I want the world to know, were some of the last words whispered by Kateryna Savenko.
A Ukrainian Anne Frank
Kateryna Savenko lived in Mariupol, Ukraine with her beloved husband and daughter. On the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she began to record the events she was experiencing.
There are just 34 entries in total, after which the diary tragically ends.
It is a true miracle that Kateryna’s mother managed to smuggle two filled-up notebooks out of the occupied city. Her daughter had asked her to find this diary and tell the whole world what was happening in Mariupol. This almost biblical “I want the world to know” sentiment is something in people who have survived the hell created by the Russians.
Her diary has been published but not yet available for purchase outside of Ukraine and needs to be translated into English. Some have shared portions of her diary in texts.
Reading about the texts is painful. Take, for example, a note to her mother. The Russians shell the hospital and it goes up in flames. Kateryna’s mother finds her daughter by chance. She is lying under a checkered bag. And she dies in her mother’s arms two days later in the cellar.
Keepers of The Story
Kateryna’s daughter and her sister are the keepers of her story. Kateryna often addresses her sister in the pages of the diary once her text messages had stopped getting through.
To be honest, it’s a very harrowing diary, but it needs to be read because this is about the right to the truth. Kateryna’s voice must be heard by the world, just as she wanted.
The note in the photo above says:
Mom!
I’m wounded. To the city hospital! The doctors have all left. My leg is broken and my face is torn. Vitalik is dead.
Nadya in the hospital basement. Help.
Volya Radio
If you are on X, Marco is worth following for many things Ukrainian. In this episode of Volya radio, he shares some content from another diary written in Mariupol that is very similar to Kateryna’s. A mother writing to her son.
I embedded a video on Spotify of Marco reading from the diary. Start at the 5:50 mark in the video. He reads for about 10 minutes and then the Ukrainian hosts share their impressions.
What stands out is a common call:
“We have to hear it. We must not forget these people.”
I hope you’ll take time to listen and share this post with others. The words are not exaggerated though they are foreign to our Canadian experience.
After you have listened, please leave your comment below. Thank you.
As long as you keep reading, we’ll keep sharing stories from Ukraine.
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