"Deine Zauber binden wieder "Your Magic brings together
Was die Mode streng geteilt; what politics has torn apart
Alle Menschen werden Brüder all men become brothers
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt." where your gentle wings abide."
- Fred Schiller, Leipzig, 1785
I have spent the last few days (and nights) with Manny and Sasha, two German anti-fascists here in Donetsk on a human aid mission. I met them in Rostov last Thursday, and we agreed to meet in Donetsk the next day. When I got back to Donetsk about 10 PM on Friday, I opened my computer to find they had been stuck at the border for 30 hours. They only had a 2 entry Russian visa, so if they went back to Russia, they could not come to the DPR. The punks who were responsible for getting them into the DPR had totally fucked up and just left them there on the border. For 30 hours. I was there to get them less than 4 hours later, and after a long midnight ride, we got to Donetsk just as the sun was rising. Thanks to my friends in the Administration and "My Good Buddies" who helped!
The first thing we did was to pay respects at the graves of Givi and Motorola. We went with my Godfather, Father Boris. All 3 of us are combat veterans, and we were deeply moved. Heroes live on in their example, and in the memory of all good people. So long as there are still good people in the world, heroes never die. May it always be so...
Sasha is a professional musician, and I have enjoyed jamming with him. But they did not come 3,000 Km from Berlin just to party, so today we got to work. They brought money from Germany - from Spendaktionen fur Novorussia and also the Russian-German Brotherhood, specifically to help kids here, and today, that's exactly what we did. SfN gave 800 Euros, and RGB gave 500. We bought a new desktop computer for Teremok orphanage, along with some yogurt, fruit and sweets for the 50 super sweet kids there. We got a good deal on the computer, 1 year warranty and 10% discount. We got a discount on the food too, from First Republic Supermarket. Everyone here is happy to help kids. That's our main focus, and that's EVERYBODY'S job - making a better world for future generations.
We also bought school supplies for two schools in the Petrovsky District of Donetsk. My wife is from there, and used to teach there. It is one of the most heavily bombed neighborhoods in Donetsk, and the kids there need school supplies. We went to the best place in town for school supplies - right behind the Donetsk city jail. (Remind me to never go to jail in Donetsk!) We bought paper, pens, pencils, art supplies, rulers, erasers (hey, nobody's perfect!) stuff for students and teachers. We also bought volley balls, basketballs and soccer balls. And 7 boxes of vital medicine for a kid with epilepsy in Petrovsky District. Nobody else could help, so we did.
We delivered the computer and food to Teremok as the sun was going down, after a looooong day. The kids did a short performance from the recent Victory Day and Day of the Republic. It was really impressive - those 6 year olds can dance better than I can! I always love seeing the kids there, and am glad we could help. It is a great place, but the Director explained that there are not nearly as many supporters as there once were, so they really need and appreciate our help. I wish every orphan kid in the world could be taken care of by people who care as much as the Teremok staff does. I am very proud to be working with them, helping to take care of some really beautiful kids.
THANKS TO ALL WHO PITCHED IN!
Tomorrow we deliver the school supplies to Petrovsky. There's some beautiful kids there too!
Video (made with my new vid cam) coming soon. Stay tuned!
PS - The shelling has again been heavy at the Front and on the outskirts of town. I'm heading back to the Front soon, and will be taking cameras and crew. So keep an eye out for updates. You can catch them here or on my Youtube channel, VK and Twitter, but don't look for them on my FB profile - I don;t post there anymore...