For a few days now, one topic has been preoccupying university staff: non-payment of salaries. The salary is always paid in two installments, one of which is by the middle of the month. It is now said that there will be no more before the end of the month. The situation is the same across … Read more
The first student answered my question about the final version of my Bachelor’s thesis by email. I have to read the letter twice to make sure I understand what he is writing correctly. “I am still working on that today and tomorrow to finalize the script, but tomorrow evening I am going to Kyiv and … Read more
On the morning of Wednesday, May 11, it starts early, at half past seven we want to leave Chernivtsi for Romania. When I came to the kitchen, my roommate, I’m from Mariupol, was already there, and she had to leave early, and leave the house a little before seven on weekdays. While we sip our … Read more
Dear acquaintances of Vasylivka decided to return. Although they could not go to their occupied hometown, they wanted to go to Zaporizhia, the center of the administrative region. O. says they are homesick, want to be closer to home, and she is also allergic to cat fur. Can she keep the dishes she got from … Read more
Upcoming visitor: B., our language assistant at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will come. Born in Romania and currently living in Bucharest, she continues her online teaching of German as a foreign language and also participates in other ways in Romania for our causes. In fact, she should not travel to Ukraine, but she … Read more
Ukrainian President Zelensky speaks in Borodinka on May 8, with two destroyed and burned homes in the background. Ukraine has not celebrated Victory Day since 2014, but a day of reconciliation and remembrance. According to Russian leader Vladimir, victory in World War II is limited to Russia anyway. My grandfather never spoke of victory either, … Read more
On Tuesday, May 3, we leave early in the morning for Romania again. There is also a bus carrying relief supplies and in-kind donations. It’s a ten hour drive in a truck. We want to fill up before the border, two out of three gas stations that have no diesel. Fuel has always been sold … Read more
In the letters I receive via the official government chat, I read that in Vasylivka, Zaporizhia region, a collaborator has been appointed to replace the current mayor. Not the first and certainly not the last case of cooperation, but since Wassylivka is the home of my friend O. and her family, I asked her if … Read more
Just before midnight on the 2nd of April, I received a message from an unknown number on the Viber chat service. “I, K., on March 8, spoke to German journalists at the train station in Chernivtsi (Chernovitz) while I was waiting with my 93-year-old mother and grandmother for the bus to the border crossing. Can … Read more
The German journalist visits us on Thursday accompanied by his Romanian friend FU. The friend is of Ukrainian origin, speaks an old Bukovinian Ukrainian language, is a businessman in Vatra Dorny: he owns a rest house, a boarding house, a small factory where wooden huts are made. He also feels a connection with Chernowitz, his … Read more