By HANNA ARHIROVA (Associated Press)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of individuals with flowers, many unable to carry again tears, bid farewell Tuesday to an award-winning Ukrainian author who was amongst these killed by a Russian missile assault on a preferred restaurant in japanese Ukraine.
The memorial service for Victoria Amelina, 37, was held within the crowded primary corridor of Saint-Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv, the place ceremonies are normally held for troopers who have been killed on the battlefield.
Amelina died in a hospital from accidents sustained within the June 27 strike on a preferred restaurant regularly visited by journalists and support employees within the metropolis of Kramatorsk. Twelve different folks additionally misplaced their lives within the assault.
“Usually, we gather here to say goodbye to the most deserving,” mentioned Archimandrite Lavrentii, the Orthodox priest main the service. “Considering the times we live in, leading a worthy and dignified life for each of us is the best tribute we can offer in memory of those who have passed away into eternity.”
Around 100 folks, together with representatives from the Ukrainian literary neighborhood, family members, and residents of Kyiv gathered on the church to honor Amelina, a outstanding author who had turned her consideration from literature to documenting Russian struggle crimes after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Mourners approached the closed casket, gently touching the yellow and blue Ukrainian flag protecting it. Many couldn’t maintain again tears. To the left of the casket, folks laid flowers, a few of which have been adorned with ribbons within the colours of the Ukrainian flag. At the top of the farewell, a mountain of flowers stood subsequent to a portrait of Amelina, a red-haired girl with a pale face and a penetrating gaze pictured in opposition to a darkish background.
A funeral will likely be held Wednesday in Amelina’s hometown of Lviv.
Dmytro Kovalchuk, 31, was having dinner with Amelina on the restaurant when a Russian Iskander missile struck the constructing. He labored as a producer for a crew of writers — Amelina and a gaggle of Colombian authors.
He mentioned Amelina was the primary one to be evacuated to the hospital. She sustained an harm when the roof collapsed, and a bit of iron reinforcement struck her head.
“Victoria remained in her seat as she was,” recalled Dmytro. It appeared like she was high quality, however she didn’t reply when known as by her title.
“It was an honor to work with her,” mentioned Kovalchuk, including that Amelina was a really well mannered and sort particular person.
After the service, the coffin and the flowers have been loaded into a protracted black car that departed for Lviv amid the sturdy and haunting sound of the trembita, a Ukrainian alpine horn manufactured from wooden.
Victoria Amelina is one among over 60 artists killed in Ukraine for the reason that begin of the full-scale struggle, mentioned Tetiana Teren, the pinnacle of PEN Ukraine.
“She had doubts about whether literature and culture could have an impact and support the country during such a horrific genocidal war. And she began to search for her own role, what she could contribute,” mentioned Teren, holding a Ukrainian flag, about Amelina’s determination to doc struggle crimes.
“Victoria strongly believed that we not only have to win this war, but we must bring to justice and hold accountable all those who committed crimes, who continue to kill Ukrainians and undermine our culture”.
Amelina was born Jan. 1, 1986, in Lviv. In 2014 she printed her first novel, “The November Syndrome, or Homo Compatiens,” which was shortlisted for the Ukrainian Valeriy Shevchuk Prize.
She went on to write down two award-winning kids’s books and one other novel. In 2017, her novel, “Dom’s Dream Kingdom,” acquired nationwide and worldwide accolades — together with the UNESCO City of Literature Prize and the European Union Prize for Literature.
Her fiction and essays have been translated into many languages, together with English, Polish, Italian, German, Croatian, Dutch, Czech, and Hungarian.
In 2021, she based the New York Literature Festival, which takes place in a small city known as New York within the Donetsk area of Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the invasion, Amelina had devoted herself to documenting Russian struggle crimes in japanese Ukraine, PEN America mentioned. In Kapytolivka, close to Izium, she found the diary of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a Ukrainian author killed by the Russians.
She additionally started writing her first work of English nonfiction shortly earlier than her loss of life. In “War and Justice Diary: Looking at Women Looking at War,” Amelina recounts tales of Ukrainian ladies amassing proof of Russian struggle crimes. It is anticipated to be printed quickly, in response to PEN Ukraine.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”