Heading Back to Ukraine to Screen the Film For the Film’s Stars
​By Steve Richards

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, I will be kicking off Trek to Bucha’s promotional tour in Bucha on February 5th. The venue (to be announced) has generators so we’re confident we will be good to go. We are also planning to livestream the event if possible. Ukrainian captions will be ready.

We are also planning screenings in Lviv and Kyiv during a month-long Ukrainian tour as the long, cold, energy-tight winter sets in.

The film is a glimpse of what those in Bucha – and throughout Ukraine – dealt with in the winter of 2022 and what many Ukrainians will live through this winter due to Russian attacks on their energy grid. For instance, in the film we see folks cooking over open fires in field kitchens outside their condos, the thrill of power being restored, workers working on power lines, etc.

Personally, in my ongoing quixotic effort to help the Ukrainian cause I hope to bring a bit of goodwill and support from the USA and let those that I encounter know we are with them. I’m also looking forward to revisiting new friends and seeing how they are doing. I am particularly eager to see how the rebuilding is progressing in Bucha and Irpin, the most heavily hit areas featured in the film as discussed in Trek to Bucha Epilogue: Force Majeure (Act of God) – Part 1 (Economics) (theoeco.org).

I will also be shooting Back to Bucha, a sequel where we will dig further into the evolution of Putin’s Orwellian justification for his war; from de-nazification to de-satanization. The developing schism in the Orthodox Church is also something I hope to document as we continue to explore the Spirit in Ukraine begun in Trek to Bucha Epilogue: Force Majeure (Act of God) – Part 2 (Spirit) (theoeco.org). To me it is reminiscent of what happened to the Church of England in the USA during its revolution beginning in Boston in 1775, which led to the creation of the Episcopalian Church here in America.

Is going to Ukraine dangerous? I recently researched the issue to make my Mom feel better about it all and found that being in Ukraine is no more life threatening for most people than being in the USA given its ongoing gun violence. Don’t believe it? Check out On this Thanksgiving Weekend Ukraine and USA Share Two More Things: Thankfulness and Violent Death Rates (theoeco.org).

So off I go!

Lastly, our screenings are donation driven and free for the folks in Ukraine. If you would like to support the effort book a screening for your own group for when I return mid-February. I’ll be happy to come screen the film and tell you all about what I found.

​For more go to the Tour page at Trek to Bucha - Tour Info (theoeco.org).

At this time of Thanksgiving in the USA it’s intriguing to reflect on the reasons to give thanks in the USA even as we suffer a rash of mass shootings. Similarly, Ukraine would seem to have little to be thankful for given the war, power supplies under attack, etc. Americans can give thanks for steady power supplies, fresh running water, plentiful heat, and no missiles overhead. Ukrainians can be thankful I suppose just to be winning the war.

One of the most striking things people take away from watching Trek to Bucha is just how thankful Ukrainians are. Most interviewees in the film are thankful to have their family, friends, homes, and country survive. Not all though. The tragedies and atrocities mean that many, many people’s lives will never be the same again. Same for those who have lost loved ones to USA’s ubiquitous gun violence.

As I prepare to kick off Trek to Bucha’s promotional tour in Ukraine in January, I took a look at the #1 issue people understandably bring up when I tell them I’m going back: “Isn’t it dangerous?” To which I reply: “No more than here.”
Bottom line? It is just as likely someone will be killed in the USA by gun violence than in Ukraine from a missile strike. Here are the dismal statistics.

• In the USA there were 19,384 gun murders in 2020 Gun deaths in the U.S.: 10 key questions answered | Pew Research Center. With a population of about 338 million that makes for a rate of 0.00006.
• In Ukraine, the number of civilians killed since the war began in February 2022 through October was about 2,525 in areas which were under Government control. This includes places like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa. With a pre-war population of 43 million this equates to an identical rate of 0.00006 Ukraine: civilian casualty update 10 October 2022 | OHCHR.
• These numbers don’t include the deaths of those in frontline war zones. These places are much worse. For instance, the rate in Bucha at 419 deaths Bucha massacre - Wikipedia and a population of 36,971 is 0.01. 189 times higher.

The difference is that in Ukraine they are Putin’s murders. In the USA, it’s Americans murdering Americans; part of the gun environment we’ve made for ourselves. Ukraine’s situation will hopefully end sooner than later. America’s will likely go on.
One thing to be thankful for in either case is that the chances are slim of being killed this way if you stay out of the war zones. So, in answer to those that wonder if I’m worried or scared to go back to Ukraine the answer is: “Not much”.

I’m thankful to have the opportunity to go back. I look forward to updating the stories with fresh interviews and footage and shooting the sequel: Back to Bucha.

Besides, there’s always a chance I can make a difference and support the cause.

Want to help? Book a screening and/or make a donation.

​Thank You!

New trailer focuses on Ukraine’s SpiritAn updated trailer for Trek to Bucha is up at https://vimeo.com/709512914.

At just over two minutes we have shortened it by a good 20 seconds. But what is most important is new footage that we came back with in April 2022. Footage of interviews that, like the film, are much more about the Spirit of Ukraine’s people, rather than the damage and atrocities.

Stories of people like Tonya, the girl in Jul’s coffee shop in Bucha working without pay trying to get ready to serve free coffee to workers and neighbors once the lights came back on and water pressure restored. Forget the blown-out windows and pile of glass on the floor, she wanted to get back to work.

Stories of citizens like Alex and Maxim, and their friends at Match Restaurant in Kyiv who turned the place into a World Central Kitchen outpost serving more than 1,500 meals a day for anyone who needed them.

Stories of childhood friends like Igor and Victor, whose world was turned upside down when Bucha was occupied – and now are left with the aftermath. Or Timer, who never evacuated Bucha, telling of the day the Russians left and the cup of tea he enjoyed in complete silence in the middle of the road Russians used to attack, and then withdraw.

Stories of parishioners like those at Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church in Boston in conjunction with our partner Ukraine Forward, gathering supplies to be sent to the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv for front line troops.
The blown-up bridge, cooking over an open fire, and children’s art in the basement bomb shelter, are all still there. The story wouldn’t be complete without these, and they all add up to a witnessing of Ukraine’s Spirit in the war’s early days.
Roma Hayda of Providence, RI put it well after the film’s premiere screening:

“The documentary's texture presents the horror, terror, and yes, hope, without showing the gore of war. The generosity of spirit links all people of all walks and daily life… "

​Take a look, and for more about Ukraine’s Sprit in the film go to Trek to Bucha Epilogue: Force Majeure (Act of God) – Part 2 (Spirit) (theoeco.org).

After much consideration – and a bit of inspiration - we have added an image to our poster of Saint Volodymyr in the clouds, a 10th century ruler at the heart of Russia’s twisted claim to Ukraine.

On this day of celebration in Ukraine as they retake Kherson City, millions will be praying in Ukrainian churches with images of Saint Volodymyr prominently displayed. Because, while Ukraine’s Christian past goes back to Saint Andrew in the first century, it was not fully Christianized until Volodymyr the Great ordered the baptism of the entire region in 988. Volodymyr the Great (encyclopediaofukraine.com)

You see, St. Volodymyr was from Kyiv, which was the capital of the Kievan Rus' empire long before Moscow was even a spot on the map. Russia co-opts and corrupts history by placing him at the center of their culture when convenient. This is not new, but it is critically important now as Ukraine fights for its freedom and national identity.

Saint Volodymyr’s icon therefore holds a central place in the theologies caught up in the war. A schism is developing within the Orthodox Church in which Russian Patriarch Kirill is supporting Russian nationalism and Putin in the war, while the Ukrainian Orthodox church has largely repudiated these dictates. Russian Patriarch Kirill Says Dying In Ukraine 'Washes Away All Sins' (rferl.org).

This image holds very special significance for me personally as we took it from the picture of Fr. Yaroslav standing in front of it at Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church in Boston in March 2022. Right where he called down a guardian angel to watch over me on my trek to Ukraine later that month.

​It is a war fought on many levels. But for Ukrainians, Saint Volodymyr is clearly on the side of his Kyiv homeland and watching out for quixotic American documentarians who happen along to tell stories of its Spirit.

Force Majeure (Acts of God) Are Different in Florida Though Similarities with Ukraine Are Obvious

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, I went to Ft. Myers Beach to document the effects of Hurricane Ian for an upcoming redux of So Flo Floods, a film about flooding in South Florida, past, present, and future. Ian was a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150+ miles per hour (240+ km per hour) that made landfall at Ft. Myers Beach in the afternoon of Friday, September 30th. It pushed along a 15 ft (4.5 meters) storm surge.

Much of the original So Flo Floods focuses on the effects of past hurricanes, and predictions of the effects of a “Big One” hitting South Florida, particularly one hitting Miami.

Well, a Big One hit a couple weeks ago, but it was on Florida’s southwest coast in the Ft. Myers Beach area. It then ripped through Florida to the northeast causing tens of billions of damage before exiting via Florida’s northeast coast near St. Augustine, hundreds of miles away. No longer do we need to theorize about what happens when a modern day Big One hits.

Bottom line? In South Florida our war is with wind and water. In Ukraine our war is with Putin and Russia. The results of both are destroyed lives, homes, businesses, personal property, and neighborhoods that need resources to rebuild. Unfortunately, both rebuilds are likely to be under-resourced for lack of insurance payouts. Governments and private sources will (can) only do so much.

Similarities 

We can see for ourselves what current day hurricanes mean in terms of damage, both insured and otherwise. We can also compare the effects to what I saw in Ukraine as delineated in ​Trek to Bucha Epilogue: Force Majeure (Act of God) ​– Economics. I hiked into Bucha two weeks after the Russians retreated on April 15, 2022. Turns out the effects of the war in Ukraine and the effects of Hurricane Ian have a lot in common. The pictures and video from Ft. Myers Beach reminded me of Irpin and Bucha.

Buildings trashed with windows blown out - As is always the case with such a powerful storm as Ian, windows are blown out everywhere. This was the first similarity I noticed with Bucha and Irpin.

Many population centers hit – The effects of both catastrophes are seen in many places, not just one or two cities.

Evacuations – In Florida, when a hurricane is bearing down folks that live close to the water are told to evacuate. In Ukraine people evacuate cities when they see the Russians coming. For any given missile attack the air raid sirens go off and citizens are urged into the bomb shelters.

Many ignore the warnings – Many citizens ignore the sirens after many “false alarms” fail to materialize.  Same in Florida where many ignore evacuation instructions. Most deaths from Ian were from the drowning of people who ignored evacuation orders. Most of Hurricane Ian's 100-plus victims in Florida died by drowning, data shows (foxweather.com)

Lack of insurance - In Florida, most homeowners, certainly those with mortgages, have windstorm coverage. However far fewer have flood insurance. That means most will not be covered for damages from Ian since most of the damage is from flooding. In Ukraine, most are uncovered due to Force Majeure clauses even if they had coverage.

Deserted - Like Irpin Ft. Myers Beach was basically deserted and I had to pass through police check points to get in and out. Of course, the checkpoints in Ukraine were manned with soldiers with AK-47’s who checked my passport repeatedly some days. In Ft. Myers Beach I was able to walk through unimpeded once I ditched my car.

Blown out windows in Ft. Myers Beach and Bucha.  Can you tell which is which?

Gatherings - Even though these places were largely deserted there were stalwarts in both gathering to share what they had and enjoy each other’s fellowship. In Bucha it was early spring, and they needed community fires to cook and stay warm. In Ft Myers Beach temperatures were in the 80’s (High 20’s C).

Utilities and workers – On my visit the power was coming back throughout Ft. Myers though was still out on the beach. When I got to Bucha the power was just coming back on. Cell phones and internet service the same. In both places utility workers were on the scene and hard at work.

Ice - Ice was scarce in both places.

Damage to cars and property - Tremendous damage to cars and personal property is evident everywhere in both places. Floods are merciless. So, too, the Russians. In Ukraine losses are caused by machine guns, artillery, tanks, and looting. In Florida, flood and wind.

Looting - Looting would be a much bigger problem in Ft. Myers Beach if it weren’t for the police closing the place down – and a well-armed citizenry, this being Florida and all. In Bucha the Russians took everything they could carry when they retreated.

​Leadership - Fortunately, the leaders of both places came and brought focus to what was happening. In Ft. Myers President Biden and Governor DeSantis made their way to Ft. Myers the same day I did. (Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis address Hurricane Ian victims in Florida). President Zelensky made it to Bucha in about the same timeframe (5 days) after the Russians retreated (Zelensky visits battered Bucha, fears of widespread civilian massacres - YouTube)

Hurricanes can strike again, so too the Russians - Thankfully, Ian is gone. Though another hurricane could come at any time. Similarly, Russian troops are gone from the Kyiv suburbs but can theoretically return. Missiles can hit anytime.

Monetary damages are similar – Insured losses from Ian are currently estimated between $41-$70 billion (Total Flood And Wind Losses From Hurricane Ian Range From $41 Billion To $70 Billion). In Ukraine the “Physical damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure from Russia's invasion has reached roughly $60 billion and will rise further as the war continues,” World Bank President David Malpass said recently (World Bank estimates Ukraine physical damage at roughly $60 billion so far | Reuters).

Differences

Obviously, there are many things that couldn’t be more different. With no floods or high winds with Putin, nor missiles from Ian, the threats are not the same.

Boats - I don’t think I ever saw a boat in Ukraine. In Ft. Myers Beach they are everywhere…yet nowhere they should have been. I saw boats on top of cars, docks, mangroves, buildings, etc. They must have been having a grand time floating around in the water unencumbered by lines or navigators. But when the water went out they were stuck wherever the Spirt put them. It was a free-for-all for the boats, big and small, expensive and cheap.

Resources – First, Florida’s economy is by itself many times that of Ukraine’s with $1.3 trillion- and $200 billion-dollar annual GDPs respectively. So, Florida has a lot more to work with from the “get go”. Add to this the resources of FEMA and payouts from insurance companies and there is no comparison.

Caravans - I never saw the kind of caravans of resources flowing into Bucha or anywhere else in Ukraine, even weeks after the Russians left. In Ft. Myers the response was immediate and even the most outlying areas began to see resources and rescue efforts in a few days.

Insurance Payouts - Force Majeure clauses are complicated in Florida. You have to have separate coverages for floods  and wind damage. If you have both you are good. In Ukraine policyholders will normally be out of luck regardless.

Destroyed homes in Ft. Myers Beach and Bucha.

No defenses are available against hurricanes – True acts of Mother Nature, like storms and earthquakes are not defensible. You just have to prepare and then react with a flood of resources. Defenses against militaries like Russia’s can be prepared and pushed back as we’ve seen. Missile defenses can be highly effective for protecting population centers and high value targets like airports.

Supermarkets - One of the most vital elements of an economy at a local level are supermarkets. In Bucha they had all been pillaged and mostly blown out. Many supermarkets in Ft. Myers quickly reopened with generators mandated by law.

Evacuations - Both Bucha and Ft. Myers Beach evacuated. The difference being Ft. Myers had detailed plans and instructions for its citizens. Bucha evacuated two weeks after the Russians had invaded. And in Irpin people were shelled as they tried to evacuate (Ukrainian city Irpin shelled as people try to evacuate; 8 killed - The Washington Post).

No atrocities or mass graves in Florida - It appears no mass graves will be dug in Florida as when thousands of black migrant workers lost their lives in the floods after Lake Okeechobee spilled her banks due to the 1926 Hurricane. Citizens in mass graves were tortured and murdered by Russian soldiers in Bucha.

Deaths – In Bucha alone 458 bodies, 419 with signs of shooting, torture, or violent trauma, and 39 apparently of natural causes have been found (Bucha massacre - Wikipedia). Ian, Florida’s deadliest hurricane since 1935, has been linked to the deaths of at least 119 people in the state, many of them older residents who lived near the coast (Many of Hurricane Ian’s Victims Were Older Adults Who Drowned - The New York Times).

Piles of Debris in Ft. Myers Beach and Bucha.

Closing

There are many items that go beyond easy comparison.

Refugees – The war in Ukraine has created millions of refugees fleeing their homes for what may be years, especially if rebuilding funds are limited. The long-lasting effects of Ian will certainly result in many people not returning though the numbers are far less.

Hurricanes are true Acts of God – While war is often described as an act of God for insurance contracts, it is not, at least as compared to hurricanes. War is manmade.

Ukraine is at war – Ukraine has demands on its resources which understandably prioritizes the frontlines. Resources that we expect to see in the USA simply cannot be matched in Ukraine. At least not without more help from the west which they deserve given the assurances of the Budapest Memorandum when Ukraine voluntarily gave up their nuclear weapons.

In the end, while hurricanes are terrifying, they are not terrorism. Putin’s war has come to rely on terrorism to an even greater degree than at the start of the war as battlefield losses mount.

Both disasters should be insurable events. Only Ian victims can count on sizable insurance payouts to recover. Ukraine’s citizens simply will not have this backstop.

One thing that is very evident in both Ukraine and Florida is the Spirit that ties all people who empathize with the suffering of others. Most can relate to the awful situations they see their fellow humans enduring on TV no matter who they are.

In Ukraine and Florida, they likely have an even greater appreciation for what their brothers and sisters thousands of miles away are dealing with.

Part 1 of this essay looked for economic lessons from Trek to Bucha. Part 2 tries to discern the more spiritual elements. The title: Force Majeure, touches upon both in that the legal jargon it represents to the insurance industry also uses prophetic language more akin to a theological inquiry.

Intriguingly, war is not an act of God like a hurricane or earthquake. War is manmade. Faith is critical to think God is present at all. If so, where and what is He doing, for whom, and for what reason(s). These are difficult questions for humans to grasp, much as we might try. 

Ukraine can use help over the long term and not just for its military. Property damage as documented in the film Trek to Bucha fits along a spectrum, from little/isolated damage from guided/cruise missiles in Lviv, to almost complete devastation from artillery bombardments in Irpin. If compared to a Cat-5 hurricane one might think of Irpin as where the eye of the storm hit. As we move away from the eye the damage becomes less and less. Overall, the damage and financial loss is as manageable as a windstorm event in terms of insured losses – at least from a retroactive point of view.

​In short, Ukrainians can use not just guns but a bit more butter, too. 

​Thanks to all who joined us yesterday at Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church in Boston, and on Facebook Live around the world.
 
Even though the Patriots were kicking off just as we began screening the film, we still had a rapt crowd of 50 or so supporters of the Ukrainian cause, seeing the film for the first time with great food provided by the parish.
 
For those that did not attend, we are making the standard definition version of the film available at no charge for the next week. Just click on the Vimeo link at: https://vimeo.com/748323484 by Sunday the 18th of September.
 
For those that have seen the film, please fill out the short survey we have set up. Just go to Trek to Bucha Feedback Survey (theoeco.org).
 
Lastly, I was greatly humbled by the outpouring of generosity for the event both in person and online with well over a thousand dollars raised so far. Thank YOU!
 
I hope that witnessing the stories of those in the film will inform viewers as to what Ukrainians on the front lines have gone through – and will face going forward. This film shows what’s at stake for ordinary people that happen to live too close to Russia. 
 
Homeowners and businesses could use international support from insurance companies and banks, that in return can use guarantees from international monetary authorities and governments. Ukrainians can use not just guns but a bit of butter too. 
 
What's next for Trek to Bucha? Captions, and a 57-minute version. And a tour to promote the film both in the USA and Europe is in the works – Back to Bucha! And Warsaw. Lviv, Kyiv, and Irpin. We’ll also be reaching out to those constituencies featured in the film for their support. 
 
Ideally, we can shore up support for Ukraine as Europe moves into a difficult winter with energy supply cutoffs from Putin testing their resolve.
 
We can’t do it without you.
 
Thanks again,
 
 
Steve Richards at stever@TheoEco.org.
 
Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine!

 

Join us on Facebook Live from Boston on 9/11

​​We will livestream the premiere event on Facebook Live with the hope that our friends — and stars of the film — in Lviv, Kyiv, and Bucha can be part of it. The premiere screening takes place on Sunday, September 11, 2022, at 12:30 PM EDT (7:30 PM Bucha time) from Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church in Boston.
 
We’ll be broadcasting the entire event, including the screening of the film and a Q&A afterward with the director, other members of the team, and hopefully some of the film’s stars — live from Boston, Lviv, Kyiv, and Bucha.
 
Just go to facebook.com/TheoEcoOrg on 9/11 and click on the Facebook Live link you'll find there.  
 
Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine!

Ever since the Russian invasion, I am constantly struck by the apparent shared sentiments of Ukrainians today with Americans’ fight for liberty in 1775. 

Thomas Paine was a founding father who never held office, didn’t sign founding documents, nor has his image on any currency. His contributions were philosophical, literary, revolutionary. What might he say about the Ukrainian fight for liberty?

Unsurprisingly the Enlightenment principles that imbued our founding fathers shout loudly from Common Sense, perhaps the biggest seller proportionally of all American publications, first pressed in Philadelphia in February 1776. 

Common Sense was read by, or read to, just about every citizen in the colonies at exactly the time they were deciding whether to declare independence from England. The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, persuaded the British Army it was better to stay in Boston proper rather than attempt military incursions doomed to fail. Sound familiar? Massachusetts was at war and times were tough. George Washington was waiting for artillery on a slow march from Fort Ticonderoga through Massachusetts to be delivered by Benedict Arnold to Dorchester Heights. When installed the cannons represented “checkmate” and the British withdrew on March 17, 1776 (Boston Battle Facts and Summary | American Battlefield Trust (battlefields.org).

Common Sense was written at this time and Paine talks about the misery Bostonians endured when America found itself in a situation not unlike Ukraine today; in the early days of a war for their liberty from a seemingly overwhelming foe that is intent upon denying that freedom. Common roots give the bully justification – superior size and arms make it doable. Or so they thought. And like America, Ukraine will prevail.

​It doesn’t take much to bring Paine’s words to life and see their applicability. Just insert Russia for England, Ukraine for America, Putin/autocrat for the king, autocracy for monarchy, and so on. The fact is that his words apply to any country today that is fighting against wanna-be tyrants. Take a look.

It's a fight that continues on through the Ukrainian people who share the DNA of Europe and the Enlightenment principals we all share. Russia and Putin play the role of the tyrant autocrat some 250 years since America had to beat their English tyrant to form the so-called American Experiment. Similarly, Ukraine has to defeat Russia now to form its Ukrainian Experiment some 31+ years in the making.