ready to understand in the end what horror Russia is. The world hasn’t reacted properly to resolve what’s going on. The first thing after war is over is a huge and immediate need for a trial for those Russians who are responsible for the casualties and deaths. It is critical that humanity resolve this, as soon as the aggression is over, because it can’t be allowed that the world let Russia go without punishment. We must be passionate about stopping war. This is not just about Ukraine. The world needs to understand that Russia won’t stop. Russia’s commitment to take over the world is overwhelming. As I see it, America is at the forefront of international involvement. America knows what is to defend the rights and freedom of individuals and the nation. We in Ukraine are trying but unfortunately, we are like a small child: if a child isn’t taught how to grow up, he can’t become an adult. ■

SOME PEOPLE JUST DISAPPEARED, AND SOLDIERS WERE SENT OUT TO FIND THEM. SOME WHO WERE TAKEN WERE TIED BY THE HANDS AND FEET AND TORTURED. THEIR EYES WERE CUT OUT. IN THOSE FIRST DAYS, IN ONE VILLAGE THE ENTIRE FAMILY OF THE HEAD OF THE VILLAGE WERE PUBLICLY EXECUTED.

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NATALYA RESNICK—Frontline Supply Coordinator

NATALYA

y name is Natalya Resnick. I have lived in Kyiv for seven years. I have a position of responsibility in the war and usually work six days a week. It is hard and often difficult work, but I have yet to encounter anything that I can consider an obstacle. This is work, this is an invasion, when your country is invaded you have to do whatever is necessary to persevere. My job is to get medical supplies to the medical teams on the frontlines so they can stabilize the wounded before transporting them to the hospitals. It is also my responsibility to teach medical support personnel how to use the equipment and to also prepare some volunteers to become instructors. Last and perhaps most important is logistics; I document how people are recovering, issue the paperwork from the time they are transferred to the hospital until they can, if they are able, go back into action. I have to divide my time between working directly with people and doing paperwork. As a nurse in Special Ops, I would deal with 10 or more people per day, but when it comes to paperwork, I am the last one in the chain of command for doctors to sign off—and of course, that’s huge. I can’t count how many requests I have to process. As I see it, the only way to stop Russia is for nations to work together to shut down the Russian economy, their internet, communications to disable the Russian military so they can never harm anyone again. I don’t know if it’s possible but, in my dreams—yes. Russia must take responsibility for all acts of aggression they have committed in all countries they have invaded. Russia should be held accountable not just since the Russian Federation was formed in 1991, but since the moment Russia first came into existence, in the ninth century. You may not know that the Russian Constitution has two names—the Russian Federation and Russia and that means when Russia’s constitution was written, they acknowledged their existence from the founding of the Russian Empire so they consider they own all this land from the beginning, and that includes Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and all the countries and regions Russia has invaded in its long history. We are a very small unit, and it is our job to distribute the supplies to the medics on the frontlines as soon as they come in. Generally, a container shipload will come in every month. In wartime, it’s not just about casualties and the loss of lives but material losses, as well—hospitals that are bombed, warehouses

that burn down, unreliable equipment—because the loss of our assets and infrastructure creates difficulties and complications. Also, we are not allowed to use supplies that are not provided directly through our medical system. For example, we cannot use tourniquets that are not approved. Tourniquets are provided by only two producers. We don’t use Chinese-made tourniquets, for example, or any medical supplies that are made in China. Why is it important for America to understand what is happening here in Ukraine? Of course, this is just my opinion, but you can’t disagree that Russia is not just a Ukrainian problem. Even when I was a little girl studying at history at school, the teachers told us that geographically, Ukraine would be the center of a world war against Russia. So, yes—the war continues here because of the geography. Truly, this war is not just between Russia and Ukraine. It is a much bigger threat and has the potential to escalate into a world war. Right now, in general, our focus is to treat a wounded soldier and help him regain his health and ability to function, but that is just a small part of the overall support they will need in the long run. I am really aware the physiological impact of war will have on our soldiers—and on all Ukrainians—and it will be huge. We will really need help because when the war is over, our priority will be to support all people and help them deal with their feelings so they can transition from war back to real life. And that will be a problem. While the courses I took really helped me, the practical skills I gathered came from firsthand experience as a volunteer in the National Guard and as a medic before 2019 in Mariupol. Those days do not compare with what’s going on today, of course, but it did prepare me for many of the things I do now. I know how the chain of command works. I know the discipline required to manage people and supplies. I actually have four certifications in higher education: as a medic, in family medicine, some diagnostics, and in the organization of management of healthcare. I served as a medic in a brigade, and in my civilian life, I worked in a medical hospital and two clinics before I was mobilized. There were many changes made after Russia invaded that allowed women to serve in all units, full-time. When I volunteered, I was able to choose the unit I wished to serve in. There are times I wish I had more than six hours of sleep every night and more than just a day a week to myself. But I will continue to do my job until the war ends— and even then, I will only leave when I am not needed anymore. ■

IRYNA ZHIAKOR—Computer Software Developer

IRYNA

learned a lot of history. I knew about the Second World War. I learned from books, and I also learned about the wars that happened in Ukraine throughout the centuries. Although conflicts from long ago are out of memory, that is not the case with the Second World War. I think everyone, every Ukrainian has had someone in their family die in the Second World War. But that was 78 years ago. How can it happen again, you wonder, because it’s not possible. After all, today there is all this technology. We live in a modern society. We have culture and amenities, we use public transportation and communicate with one another easily by cellphone, Email, and social media. We continue to explore outer space! So, it’s stupid to think we should continue to have wars and kill one another. We are beyond that, right? Obviously, we are not. And to what purpose? What’s the sense of it? To what is the benefit? Ukrainians are joyful people. We rejoiced in our freedoms. We rejoiced in our accomplishments. We rejoiced in our culture. When we were invaded by Russia, we were robbed of our joy. The atrocities that have been committed against civilians, especially against women and children, I don’t think I need to describe just how twisted and evil the things that the Russians have done to so many of the helpless have been. This is genocide. These are war criminals. These Russian soldiers are evil people and have no honor. How could an honorable person commit such crimes? But they do. It’s actually very frightening to even talk about it, the ways the Russians have physically and mentally wounded their captives. It is too horrible. They shoot people who are riding in their cars, shoot people from their tanks, shoot at the side of the road and some blow up people with their machine guns and artillery. They commit such terrible atrocities as I thought could never happen in our country—or anywhere, for that matter. I remember seeing young people—eighteen- and twenty years old—dead, with bullet holes in their hats. On Christmas Day, I held a child in my arms who had just lost his mom because a Russian missile came through the wall of their building and killed her as she was in the kitchen cooking Christmas dinner. Her son and husband were in the other room, and they were not harmed. But can you imagine? Can you imagine the shock and the grief ? And what

was she killed for? And on Christmas Day? These are people who cannot defend themselves! And yet the Russians, they do not care. There are apartment buildings that were bombed and collapsed on top of the children and these little ones have lost limbs and will live out their lives as amputees. For what reason? It’s just heartbreaking. Ukrainians are overwhelmed by feelings of injustice. And because of these feelings, we help our neighbors in any way we can. There is a monument in Kyiv of a woman holding a sword and shield. It was created by a Ukrainian sculptor at a time when Ukraine was under Soviet control. The statue is facing East. This is very interesting, very symbolic . . . because this valiant woman symbolizes the Motherland and she is facing the East: she is facing Russia, and she is defending her country with sword and shield from Russia. She epitomizes courage. We women can have different roles in the defense of our country and when we do, it is like we are holding a sword and shield against the enemy because we must be courageous. When our lives are being threatened as they are right now, we stand up and defend our families and the Motherland. All Ukrainian women are warriors. We stand up, we defend, we maintain our courage and we stay in hope. Yes, Ukraine needs to remain strong. We are not the first generation to protect our Motherland. For so many centuries our people have had to fight for our freedom and liberty. Our strength today comes from generations before us who faced similar circumstances and struggled and experienced so much pain and hardship. Just as we did against the Nazis in World War 2, the Bolsheviks at the time of the Russian Revolution, and it was up to women to sustain their country, their families, and their homes. These women have passed their strength down through the generations to us today, from mother to daughter. People can change things. I have had conversations with some Americans, and they say, “Oh, but we can’t do anything.” And I say, “What do you mean you can’t do anything? You, as a human being, can do something. And what you do to help can change a lot. So, I think I would say to the world, if we want to survive as a humanity, we cannot continue to fight each other, kill, and continue to militarize countries against one another. Because if we continue to do this, there will be no humanity. There will be no world. ■

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PHOTOGRAPH BY MASTER1305 / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

When life sucks BY CORA WALDEN

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takes a brave woman to enter the military—braver still, knowing a military career and dealing daily with the reality of war and its ramifications must come ahead of family. The power of one’s conviction must be absolute—as Colonel Sheri Biggs has proven in her long career. Soldiers who have died in the line of duty have paid the ultimate price, but those who are wounded or crippled must find the courage to cope with living the rest of their lives with physical and mental challenges. “For those of us in the medical profession who proudly serve and care for our veterans, we face a great challenge, as well, and that is to identify and treat the often-misunderstood soldier who has sustained mental illness. Mental illness is an injury you cannot see, or bandage, or operate on, but it is nonetheless as raw and painful as any bodily injury—call it “shrapnel to the soul,” Colonel Biggs explains. “Its extent is impossible to measure, and its projected healing time is impossible to estimate. This particularly applies to PTSD, which must be endured and treated with as much care and diligence as a physical wound or an amputation. With proper help, the majority of veterans will succeed at their most important mission, and that is to accept their situation for what it is and engage in the many life-changing resources available to veterans to help them through the healing process to secure a full and rewarding future.” Colonel Biggs always knew she wanted to work in the healthcare field, Growing up in a small town in Mississippi where everyone knew everyone, she realized how important close social interaction is, and how this support can lend itself to an easier, more fulfilling path in interacting with patients—and, ultimately for Colonel Biggs, among injured veterans. In 1996, she served as a staff nurse at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko when it first opened, and became the Assistant Director of Nursing, then the Director of Nursing. She obtained her Nursing Home Administrator’s License. She served as coordinator of all four facilities in the State Veterans Homes System, in Collins, Jackson, and Oxford, which cares for and assists more than 600 veterans. This led to her achieving a doctorate in mental health. In addition, Colonel Biggs has written the introduction to the book, ROOTS OF MILITARY SCIENCE: Understanding the Intersection of Conflict, Mental Health, and Wellness, by Dr. Christina Rahm, which explores the physical and mental ramifications of conflict against an historical outline of warfare down through the ages and how to achieve mental and physical wellness when faced with personal infliction and challenges in times of war. “I personally feel a deep and abiding fulfillment in providing mental health care to veterans and first responders. My greatest gratification is when a veteran who comes to us with PTSD or other mental issues overcomes his feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and vulnerability, turns the corner, and embarks upon the road to recovery and a new and brighter life. I regularly see the healing process at work in the camaraderie among veterans, whether they are residents in a VA hospital or outpatients, in the Air Force or Army, in the way they relate to one another’s stories, share experiences, and support one another in ways that make them realize they are not alone.” Colone Biggs believes one element of healing that a victim of war cannot ignore is the spiritual aspect. This is an important part of her identity, which was confirmed after she completed an assessment of her leadership qualities in the U.S. Air Force and it was determined that her strongest quality was a ‘spiritual gift of mercy.’ It is not widely acknowledged that mercy is indeed a tangible trait and that individuals who exhibit mercy are blessed with true empathy. However, when you consider the trials and tribulations our injured soldiers must go through to rebuild their lives, empathy, and mercy are the best medicines anyone can offer them. “Among many things, being merciful allows you to understand the underlying factors that drive depression and mental illness. A merciful person can engage with individuals who harbor feelings of helplessness, isolation, fear, and anger. When you proclaim hope to those who appear to have lost all

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MENTAL ILLNESS IS AN INJURY YOU CANNOT SEE, OR BANDAGE, OR OPERATE ON, BUT IT IS NONETHELESS AS RAW AND PAINFUL AS ANY BODILY INJURY—CALL IT “SHRAPNEL TO THE SOUL,” hope, it is like giving water in the desert to the thirsty: they become quenched with the desire to live life once more.” Colonel Biggs’ quality of care extends to the spouses of service members affected by PTSD, who are fighting their own battles at home. She meets as frequently with spouses who are dealing with these indirect traumatic events as with the veterans who are facing their own demons. Statistics show that once PTSD enters the relationship, only about three out of ten marriages will survive long-term. “Early intervention for treatment for the family is crucial. After safety considerations have been addressed, there are a variety of psychological modalities that can be initiated,” she points out. “Cognitive-behavioral approaches are the most researched techniques demonstrating efficacy. This may be best accomplished with individual treatment, as well as family intervention.”

hen Life Sucks is involved in a battle of its own: a firm commitment to returning hope to warriors who suffer from depression, anxiety, financial struggles, and family and marital problems as a result of the devastating, first-hand experiences and trauma they have suffered and the lifelong sacrifices they must deal with as veterans. “We have a great appreciation for the service and sacrifices that veterans and families have endured to fight terrorism, preserve freedom, and protect democracy. We know that this has come at a great price, and we want veterans and their family members to know that they have someone in their corner,” the organization proclaims.

The statistics are staggering:

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• Over 2.7 million veterans have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 2.6 million served in Vietnam. • Although mental health professionals think the number is much higher, it has been estimated that 20% of veterans have PTSD and/or Depression, including over 540,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. • 260,000 veterans have been diagnosed with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) • Suicide. “An average of 22 veterans a day die by suicide! This is an astonishing and unacceptable number! I joined the WLS Board after witnessing firsthand the great work being done in local communities with at-risk veterans and their families. We are committed to making a difference,” said SGM J. Mitchell Cole. • Divorce rates are double for veterans with PTSD. Through the generous donations of individuals, corporations, and grants, the WLS Foundation strengthens and supports veterans and their families in their commitment to heal and achieve normal lives. In addition to donations, WLS offers nonclinical services designed to improve veterans’ lives. They have created a community of support, and host outreach events to instill public awareness. If you know a veteran, who exhibits suicidal thoughts, continual sadness, mood swings, loss of energy, fatigue, who is edgy, impatient, anxious; has difficulty sleeping or sleeping all the time, experiences isolation or withdrawal from family, friends, community, and church, faces financial challenges, has impaired sexual function, shows a lack of purpose or self-worth, has lost interest in things he or she previously cared about, or no longer cares about the way they look or feel, we urge you to refer them to When Life Sucks. If you are a veteran facing any of the above-listed symptoms of depression, please reach out to When Life Sucks. “We are here to help,” the organization explains. “People often underestimate or minimize the effects of trauma. It impacts multiple areas of life to include thoughts, emotions, spirituality, physical health, relationships, finances, and job performance. The secondary consequences of trauma are significant and wear down your ability to deal with stress over time. It can leave you feeling trapped, hopeless, anxious, or depressed. You may think that you are too good, professional, or tough to experience what you are going through, but the reality is it has nothing to do with that. It is a lie that prevents recovery and healing.” ■ Editor’s note: For more information on When Life Sucks visit whenlifesucks.org or call (304) 356-8273.

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Nurturing Healing & Hope BY SONIA HENRY

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The KIM Foundation International was founded by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, the Napalm Girl, to help heal the wounds suffered by innocent children and to restore hope and happiness to their lives. COURTESY THE KIM FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL / KIMFOUNDATION.COM

the realm of humanitarian efforts, few organizations have as poignant a backstory as The KIM Foundation International. Founded by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, a living symbol of resilience and forgiveness, The KIM Foundation International embodies the transformative powers of healing and hope. The roots of the foundation extend back to a harrowing moment in 1972 during the Vietnam War, when a nine-year-old Kim Phuc found herself caught in the crossfire of a conflict in the town of Trảng Bàng, where she, and several other children, were severely burned by napalm. Kim’s agony was captured in an iconic photograph by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Nick Ut, who was documenting the horrific aftermath of that napalm attack. The photograph, depicting a naked Kim running from the village and in agony from her burns, was an image that brought the suffering of innocent children in war zones to the public eye and put a face on a conflict that seemed worlds away. Miraculously, Kim survived her injuries, and her long and painful journey toward healing and reconciliation laid the foundation for the organization that now bears her name. According to Nathan Parkinson of The KIM Foundation International, during Kim’s time in the hospital, the doctors and nurses who tended to her injuries inspired her. “She had great appreciation for the compassion she received during her time of need, and she dreamed of becoming like them someday so that she could help others . . . especially children,” he said.

any years later, when she became a mother, recalled Parkinson, “a beautiful picture was taken of her holding her son, Thomas. The more she looked at the picture, the more it moved her as a mother to want to protect her child and all children around the world so that they would not have to suffer as she did. At that moment, she decided to keep her dream alive and The KIM Foundation International was born.

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The KIM Foundation International was officially established in 1997, a testament to Kim’s enduring commitment to peace and her mission to provide solace and support to innocent children who have been scarred by the ravages of war. According to Parkinson, the organization exists to restore hope and happiness to these children’s lives. Kim Phuc’s personal evolution from a victim of war to a global ambassador for peace is the driving force behind the foundation’s ethos.

A Mission of Compassion

At the heart of The KIM Foundation International’s mission is a deep and abiding commitment to compassion and the belief that healing is possible, even in the wake of profound trauma. The organization seeks to provide both medical and psychological support to children who are victims of war and to empower them to overcome their physical and emotional scars so that they can rebuild their lives. However, over the years, the mission has expanded. “The foundation’s focus has always been on helping children,” said Parkinson. “Initial projects were chosen to assist child victims of war, but through the years, Kim’s love for children expanded the mission to assisting children enduring any form of deprivation.” For instance, in Ghana and Uganda, the foundation funded the construction of facilities to improve education and quality of life, including the building of schools, hospitals, and a pregnancy care center. In addition, the foundation was able to fund medical training and supplies. In India, the foundation has been supporting Emmanuel Orphanage which has approximately 80 residents, and a recent project near and dear to Kim was the construction of a library in a remote village in Vietnam that provided children with opportunities to read, access computers, and expand their minds. “The need is great in many places, but especially in the poorest, remote areas following a war,” said Parkinson. “In Vietnam, the war has ended, but the people are poor and the children need education. During wars, we cannot build because everything is a target for destruction; but we can build in the aftermath. We can help with education post-war by funding the construction of schools and libraries, and we also help children suffering from all kinds of deprivation.” Each project taken on by the foundation is meaningful to Kim, not only for the assistance that it provides but also because of the relationships that are formed. According to Parkinson, “each life that is changed by the foundation’s work makes Kim happy” and only deepens her commitment to continuing to care for the most vulnerable in our society.

Kim Phuc—Ambassador for Goodwill and Peace

COURTESY THE KIM FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL / KIMFOUNDATION.COM

One poignant aspect of the foundation’s work is Kim’s commitment to peace and reconciliation. She has served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the past 30 years and has publicly shared her personal story to inspire empathy and understanding in thousands of others. Through her speaking engagements, writing, documentaries, and collaborations with countless other humanitarian organizations, she and The KIM Foundation International have been able to amplify the need for helping children on a global scale. Kim’s religion is one of the bedrocks of her strength—she has spoken many times over the years about how her conversion to Christianity helped her overcome the emotional and spiritual pain of her childhood. However, even though Kim has a strong faith, Parkinson emphasizes that the foundation is based on the mission of helping all children in need. “The KIM Foundation International works with many kinds of organizations,” explained Parkinson, “partnering, for instance with Save the Children to help children in East Timor by building shelters, as well as organizations like Doctors without Borders and Children’s Library International.” Through these partnerships, the foundation’s work can transcend borders and reach into ravaged regions where children are most vulnerable to the devastating consequences of war, poverty, and hunger. Through its work, The KIM Foundation International offers young survivors a chance to break the cycle of poverty, violence, and desperate need. By helping these children, the foundation is empowering these children to become agents of change in their societies. Kim has written that turning “pain into purpose” and “investing . . . in these children . . . provides them with a future… and also contributes to the building of a more compassionate and understanding world.” The foundation stands as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the capacity for healing, forgiveness, and hope. From the ashes of war, Kim Phuc has built an organization that not only mends physical wounds but also nurtures the resilience of young survivors. The foundation’s history, mission, and impactful work underscore the potential for positive change, even in the face of the most profound adversity. As the foundation continues to expand its reach and influence, it remains a beacon of light that symbolizes the transformative power of compassion, and the possibility of a brighter and more peaceful future. To learn more about The KIM Foundation International and its work, or to make a donation to its efforts, visit www.kimfoundation.com. ■

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LYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd unveiled the Winter 2023/24 Holiday & Fashion issue at a private dinner in Aspen on Saturday, combining high society and high altitude. Philanthropist Amy Green graces the latest cover, modeling Chopard’s holiday collection, and has since been named Chopard’s official spokesmodel. The night had all the trappings of a winter wonderland, held at the cozy-yet-exclusive Casa Tua overlooking Aspen Mountain. The intimate evening drew women from all over the world, offering a chance to pause and reconnect during a traditionally busy time of the year. The muted white hues against the mountainous terrain provided a sense of solace, a reminder that the pursuit of peace is among the highest of callings. Hosted by Chopard, Set Jet, and the Green Vision Foundation, the Enchanted Silver Bells holiday dinner featured ice sculptures, a silent auction, and a special guest performance by DJ/producer LP Giobbi. The Rahm Foundation, headed by Dr. Christina Rahm and Clayton Thomas, also made a generous donation to the event. ■

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Top: Scenic Aspen Colorado. • Second row, from left: ELYSIAN Publisher CEO/Founder Karen Floyd and Sarah Smith reveal the cover of the Winter 2023/24 issue; ELYSIAN Winter 2023/24 cover model Amy Green; Dr. Christina Rahm, Amy Green and ELYSIAN Publisher CEO/Founder Karen Floyd. • Third row: Christmas tidings; Karen Floyd; Jeffrey Still with Kimberli Scott Still, David Gorso with Carissa Vandyke. • Fourth row: Courtney Ivy, David Rodgers, Kimberly Johnson and Courtney Hopson; Christiana Purves with Karen Floyd; Amy Green with Erica Pelosini; Ed Bell, Jim Shallbrow and Jeff Steinburg.

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