*原文鏈接：https://medium.com/balakun/my-extra-power-for-story-writing-040edda04705
My Extra Power for Story Writing
And what it has to do with Donbas and Ukraine
By: Olesia F.
?
I’m a Ukrainian writing in English.
Originally from the Luhansk region of Ukraine (invaded by russia in 2014), I’ve not seen my parents since 2021. My mom passed away in occupation. My step-father is pro-russian, conciously staying in occupation and now lying in the hospital there with a serious illness.
“Thanks” to russians, I don’t have a home.
Thanks to Ukrainian Luhansk, I can write about it in English, self-reflecting on my?russification, restoring my true identity, and telling more people, including foreigners, about my homeland.
?My origins are my extra power to counteract russian propaganda about Donbas being pro-russian, about the “people of Donbas” calling russia in 2014 and asking to help, save, and protect them from the “Kyiv regime,” “nazis,” “nationalist bigots,” whatever.
When pro-russian bots come to the comments under my articles today and say that russia came to save the “people of Donbas,” I have the argument they can do nothing with:
I’m the “people of Donbas,” you morons!
I didn’t call russia. I had nothing to save me from. But even if I had, russia would be the last thing I asked to help me.?(Who in their right mind would call on the murderers of their ancestors for help?)
And guess what?
There are no “people of Donbas.” There is no “Donbas oblast’.”
There are Ukrainians from the East of Ukraine. There are Donetsk and parts of Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine staying on the?Donetsk Coal?Basin. (See “don” + “bas” there?) Geography, guys, you learned it?
I studied English at Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk.?(Yeap, that’s Taras Shevchenko who invaders call a “russian poet” and, simultaneously, remove his bas-relief near my alma mater.)
?I wrote more about notable Ukrainian writers, including Taras, here:
I practiced English as an intrepreneur at?Luhanskteplovoz.?(Yeap, that’s a large industrial company in Luhansk that had been manufacturing locomotives, multiple unit trains, and other heavy equipment for different countries — I worked as a translator with Indian representatives when they came to see how the production was going — until russians came, looted it, and made it completely inoperational.)
My English writing skills are my extra power to tell the world about my Luhansk, which is often unfairly forgotten. (People usually speak about “Donbas,” meaning Eastern Ukraine in general, but they often associate it with the Donetsk region only.)
?I talked about Luhansk in my story for this book,..
…and the invaded Luhansk is the place where the storyline of my upcoming novel takes place.
In 2022, Medium became my platform for self-reflection on my identity and culture and for being among the voices to tell about Ukraine, its people, and our struggles in the Russo-Ukrainian war (ongoing since February 2014.)
It’s not “the war in Ukraine.” And it’s not a “Ukrainian conflict.”
It’s a war with only one culprit and aggressor:
russia.
English is my power and opportunity to translate and share stories of our soldiers (many are from the Luhansk region, too) and communicate the situation to foreigners.
It’s a pity to see how many foreigners, including those in governments, don’t understand the context and don’t want to accept the true reason for the russian invasion: the destruction of Ukrainians and erasement of their identity; not all that sh*t about NATO, nazis, protection of russian-speaking Ukrainians, whatever.
I think that’s because of fear:
If you accept it’s genocide, you should do something with that. You won’t have any moral right to ignore it. So, it’s more comfortable (psychologically, too) to find another reason and thus justify your indifference and inactivity…
?Congrats, guys! You’re watching the genocide online now, and many of you are blaming the victim.
So, I’m here to tell my murderers again:
I’m the “people of Donbas” of Ukraine.
The Azov regiment you all are afraid of and publicize as “nazis” are Ukrainians who protect their lands and whom we, the people of Ukraine, love, respect, and call heroes.
We all are the people of Ukraine.
And, as a representative of the Eastern part of my country you invaded and genocided, I have a voice and writing power to state for the record in English:
?No one invited you or wanted to see you here.
Go to hell and take all that madman’s ramblings about “brotherly nations” with you. You aren’t brothers; you’re invaders. You’ve always been. You haven’t liberated my Donbas. You wiped my home off the face of the earth. Not putin, but all of you. You are terrorists and murderers, a nation of psychopaths proud of their crimes.
And I’m disappointed to see that the free world refuses to see it or doesn’t give a damn about it, letting your tyranny shine.
?
我寫作的超能力，以及它與頓巴斯和烏克蘭的關係
作者：Olesia F.
我是一名用英語寫作的烏克蘭人。
我來自烏克蘭盧甘斯克地區（2014年被俄羅斯入侵）。自從2021年以來，我就沒有見過我的父母。我的母親在被占領期間去世。我的繼父是親俄派，他有意識地留在被占領區，現在因重病躺在醫院裏。
“感謝”俄羅斯人，我無家可歸了。
感謝烏克蘭的盧甘斯克，我可以用英語寫作，自我反思我的“俄羅斯化”經曆，恢複我真實的身份，並向更多人，包括外國人，講述我的家園。
我的出身是我對抗俄羅斯關於頓巴斯親俄宣傳的超能力，包括那些關於“頓巴斯人民”在2014年呼籲俄羅斯幫助、拯救和保護他們，擺脫“基輔政權”、“納粹”、“民族主義偏執狂”等等謠言。
當親俄機器人今天在我的文章下評論，說俄羅斯來拯救“頓巴斯人民”時，我就有話懟死他們：
我就是你們說的‘頓巴斯人民’，蠢貨！”
我沒有呼籲俄羅斯。我沒有什麽需要他們拯救的。即使有，俄羅斯也是我最不可能尋求幫助的對象。（誰會在頭腦正常的情況下，向殺害他們祖先的凶手求助？）
猜猜怎麽著？
根本沒有所謂的“頓巴斯人民”。也沒有所謂的“頓巴斯州”。
有的是來自烏克蘭東部的烏克蘭人。有的是居住在頓涅茨克煤田的頓涅茨克、盧甘斯克和第聶伯羅彼得羅夫斯克州的烏克蘭人。（看看“頓”+“巴斯”這兩個字？)?地理，夥計們，你們學到了嗎？
我曾在塔拉斯·舍甫琴科盧甘斯克國立大學學習英語。（沒錯，就是那個被入侵者稱為“俄羅斯詩人”，並同時拆除我母校附近他的浮雕的塔拉斯·舍甫琴科。）
我在這裏寫了更多關於著名的烏克蘭作家，包括塔拉斯：
[八位幫助你了解這個國家的烏克蘭作家?(https://olesia-filipenko.medium.com/8-ukrainian-writers-to-help-you-understand-this-nation-63d357cba95c?)]
我作為企業家在盧甘斯克機車廠期間練習了英語。（沒錯，那是一家大型工業企業，生產機車、動車組和其他重型設備，銷往不同國家?–?當印度代表來看生產情況時，我為他們擔任翻譯?--?直到俄羅斯人來，搶劫並使其完全癱瘓。）
我的英語寫作技巧是我告訴世界關於盧甘斯克被不公平遺忘之事的超能力。（人們通常說“頓巴斯”，指的是整個烏克蘭東部，但他們通常隻將其與頓涅茨克地區聯係起來。）
我的英語寫作技巧是我向世界講述我的盧甘斯克的額外力量，盧甘斯克經常被不公平地遺忘。（人們通常說的“頓巴斯”，指的是整個烏克蘭東部，但他們通常隻將其與頓涅茨克地區聯係起來。）
在這本書裏，我在我的故事裏談到了盧甘斯克：
[《我不知道該如何寫作》(olesia-filipenko.medium.com)]?你會想讀這本書的。
……被入侵的盧甘斯克是我即將出版的小說的故事發生地。
2022年，Medium成為我自我反思身份和文化的平台，並是我講述烏克蘭、烏克蘭人民和我們在俄烏戰爭（自2014年2月以來）中的鬥爭的平台。
！這不是“烏克蘭的戰爭”。也不是“烏克蘭衝突”。
這是一場隻有一個罪魁禍首和侵略者的戰爭：俄羅斯。
英語是我的力量和機會，讓我能夠翻譯和分享我們士兵們的故事（其中許多人也來自盧甘斯克地區），並向外國人傳達局勢。
[烏克蘭士兵自述：戰火、庫爾斯克與俄羅斯的真相?(https://medium.com/areas-producers/ukrainian-soldier-on-war-kursk-and-russian-nature-2ebd9da413bb)]
令人遺憾的是，許多外國人，包括政府官員，不了解事情的真相，不願接受俄羅斯入侵的真正原因：摧毀烏克蘭人，抹殺他們的身份；而不是那些關於北約、納粹、保護講俄語的烏克蘭人等等的廢話。
我認為這是因為恐懼：
如果你承認這是種族滅絕，你就應該為此做些什麽。你將沒有任何道德權利去忽視它。所以，找到另一個理由，為你的冷漠和不作為開脫，這會讓你更舒服（在心理上也是如此）。
！恭喜各位！你們正在觀看在線直播的種族滅絕，而且你們中的許多人正在指責受害者。
所以，我再次來告訴我的凶手們：
我就是烏克蘭的“頓巴斯人民”。
你們害怕並宣傳為“納粹”的亞速營是保衛自己土地的烏克蘭人，我們烏克蘭人民，熱愛、尊重並稱他們為英雄。
（圖片來源：azovstalfamilies）
我們都是烏克蘭人民。
而且，作為你們入侵和種族滅絕的烏克蘭東部地區的代表，我有發言權和寫作能力用英語記錄：
！沒有人邀請你們，也沒有人想在這裏見到你們。
滾回地獄，帶走那個瘋子關於“兄弟民族”的所有胡言亂語。你們不是兄弟；你們是入侵者。你們一直都是。你們沒有解放我的頓巴斯。你們把我的家園從地球上抹去了。不隻是普京，而是你們所有人。你們是恐怖分子和凶手，是一個以自己的罪行而自豪的精神病民族。
我很失望地看到，自由世界拒絕看到這一切，或者根本不在乎，讓你的暴政大放異彩。
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