I always thought there was something extra sad about older men’s tears. There is something about lived life that is etched into every line, every wrinkle.
That’s why Valentine’s tears hit me.
We met him and his cousin Irina after a long day of work in the small town of Butsja. The city that has now become synonymous with corpses in the streets, apparently arbitrary executions and mass graves.
We even saw the dead lying in the streets, on a field and in a backyard.
They were all older men, dressed in civilian clothes. Or at least I think they were all older men. A couple was so ill-prepared that you could really only judge from the clothes they were wearing.
– BUTSHA: Several hundred civilians are said to have been killed in Butsja. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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People ask what it is like to report and witness such atrocities.
Of course it’s tough. But I see it as a fundamental part of my job as a journalist. To see with my own eyes what has happened, try to understand, so that I can pass it on to people back home.
It is of course tough to see corpses in the streets and destruction of such magnitude we now see in Ukraine. But that’s not the toughest part.
As always, it is the human encounters that make the strongest impression. The stories of those who survived the atrocities, and who now have to live the rest of their lives with what they have seen and experienced.
Like Valentine. The retired football coach broke down in tears when we asked if he knew anyone who had been killed. He said that several of those he had trained over the years had been killed by the Russians, literally executed. He told of close friends, who had been shot when they ventured out on their balcony to see what was happening in the street they lived in.
– COLLECTING WATER: Valentin collects water in the town of Butsja. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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Som Marina. She and the neighbors were sitting outside in the cold cooking over an open fire when we met them. They have been without power for over a month, and today they had received some cans of canned pork and potatoes from some volunteers. She had never imagined that she would ever end up in such a situation, she says.
In the middle of the interview, she suddenly squirts and exclaims: “Mom!” Because suddenly her parents are there. It is the first time in 40 days that they see each other.
– FLASH OF HOPE: TV 2’s team met Marina, who met parents again after 40 days. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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We stand and watch the reunion. The family holds each other, and sobs.
“They are alive, that’s the most important thing,” Marina says afterwards.
She wipes her tears, and I feel my own pressure. We stand and squeeze for a while.
Ukrainians are fighting the battle of their lives. For the right to exist as an independent nation. But even in this struggle, in all these atrocities, they meet us with openness and warmth. They share their stories, and together we share smiles.
Valentin, Marina, Sergej, Yaroslav, Agnessa and Diana. I could still. Meet people who remind me that people are basically nice.
Even in all the darkness, there are glimpses of light.
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