A month of hope that light will defeat darkness
The war has broken out brutally and ruthlessly. A month of war for us feels just like one long day, when we keep no track of hours or days but of our deeds we manage to do. How many people to help? How many to rescue? How many to console… And the question is not about the number but about people’s lives: somebody’s mums, kids, grandmas, grandpas and dads.
Whereas the whole civilised world is calling to end the war against Ukraine, we, Ukrainians and Caritas workers, have our own frontline here. We cannot stop the war but we can ease the suffering of those who we can reach out to. Our hands have become like wings which can spread for many kilometres away and cover people up, console them and give them hope. This is our vocation. This is our essence. Even the name of our Mission is ‘Caritas-Spes’, with ‘spes’ meaning ‘hope’ in Latin. It is hope that gives strength to overcome all challenges of war. It is hope that helps a priest to stay in occupied Berdyansk and provide assistance to those around, without leaving the social centre, for 29 days straight. Hope grants a driver some courage to drive a lorry heading through the war-stricken cities. Hope gives a nun some bravery to bring assistance to the zones of high risk. It gives strength to workers sorting out humanitarian packages at night so that people can receive the aid in the morning. Hope drives us when we help a mother with six children leave completely destroyed Irpin, Bucha or Vorzel…
The war sharpens our feelings. But hope, faith and boundless love become our pillars so that we can become the support for over 10 million people who left their homes in the hope of rescue. So that we can become the harbingers of peace for those who stayed in cities and villages experiencing hostilities. We stand with those called ‘refugees’ and ‘internally displaced people’, ‘children or victims of war’ but they are just the people who believe that light will certainly defeat darkness. They hope to see their kin, return to their own country and homes. And they still have love within themselves in defiance of the fact that war is completely opposite to love.
The ‘Caritas-Spes Ukraine’ Mission thanks those who help us become such harbingers of hope. We thank our partners who have become our powerful strength. We thank all the people in the world who announce their meetings, rallies to support us, who house Ukrainians in their homes, share their clothes and food with them. It has been a month since the beginning of the full-scale Russia’s war against Ukraine, but this time has shown us that we are not alone. Everyone who believes that light will defeat darkness stands with us.
Fr. Petro Zharkovskyi
President of ‘Caritas-Spes Ukraine’
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