Nine accounts from Mariupol, a Ukrainian city under siege.
 | By Louise Loftus Staff Editor, Opinion |
I've been thinking about why we read about other people's lives. |
Curiosity maybe or a bit of envy. But sometimes I think — I hope — the impulse is more altruistic: People everywhere endure awful things, and there's very little I can do about that. But I can acquaint myself with the facts and somebody's experience. I can be a witness. |
In the international section of Opinion, where I'm an editor, we think a lot about how to make the lives of others vivid for readers. Recently we've been talking about the people in Mariupol, Ukraine. |
In early March the Russian military encircled and began bombarding the city, a southern port on the Black Sea. Residents have been without gas and electricity for about a month, and food and water are scarce. What is it like to go from the life you recognize to scraping out an existence and trying to keep your family alive? We had to hear from people who were there. |
Internet and cellphone service in Mariupol have been almost nonexistent since the attack began, so contacting people there was difficult. Many of our earlier attempts to tell this story failed. Eventually we got in touch with three Ukrainian journalists who were able to reach people who had fled. |
"I am on my knees in front of my terrified kids, who are crying and saying that they are afraid to die," said Kristina Khodunova, who also escaped. "I am trying to explain to them that death is not scary, the most important thing is that we are together." |
I contacted each person to make sure they understood that we'd publish their words. "It's important for me to tell my story of survival," Karina, one of the displaced people quoted, told me in a WhatsApp message. "I want people to know the stories are not invented, the photos posted on social networks are not staged shots. This is the reality of what is happening to people right now." |
As I said, these accounts are not easy to read. I hope you will persevere. |
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