Testament of Bucha: one of a thousand tragedies
During the Russian occupation of Bucha, Tamila Mishchenko,
her 14-year-old daughter Hanna Mishchenko, Zhanna Kameneva and Maria Ilchuk tried to escape by car.
They hadn’t yet left the city, when the Russian military opened fire on the vehicle.
The car caught fire. All women died.
In his video documentary, Hanna's brother Yevhenii Mishchenko talks about the atrocities in Bucha and his mother and sister dying in the vehicle.
The project "Testament of Bucha" initiated by Andriy Radnyuk and Roman Semenyshyn-Braescu keeps their legacy alive.
The car, completely destroyed by gun shot, now stands in the middle of the idyllic scenery of the Ku’damm, as a wake-up call to remind us:
the war is real, and this exhibition serves as a symbol of the brutal crimes happening in the middle of Europe as we speak.
Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk, officially opened the exhibition at George Grosz Platz with these words:
"This car that stands behind me, serves as a reminder.
It serves as a warning.
A testament that this war has not diminished in its brutality,
on the contrary, we continue to be in the middle of a war, and this war is not directed against the military, or not only, but above all against ordinary people, people like us, who are here today."
The "Testament of Bucha" exhibition can be viewed here in Berlin until September 15.
"No one should ignore or forget the war in Ukraine.
When the project "Testament of Bucha" came up,
we could not just sit still, because it is a window
to the reality of Ukraine today.
It is a painful reminder of the consequences of the war:
the death of innocent people, the ruined lives of their relatives, destroyed cities and a worldwide tragedy."
so Anastasia Pasechnik and Borys Artiukovych of the Ukrainian Cultural Community (UCC).
UCC has also agreed to present and sell the art of 14-year-old Hanna Mishchenko.
The money raised will then be given to the family members of the victims in Ukraine.
Foundation AusserGewöhnlich Berlin supports "Testament of Bucha" because we have to realize that war is never something happening to someone else.
When people destroy other people, all of humanity must take heed.
We shouldn’t wait until "war crimes" have been committed.
War itself is the crime.
"Testament of Bucha" is the deafening alarm sound letting us know that we must work towards peace every day.
