Director's Statement
A message from Managing Director Steve Richards (April 10, 2022)
After flying into Warsaw from Boston on March 28th and then taking the train to Lviv, the original plan was totally revised as they never envisaged the possibility of the Russians retreating from Kyiv. I thought I would be happy trekking through the West of the country with Lviv being the only big city being safe enough to visit, let alone stay in.
When the war began in late February, almost everyone thought that Kyiv would fall within days. Everyone, that is, except the Ukrainians. Remember that endless column of armor? Gone. Poof! Like they were never here if you walk around Kyiv now. Still, there are plenty of soldiers out and about (never knew there were so many versions of AK-47s) but they were heavily outnumbered by regular citizens on Palm Sunday afternoon. Damage? Haven’t seen any yet, though I am near the city center. Which, of course, is great. But not quite what one expects given the news footage. And the atrocities in Bucha and other places are real, and I am heading to see them. This documentary needs to try to document these places and the horrific acts that happened.
So, what to do next. That’s easy, I suppose--I’m here to document, so I’m heading to Bucha and the Western suburbs. Then a week-long journey home, back the way I came.
Along the way I am planning to document and tell some great stories about the people I meet and things I see. Ukraine’s struggle and fight for liberty is something people everywhere can understand.
So off I go, and I hope you will consider going with me! You can sign up for our newsletter/blog or follow the Facebook page below. I also hope you’ll consider helping us defray the costs of the trip and production and supporting the folks in Ukraine.
Most of all, please send a thought and a prayer my way as you do for Ukraine. I need all I can get.
Thanks,
Steve R.
SteveR@TheoEco.org
After flying into Warsaw from Boston on March 28th and then taking the train to Lviv, the original plan was totally revised as they never envisaged the possibility of the Russians retreating from Kyiv. I thought I would be happy trekking through the West of the country with Lviv being the only big city being safe enough to visit, let alone stay in.
When the war began in late February, almost everyone thought that Kyiv would fall within days. Everyone, that is, except the Ukrainians. Remember that endless column of armor? Gone. Poof! Like they were never here if you walk around Kyiv now. Still, there are plenty of soldiers out and about (never knew there were so many versions of AK-47s) but they were heavily outnumbered by regular citizens on Palm Sunday afternoon. Damage? Haven’t seen any yet, though I am near the city center. Which, of course, is great. But not quite what one expects given the news footage. And the atrocities in Bucha and other places are real, and I am heading to see them. This documentary needs to try to document these places and the horrific acts that happened.
So, what to do next. That’s easy, I suppose--I’m here to document, so I’m heading to Bucha and the Western suburbs. Then a week-long journey home, back the way I came.
Along the way I am planning to document and tell some great stories about the people I meet and things I see. Ukraine’s struggle and fight for liberty is something people everywhere can understand.
So off I go, and I hope you will consider going with me! You can sign up for our newsletter/blog or follow the Facebook page below. I also hope you’ll consider helping us defray the costs of the trip and production and supporting the folks in Ukraine.
Most of all, please send a thought and a prayer my way as you do for Ukraine. I need all I can get.
Thanks,
Steve R.
SteveR@TheoEco.org