Poverty and fear

The poor are increasing in Ukraine. The ad interim government that took the lead of the Country after the fall of the regime of Viktor Yanukovich in February found empty state coffer. The Country is facing burdensome budgetary recovery demanding austerity measures and sacrifices that weigh heavily on the population. The price of petrol has skyrocketed, with a knock-on effect on basic commodities. Many people strive to make ends meet, and some are unable to. Kharkiv, 11 o’ clock: the city is just few kilometres away from the Russian border. For weeks, in this region in east Ukraine military forces in Kiev have come into conflict with separatist groups. Despite widespread tension, people are to be seen bustling around the Catholic Cathedral. Three days a week the Missionaries of Charity, the Don Orion sisters, are dedicated to medicating the poor. Chilblains and burns – caused by drawing too close to sources of warmth at nighttime under the effect of alcohol – are the most common diseases. The parish church in the center of the city ensures the supply of medicines. Here the sisters also organized a soup kitchen, which every day gives a hot meal to about 100 people, a home for unwed mothers and a focused service for support to street children. “People that come to us for help have doubled over the past months. Most of them are pensioners whose pension is insufficient to cover their housing expenses. Once they’ve paid their monthly rent they are left with nothing. The poor are our charisma. It responds to the words of the Gospel ‘I was hungry, I was thirsty and … whatever you did unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. Russian troops deployed on the borders. Incipient poverty is unaware of the news arriving from across the region, coupled by a climate of fear pervading the city. The city mayor Gennadiy Kernes – of Jewish descent – is still in critical conditions after having been shot in the back by unknown assailants. The ambush is the latest violent incident in the east of the country since Kiev launched its “anti-terrorism” operation against pro-Russian separatists. Kernes was allegedly shot by a sniper, although the exact circumstances of the attack and the reasons are not clear. The words of the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who declared that troops engaged in manoeuvres on the border with Ukraine had been withdrawn from Moscow, came as a relief, said Fr Grigoriy Semenkov, Chancellor of the Catholic diocese of Kahrkiv. Those Russian troops deployed just 45 kilometers from Kahrkiv forced the population to constantly live under “tremendous psychological pressure”. The Church, a possible message of reconciliation. “We are and remain near our people”, said the Catholic bishop of Kharkiv, Monsignor Marian Buszek, with great serenity. Precisely in this city, in the month of March, the Catholic bishops of all Ukraine have decided to hold their plenary meeting. “Only the auxiliary bishop of Simferopole, Monsignor Jazek Pyl, didn’t manage to arrive for fear that if he left Crimea he might never return. If he stays, we will also have to stay with our parishioners”. Over the past days the bishop received many phonecalls: “The faithful are asking how to react. They ask if we will stop doing catechism or if we intend to change the hours of Mass. But we have decided to continue as usual, and for those who are not afraid are doors are always open”. Last Sunday the faithful gathered at the curia of Kharkiv, to follow the live TV broadcast of the canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII. In Easter the two Catholic and Orthodox bishops (from Kiev’s patriarchate) took part in the respective liturgies in an ecumenical spirit. “The Church – Msgr. Buszek said – is open to all believers, regardless of their nationality. In our Churches Mass is celebrated in Russian, Polish, Ukrainian. This is the message of reconciliation we can give as Christians: to bear personal witness of the fact that languages and diversity cannot be a cause of war. This reconciled Church is saying to Ukraine that today, despite language diversity, everyone has a place in the common home”. The bishop launched a twofold appeal. The first to the believers that they may pray for peace and unity in Ukraine: “People are afraid, and as Christians we must bear Christian witness that if Christ won over death, he can also win over our hearts and repeat, in today’s situation ‘do not be afraid.'” The bishop also appealed to the international community: “It does nothing, or too little. It sits and waits until what has happened in Crimea will happen again”. Maria Chiara Biagioni, SIR Europe correspondent