Why Can’t I Protect Myself?

I was living in Ukraine, and I still consider the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of Ukraine. But unfortunately, even in my own country, I could not stand up for Ukraine. Somebody had decided that those who support Ukraine should leave that territory. I could not carry the Ukrainian flag or bind a Ukrainian ribbon to my bag. One could have been beaten up or taken away for that. Every individual should have the right to express herself. More importantly, we live in a democratic state… But over there, other opinions were not acceptable; they had a change of power and established new republics.

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‘A’ created this story as a participant in the Girl-talk-Girl program (girltalkgirl.org) by Footage (footageproject.org). Girl-talk-Girl connects young women worldwide, using mobile digital storytelling to spark dialogue and change around the gender-based violence present in their lives. Footage is a NGO with a mission to raise voices to elevate lives through creative research, media arts, and the science of storytelling.