War, and therefore its inevitable casualities, leaves a deep wound in our collective consciousness. So how ready we are to work with our memory, how ready we are to turn our pain into our strength, has a significant impact on our future.
But the theme of death is deeply tabooed in our society. We do not know how to talk about death at all, and at the same time we desperately need this dialogue. Dialogue and search for meanings, in particular in the process of honoring the dead.
The mission of Arts&Rights is to create a Vision to commemorate the fallen defenders in cooperation with state institutions, experts and the public and to promote the development of systemic policies. It's not about memorial plaques, candles or renaming streets. It is about what conclusions we will draw from the tragic story and where we will go next.
Our society prefers not to talk about death. Few of us know how to solace and support those to whom trouble has come. We are afraid to recognize that death is something that happens to everyone, and we live as if we will never die.
Despite the fact that the theme of death is terribly tabooed, it is also full of stereotypes.Thinking of people who are already incurable by medicine, we usually focus on the pain, suffering, pity behind which our own fear lurks. And very rarely we realize that these stories are also about respect, true strength and love for life.
We, Arts&Rights, address the topic of palliative medicine to show that death can not only be silent, but also spoken candidly. That the palliative diagnosis does not cross a person out of life, but gives him the opportunity to live to the last breath with dignity and love.
The life of an average Ukrainian woman is colorful and not boring. She lives, goes to her favorite job, after – on yoga, periodically meets with friends over a cup of coffee. From some moment she's getting ready to become a mom. For 9 months she walks and tries to follow a healthy lifestyle, imagining cute children's things and imagines herself in a new, yet unfamiliar role. While she dreamily strokes the tummy all these 9 months, her family surrounds her with care and try to fulfill all whims.
But as soon as a woman gets into the maternity ward, the horror begins. Here is another reality, completely unexpected in the XXI century waiting for her: the birth of a new life is accompanied and met by cynical staff, obstetric violence, pain, fear and psychological pressure.
For decades, Ukrainian women silently endured violence in the maternity ward and talked about it only in their kitchen. But times have changed radically. Today, women are starting to change Ukrainian realities so that their daughters get a chance for another experience. And this is no longer a private conversation between friends: it is a large initiative of like-minded people across the country.
"Schoolgirls brutally beat a girl", "shocking video of bullying of a teenager", "parents accused a teacher of bullying a child" – such headlines generously saturates the pages of modern media. This topic has been silent for decades, unspoken, covered up with shy neutral definitions: "children just quarreled", "requirements for discipline", or simply "misunderstanding".
Today, conversations about this phenomenon are tightly in circulation both in the educational and media space. A phenomenon known around the world as bullying or bullying. Public initiatives focused on combating bullying at school have been increasingly common in Ukraine in recent years. Arts&Rights is also involved in active work in this area.
After all, high-quality documentaries – namely, they are our main weapons and tools – taughts without instruction, archive life in its beauty and ugliness, and give landmarks in the circle of difficult life situations, helping to find the right tone for the unmanifested and unspoken.
