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The Kite Runner is the story of twelve-year-old Amir in 1970’s Kabul, and recounts traumatic events of his childhood in the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban. This book, by Khaled Hosseini, is a story of redemption amidst generational trauma in times of war. This book is also the one Oleksandra keeps coming back to, in life, and in this interview.
Storms have a way of exposing the fragility of our foundations. And when stripped of everything, humans are just that, human.
“War is a huge test for your beliefs. We live in this contrast. We see the best part of human nature, and the deepest cruelty. And it’s very hard,” reflected Oleksandra.
On Sunday, July 2, I sat down with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk. Oleksandra gave the Salzburg Lecture as part of the Salzburg Global Weekend, an annual weekend program meant for the organization’s board members, Fellows, and invited guests. This year’s theme was Democracy on the Front Lines. Throughout our conversation, I saw in Oleksandra the duality of war; the pragmatic, task-oriented determination of ending a conflict and rebuilding a country, along with the pain and suffering that comes with an endless fight.
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a lifetime.” – The Kite Runner
On February 24, 2022, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine started. Oleksandra’s fight, however, started long before that. “I have been documenting war crimes for nine years already and when we started our recommendations in February 2014, we had no idea that a war had begun. And now, in a large-scale invasion, we’re faced with unprecedented numbers of war crimes, which means unprecedented level of human pain… I have never been faced with such pure and intensive human pain before. It's very difficult, not just from a professional point of view, because when you have everyday fires, you ask yourself … ‘who will provide justice for all the victims?’ … But it's also very difficult from a personal point of view, because we're all human beings. And with all my experience, with all my knowledge, with all my work in the field for the previous years, I wasn't prepared for this,” said Oleksandra.
In 2022, Oleksandra and the non-profit organization she leads, the Centre for Civil Liberties, won the Nobel Peace Prize. This was the first Nobel Prize awarded to a Ukrainian citizen or organization. With this award comes sudden international attention. For decades, the voice of human rights defenders in the region were left unheard, in the vicinity of the international human rights community, but not in the room where decisions were being made.
“For decades, Russia persecuted their own civil society, killed journalists, jailed activists, dispersed peaceful demonstrations. Russia committed horrible war crimes in Chechnya, in Moldova, in Georgia, in Syria, and Libya. But the civilized world turned a blind eye to this. They continued to shake hands with Russian leadership and build gas pipelines, did business as usual. This led Russians to think that they can do whatever they want. The Nobel Peace Prize makes the voice of human rights defenders stronger,” said Oleksandra.
Being in the limelight does not come without risk. The enforced disappearance of Ukrainian human rights defenders, journalists, activists, politicians, and other civilians by Russian forces have been part of a systemic effort to terrorize the Ukrainian population and break local resistance. Even then, Oleksandra refuses to back down.
“I have no fear. When the large-scale invasion started, I didn't evacuate from Kiev… We don't know whether or not Russian soldiers will be on the streets of Kiev next morning. And because I work since 2014, I know what it will mean for active people and for me particularly. Life is very fragile. I'm afraid only that I'm not guaranteed to live 200 years. If I had these 200 years, I would feel more secure because I think I will have a huge chance to complete my tasks. Because life is fragile, I have to run very fast.”
While fearless, in February 2022, Oleksandra had two other emotions; “the first was anger, such huge anger. Nine years ago, we fought with the whole state corruption and with the authoritarian regime just for a chance. Just for a chance to build the country where the rights of everybody are protected, the government is held accountable, judiciary is independent, and the police don't beat students in the street. When we got this chance, Russia started this war of aggression [and] occupied Crimea, [and] parts of Lugansk and Donetsk regions. And all these years, we have had no luxury to concentrate on democratic transitions because we have to defend ourselves from Russia. And now they decided that we had no right to have a democratic choice. I was so angry.”
Oleksandra however also felt love. Love because while war tends to destroy everything in its path, it also unites. “Ordinary people started doing extraordinary things. They risked their lives to save others whom they had never met before. I felt so proud to belong to this people. And I feel so much love to be part of this people. This pushed out the fear.”
During the Salzburg Global Lecture, Oleksandra mentioned she “doesn’t know when her story will end”. She seems so absorbed by her mission, she forgets about her own existence.
“Four days ago, my friend Victoria Amelina was hit in a cafe in Kramatorsk by a Russian rocket. Now she is in a coma, and we don’t know what's going to be the future. It happened so suddenly, and so unexpectedly. It's once again reminded us that we never know how much time we have.”
Victoria Amelina was an award-winning Ukrainian writer. Since this interview, she has unfortunately died from her injuries, becoming the 13th casualty of this attack.
A recent sociological survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology revealed that 63% of Ukrainians have at least one close relative or friend who was killed by Russians.
When asked if she has time to pause or get mental health help, Oleksandra quickly responds: “We are in a marathon, and we have to do this marathon with the speed of a sprint. We have no time because time for Ukrainians converts in numerous deaths… That is why I need it, but I can’t allow myself to make a pause.”
For a lot of people, it seems unfathomable to exist for one purpose only, without an ounce of joy or distraction. If Oleksandra has any, she wouldn’t tell me, and for good reasons. “I remembered the words of my friend when the invasion started and Russian soldiers came to her native town. She took her two children, drove them to a safe place and lived in a new place for a long period before Russian troops withdrew from her region. In this new place, she tried her best to organize her children a happy childhood and she told me something very important. ‘Russians came to get everything we have. It’s not just territories. It’s joy, it’s love, it’s family, it’s future, it’s education.’ And I decided I wouldn’t provide them any chance.”
“I didn’t remember what month that was, or what year even. I only knew the memory lived in me, a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past, a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become.” – The Kite Runner
Oleksandra is already thinking ahead to the reconstruction of Ukraine into a better place than it was before the war even started. “I understand that it’s very difficult to speak during the war, but we will have no time to discuss when the war will end. And so we have to be prepared.”
“Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. Our way of life.” – The Kite Runner
Oleksandra wants to change the angle. Post war reconstruction is not just about rebuilding the physical ruins but modernizing a system that was already broken, focusing on people.
“People affected by this war have to be a priority. (We also have to) speak how to provide psychological and other assistance to victims or how to create compensation mechanisms for people … how to develop programs to support people who return into destroyed territories, how to provide additional stimulus for Ukrainian businesses who lost their assets during the war, how to work with the environment, which is severely endangered. And in order to do it, I think it's a necessity for international partners to work not just with the Ukrainian government, but with civil society, which means local mayors, local communities, civil society organizations, businesses, etc.”
Many human rights advocates have little education in or support for the mental health impacts of their work. In an international survey conducted by Columbia University’s Human Rights Law Review, alarming proportions of respondents met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sub-threshold PTSD, depression, and burnout. Even more alarming is that 83% of participants had access to little, to no counseling.
Post war, Oleksandra’s work will have to tackle not only the country’s reconstruction and her role within it, but also the damage war has caused for herself. That work still seems a long way ahead, and until then, Oleksandra is realistic about her prospects; “we have no other choice. We will continue our fight. If we stop fighting, there will be no more us.”