Voice of Ukraine

From Maia Mikhaluk in Kyiv (593rd day):

Last night we watched the movie Golda. When your own country is in the midst of a war watching a war movie is not easy. IMDb rating for it is not very high probably influenced by ruzzian negative reviews – ruzzians hated the movie and officially protested against it. But we found it to be interesting, partly because of what is happening in Israel now (exactly 50 years since the war shown in the movie), partly because it related to our personal experiences now.

The heaviness of leadership responsibility in the midst of crisis is depicted very well in the movie. One of the things that impressed me the most about the story is how close to heart she was taking every human loss. She once said: “I am accused of leading state affairs with my heart, not my head. And if I didn’t do that?… He who doesn’t know how to cry with all his heart, he also doesn’t know how to laugh.”

Did you know that Golda Meir was born in Kyiv? Her sentiments for ruzzians were not much different from ours now. In the movie there are two noteworthy statements.

During one of the film’s episodes, the then US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger talked about the powerful influence of the Soviet Union in the Arab-Israeli war, to which Meir answered him: “Let me tell you about the Russians, Henry. When I was a child in Ukraine, at Christmas time, my father would board up the windows of our house to protect us from [Russian] Cossacks, who would get drunk and attack Jews. They would beat Jews to death in the street for fun. My father would hide us in the cellar. And we’d stay silent, hoping the killers would pass us by.”
With her memory, Golda seeks to prove that no matter what happens, she is no longer afraid of the Russians: “I’m not that little girl hiding in the cellar,” she claims.

Another mention of ruzzians in the Golda/Kissinger conversation: “Those Russians,” Golda sneers, “they brought nothing but misery to the world.” Kissinger nods, adding “On this I would agree with you. Of course, there is Tolstoy,” only to have Golda wittily retort, “And Dostoyevsky-misery on every page!”

Since I am on quoting spree here I will mention couple more statements of Golda that Ukrainians understand and relate to more than we ever could before ruzzian invasion:

“There can be no compromise. They say we must be dead. And we say we want to be alive. Between life and death, I don’t know of a compromise. And that’s why we have no choice.”

“Peace will come when the Arabs (ruzzians) love their children more than they hate us.”