In times of crisis, especially those related to war, humanity and empathy should rise to the surface, stronger than the fear of the unknown and, above all, more powerful than ideological divisions. Serbia has strong historical and cultural ties with Russia, but also with Ukraine. However, due to high politics, the second part of this sentence is often forgotten in our country. The lesson in humanity over the past three years of war was offered by writer Vladimir Arsenijević and members of his Krokodil Association, who began their humanitarian work for the people of Ukraine at the onset of the war. We asked Arsenijević, the recipient of the NIN Award, how he had the courage to travel to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the midst of the major Russian offensive in the summer of 2022 to deliver aid from Serbia.

“Back in February, when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, we decided to engage in various ways on the side of Ukraine, primarily driven by basic empathy for the suffering of people, which was truly on an unimaginable scale there, and also by a desire to create a narrative that would, in a way, oppose the significant amount of pro-Russian sentiment that had exploded in our country at that time. I don’t know how many people remember now, but at that time, Putin was threatening nuclear bombs if the West got involved on Ukraine’s side, and you could read some comments saying ‘it should happen’—literally, people were willing to let the planet go to hell if necessary. And given that we had many contacts with the primarily Ukrainian cultural and literary scene, and everyone in Ukraine was involved in trying to help their country, which was being brutally attacked by a neighboring power, we got in touch with the city’s perinatal center in Kharkiv, where we received truly disturbing news. The institution that cares for premature babies was literally on the front lines. We saw photographs and videos of the staff urgently carrying incubators with premature babies to poorly lit basement rooms under shelling. It was truly terrifying. In communication with them, we determined their needs and decided to engage the public here to encourage individual donations, and we also reached out to several organizations that helped us with heavier equipment. We brought not only diapers and nutrition for premature babies, which are not commercial products—you can’t just go to DM and buy them, but must order them from manufacturers—but also neonatal respirators, which are one of the key pieces of equipment for the survival of premature babies. Our primary goal was to leave from Uzhhorod, the westernmost Ukrainian city, located at the Tri-Border area with Hungary and Slovakia. So, this turned into a 2,800-kilometer journey through truly disturbing scenes of war-torn Ukraine. In the end, we arrived in Kharkiv at the city’s perinatal center, did what was needed, and returned,” said Arsenijević.

Three full years of humanitarian work in Ukraine. Has the attitude of Ukrainians towards Serbia and Serbs changed because of your efforts?

“Well, I must say something else. For instance, in the first year, as we traveled through Ukraine, our friend Andriy Lyubka, a Ukrainian writer and well-known translator of our language, who is largely responsible for the presence of our culture in Ukraine, asked me during the trip: ‘How much money did you raise in the end?’ because we were really collecting that money from February to June. I had to tell him that we raised 550 euros from a total of seven donors over three and a half months. That was in 2022 in Serbia. Everything else was collected by organizations. The Institute for Neonatology donated those mentioned respirators. The Serbian Philanthropic Society and the B92 Fund helped us acquire the other equipment. Forum CFD helped us cover travel expenses. As for the citizens, there was a painful silence and passivity. By 2023, when we continued organizing and delivering humanitarian aid, citizen participation was immeasurably greater. So, it turned out that when you offer an example, when you set a positive precedent, people who are undecided, or afraid, or unsure of what to do, follow it and become activated. Thus, every year we saw an increase in the number of citizens and, most importantly, an increase in understanding of what humanitarian aid is. When an old woman comes here and brings a package of diapers because that’s all she could afford from her pension, that package of diapers, on a symbolic level, holds much greater value than larger quantities of goods provided by financially powerful individuals or organizations. As for Ukrainians, we as a society haven’t done much to change everyone’s opinion of us. That’s a big fact. I mean, of course, we have our political ‘mainstream’ which sits on thousands of chairs, with all these narratives in their pockets—one for Brussels, one for Moscow, one for Abu Dhabi, one for Beijing, and yes, one for Kyiv. We’ve seen that too. Behind it all, there are rather cold financial interests, and that’s nothing new. However, Ukrainians did see that, of course, not all Serbs think the same. That’s where I think our organization contributed a lot. In the meantime, we now have an ambassador in Kyiv, which I think is really, really important. He’s doing a great job, sending positive verbal messages, and undoubtedly his heart is on the Ukrainian side—how and why he was placed there by our political ‘mainstream’ is another story, but he is there and doing his part,” Arsenijević said.

You said that each year there were more donations from Serbia. However, there were also other reactions. What reactions did your engagement provoke in Serbia?

“I am truly surprised that people can treat something that isn’t even their business with such intense hatred. If you see civilians suffering in some war, all major politics and geopolitics, in my opinion, should be absolved in that moment. There are some elementary things—sometimes things are really black and white. When babies are dying, there are no shades—they shouldn’t die. Period,” Arsenijević said.

When the war ends, the humanitarian problems it caused will not simply disappear. Do you plan to continue your humanitarian work once the war is over?

“Of course, the problems will remain, and aid will still be needed. We are already planning to launch our new, fourth humanitarian action. We are collaborating with an educational institution. So, in 2023, we went to Blizniuki in the eastern Kharkiv region, which is located right next to Donbas, where there was a huge number of internally displaced persons, and the local humanitarian catastrophe was of unimaginable proportions. Last year, we were in Kherson. Anyone who knows something about the war in Ukraine knows that Kharkiv is one thing, Kramatorsk is another, but Kherson is truly hell on earth. That’s an experience we can’t compare to anything else—what we found there. So, we always aim to help the most vulnerable part of the population, and we will continue with that, regardless of how the current geopolitical circumstances evolve,” emphasized Vladimir Arsenijević.

Journalist: Žikica Stevanović

Source: Insajder