A Teacher’s Nightshift Underground
Tatyana, a 34-year-old literature teacher in central Kyiv, now spends her nights curled beneath classroom desks – but not her own. Since tensions escalated last week, she’s sheltered with neighbors in a converted metro station, her voice steady yet tired as she describes rationing phone battery to message former students: \"We tell stories to drown out the sirens.\"
The Rhythm of Resilience
Between air raid alerts, Tatyana organizes poetry readings and math drills for sheltering children. \"Normalcy is resistance,\" she insists, noting 62% of Ukrainians surveyed last month prioritized maintaining daily routines during crises. Her cracked smartphone screen displays a digital countup – 117 hours underground at time of interview.
Cross-Generational Solidarity
While global markets track geopolitical developments, Tatyana tracks which elderly neighbors need spare blankets. Young volunteers like her 19-year-old nephew Dmytro shuttle supplies between shelters on electric scooters – a logistical network mirroring Kyiv’s famed delivery startups. \"We’ll rebuild,\" she says, eyes on a child’s crayon drawing taped to concrete walls. \"But first, we survive.\"
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
