“You can feel the weight of war there”: Waad al-Kateab visits Ukraine with Syrian Civil Society members

To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Chemical Weapon attacks in Syria, Waad joined other Syrian civil society members (including Madaniya and The Syrian British Consortium) to engage high-level officials as well as key Ukrainian stakeholders, in Kyiv, which that concluded with an engagement at the Third Summit of the Crimea Platform with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read the full press statement here. 

Waad shares her reflections on the trip…

“Our trip to the Ukraine was truly amazing - for me and for everyone in the group. I will be honest, I was very scared at first. I was hesitant to go. But at the same time, I knew in my heart how important it was to build this communication and relationship with the people of Ukraine, and see the reality of what is happening there. 

In Lviv when we arrived, what I noticed straight away was the tiredness in people’s faces and the effects of war on them. Although when you look at the city, you don’t see the same destruction as you see in Aleppo, you can really feel the weight of war there. As we went down the long road from Lviv to Kyiv, just being there - in Ukraine - felt like a very big moment to me.

While visiting Ukraine, we attended many critical meetings and had the honour of meeting so many interesting and inspiring people. There were a few particular moments that stood out to me…

Meeting medical staff at the new Mariupol Hospital in Kyiv.

One distinct memory from my trip was our visit to see the relocated Mariupol intensive care Hospital. When I heard the story of this hospital before I went to visit, I was so emotional. This was the last hospital standing in Mariupol until it experienced continued attacks from Russian air and land forces. There was something that I related to so much within my own experience here, with what I have called home before - our hospital, our community - and how I lost it. Three of the doctors miraculously survived. Not only survived, but they then went to start a new hospital in Kyiv which works as a temporary space until they can go back. I was amazed to hear their testimonies. And when the manager of the hospital was telling us about how they escaped and about their last days, everything came flooding back. It was as if they were telling my own story back to me.

Another moment which stood out to me was a trip to Bucha, where the massacre happened. We visited the large graveyard there and paid tribute to those lost. We met Father Andriy, who had survived the massacre and dedicated his time to giving burial services for the people that were found. We stepped into the church and were shown images of the massacre on display. This brought back very strong memories of our last days in Aleppo. 

On one of our days, we met with Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine, and Maria Tomak, the Head of the Crimea Platform Department.
We were invited to visit the Crimean Ambassador at their embassy in Kyiv. The Ambassador was so welcoming, telling us all about Crimea and engaging in deep conversation about Syria. And then her Deputy, Maria, shared with me that she had seen For Sama. She said that it had shown her what it means to be in that kind of conflict situation and expressed her pain for the fact that Crimea and Syria have both not been shown enough attention or support. When we were leaving, she came to me in tears. She said that she wasn’t able to prepare anything but on meeting me in that moment, she felt she wanted to give me something. It was her scarf. She said it was very special, as part of its design is the same as part of the last mosaic from Mariupol - a mosaic that sadly no longer exists. On hearing this, I collapsed crying. It was all too much for me to hold in.

This was a very special trip and one that helped us to understand the similarities and the differences between both situations. But no matter what differences there may be, one thing we can’t argue with is how much pain we share, how much fight we have within us, and how many dreams and goals we are all trying to achieve - together.

Waad

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