From Maia Mikhaluk in Kyiv (601st day of ruzzian invazion): It’s Sasha’s birthday today and many people wish her many wonderful things, but one of the most frequent wishes, especially coming from Ukrainians is a wish for Ukraine’s Victory and peace.
I remember when my grandparents were alive they always wished peace in their greetings. To us, who never experienced war that wish sounded old-fashioned, irrelevant or even pretentious. People who don’t know war wish each other love, health, professional success, dreams come true, loving family and friends, great adventures…
But all the generations of Ukrainians living today have learned the precious value of peace and wishing peace is now a top wish in Ukrainian greetings for a while and will be even after the war is over.
My grandparents lived through the war, but they also lived through the Great Famine that Stalin caused in Ukraine in 1931-33. My grandparents were children then and no doubt they had memories. But never, not even once they mentioned that genocide. One could end up in prison for talking about it. I learned about Great Famine only after 2004 when Ukraine first started breaking away from a “brotherly” embrace or rather choke of ruzzia and the secret archives of those horrible crimes were revealed for the first time. Ruzzians almost managed to bury the truth by forbidding the survivors’ generation to share the memory of this tragedy with new generations.
In the photo are my grandparents on mom’s side – they were newly married then, probably Sasha’s age.
Voice of Ukraine 
One response to “10/18/2023 – The wish for peace…”
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Rev.21 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
He that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said unto me, “Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
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