“One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.” ― Michael J. Fox
It’s time to start writing about some of the Ukrainians who have been inspiring and supporting me. Yes, you heard that right. Even in the midst of the shit show (excuse my French) they are living with, they continue to offer inspiration, insights, and support.
We begin with an illustrator and animal advocate named Tetiana Kopytova. Tetiana has offered to help create illustrations of the Song Flight birds for the kids to color and name. After seeing the Song Flight homepage, she drew a wonderful image of an owl. Needless to say, donations to Song Flight (patreon.com/songflight) will enable us to support the work of Ukrainian artists like Tetiana.
In the video below, I have tried to capture Tetiana’s work since the Russian invasion began in February. It is honest, painful, and brilliant.
But I’d also like to share Tetiana’s words, which speak to me as much if not more than her illustrations. In the paragraphs below, she has captured something fundamental about the Ukrainian spirit - something that not even death can touch.
“Above Ukraine stands a slender choir of words that Facebook bans. Almost 100 rockets. Almost all major cities have no electricity. There are power outages. Thousands of families today will go to bed without a hot dinner or bath. In the mirror, leaders are saying, "we are ready for negotiations." Of course, it is better to force peace through negotiations. That way it will seem more peaceful.
“One hundred rockets could be used against a target to gain a tiny military advantage and prevent the deaths of thousands of people. But no. It is more important to lick your egos - for leaders to get an hour of euphoria with their propaganda garbage.
“Like all of you, I am constantly asked, ‘How do Ukrainians manage to stand so bravely and audaciously in the face of this threat?’ Like all of you, I can't immediately find the words to answer. There are, however, things that you can't understand unless you've been here.
“Every Ukrainian on the planet knows the answer. After fear and grief, when all is lost, dignity becomes the key that keeps us going. Perhaps self-respect or pride would be better words. But dignity seems to be the most accurate to me.
“It's the same as when a Jew, crucified during a pogrom, was asked, ‘Does it hurt?’ He replied, ‘Only when I laugh.’ It’s a feeling that nothing can break. Even a nuclear bomb can’t touch it.
“Although it’s still possible to torture and kill a person with dignity, the truth cannot be denied or buried. The truth is that the torturer is insignificant. A person with dignity is stronger than their enemy, even after death. That awareness is inescapable and unstoppable. Dignity cannot be subdued, and it infuriates our enemies more than anything else.
“So we Ukrainians manage to stand against the threat. In the dark, without heat, food, or the internet. But it only hurts when we laugh.
“We know, you see, that we have already won. You can launch all your rockets at the same time at our heads but we will still have won. We haven't been scared for a very long time.” - Tetiana Kopytova
Two final asks. If you know any artist, musician, or writer you feel would make a great contribution to Song Flight, we’d love to hear from you.
Finally, please spread the word. It’s going to take a global community to get Song Flight up and running.
Thank you and HUGS!
Jena
Song Flight is taking wing, Jena, thanks to your hard work!!
I will retweet tomorrow!!