INKTOBER

Collection of illustrations with ghosts👻

2 years since Mariupol defenders started to leave Azovstal in Mariupol and were captured by russians. Around 2000 Mariupol defenders are still in russian captivity.

Photo from Azovstal by Dmytro "Orest" Kozatskyi

okay here we go.

this year I have absolutely no creative energy to put all my emotions and feelings into words but I’ll try to.

i have little positivity left in me, the only thing I’m thinking about today is gratitude. I am so very thankful to Ukrainian Armed Forces, to titans and gods, who are holding my world together. my Ukraine stands tall despite all of the hardships thanks to you only. i can only hope that I can repay you with something.

there is less hope than last year. I remember writing about "victorious year" and I still stand by it but it was also a year of tragedies, so many tragedies. there are simply no words to describe this pain.

and one can only hope this year will be just a little better. that it will be successful for Ukrainian Air Forces and they would proudly say 100 out of 100 missiles were downed, for all brunches of Ukrainian defence forces on the ground: may Ukrainian flag fly about all of our country again!

thank you to all of the people who help us in any way possible. maybe we don’t say it enough but we are grateful, eternally grateful.

and sorry to anyone who find me annoying for posting only about Ukraine. that is my life and my Ukraine, and I only have one of each.

to 2024, may you be less awful.

Middle East Eye

Syria’s civilians are increasingly forgotten as humanitarian aid dries out

The Islamic State and drug kingpins fill the void as desperate civilians look for alternatives to feed themselves

The millions of civilians in need of humanitarian aid in Syria are bracing themselves for dwindling international help this year, after the World Food Programme (WFP) has ended its mandate for the country as of 2024.  The Syrian government last week extended its approval for cross-border United Nations humanitarian aid to be delivered through a crossing with Turkey for another six months.  The mechanism is an attempt by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad government to enhance his legitimacy in the eyes of the international community since Russia, a main backer of Assad, blocked UN Security Council resolution to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing in July, forcing international partners to work with Damascus. 

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20 Days in Mariupol (Mstyslav Chernov, 2023)

"An emotionally devastating account of the inhumanity of war."

"Documentary film-making rarely gets more impactful and devastating than this personalised account of life inside the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol at the start of last year’s Russian invasion."

З Днем Незалежности, моя кохана Україно.🇺🇦💘

Happy Independence Day, my beloved Ukraine.🇺🇦💘

May 18 is the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars from the territory of Crimea in 1944 by the Soviet authorities. It is also a remembrance day for the victims of this genocide.

Thread on deportation of Crimean Tatars

It is heartbreaking what just happened in Venezuela with the elections, especially with having to read people's opinions who obviously have never actually listened to Venezuelans or Venezuelans who are not connected to the government.

There were Venezuelans coming back after escaping the country just to vote, people getting rid of their fear to vote, my great-grandmother who needs aid to move went out to vote, all my family back home voted, and people all across the country went out to vote.

Some were not allowed, the military kept them out, and the military closed some voting boots, the law in Venezuela dictates that boots that still have people waiting to vote must wait for all to vote and then close, the law dictates that people are allowed to be on the room while the votes are being counted. None of that happened, boots with nobody waited to close past hour while boots with people were being closed, and people were not allowed in the room even though they were asking and demanding their right to be there.

People are protesting and risking their lives both yesterday and today, because the elections were rigged, and everyone in Venezuela is tired from their bullshit.

Please, please, please, don't say that the Venezuelan people chose Maduro, don't support whatever they say, even if they said they support Palestine, do you really want the support of someone who has destroyed their own country? ignore the needs and wants of their people? force people out of the country because there is no electricity, food, or medicine? I don't care where you fall on the political spectrum, THIS IS WRONG.

As a Venezuelan, I am crying and heartbreak for what just happened.

My part for #/dalsy_dtiys2! I love the result so much! The original DTIYS itself is so so so beautiful that I couldn't come across it and not give it a shot. Thanks, @/dalseyn (instagram)!

🌑

Моя участь у #/dalsy_dtiys2! Мені так подобається результат! Оригінальний DTIYS настільки гарний, що не можна було пройти повз і не спробувати. Дякую, @/dalseyn (інстаґрам)!

A little Child carries a white flag as he flees with his dad and sister from Israeli bombardment in gaza. The father asks him why are you holding it? The kid replies with: I don't know!!

Translation for their conversation:

- Where are you going? Are you scared?

= No!

- Why are you carrying a white flag?

= I don't know!!

- We're moving cause we're under attack

= yeah

- Are you scared?

= No!

- what about you Soma (the little girl)?

= Yes. (Little soma is scared).

- The tank is behind us, hurry up.

Soma runs and calls "baba" and he says: Don't be scared sweetie. Don't! Alhamdulilah we were able to get them out.

This is how displaced people woke up today, trying to gather their family to get away from the bombs. In what world is it obligatory for a child to hold a white flag? Shouldn't the fact that he's a child be a white flag in itself?