B.C. aid worker says Ukrainian resolve as strong as ever

In Ukraine, many people are marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion by simply trying to get through their daily lives, and a B.C.-based aid worker says they are showing an unshakable sense of resolve.

Chard Martz is director of operations for Hungry for Life, a Chilliwack-based humanitarian aid organization, and he has been dividing his time between B.C. and the front lines of the conflict.

“The first five weeks, I think most people would say that Ukraine thought they wouldn’t stand much of a chance. It was absolute chaos because Russia was closing around Kyiv and other areas of the country,” he tells CityNews.

“From there it just really galvanized people as a nation to do whatever they possibly can, everybody helping everybody to protect each other.”

But Martz says the weight of time and the constant pressure of Russian ground and missile attacks is taking a toll on everyday Ukrainians, who are also dealing with blackouts through the winter as energy infrastructure has been destroyed.

“And there is a lot of death. There is military coming home in body bags all the time. We don’t talk about numbers in the country — we don’t discuss it much — because emotionally and mentally it is just too much to take,” he adds. “But you know when families have their loved ones arrive home. It’s happening all the time.”

Martz’s wife, who is Ukrainian by birth, has been staying in the west of the country full-time as they organize aid efforts, including the distribution, Martz says, of 2.4 million pounds of food to areas hit hard by constant attacks and shelling, much of it delivered by volunteers in mini-vans.

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“When we go to the front lines in the east and the south, and to de-occupied areas, that’s where people are living under extreme pressure. We continue to provide food, hygiene supplies, and clean water is in need.”

He describes an evolution of need since the invasion began — from a total lack of access to food in the first weeks to feeding families unable to work because of the loss of infrastructure and services.

“Where we are going is more of the places where people don’t have the ability to get out or they’ve been under occupation so they don’t have regular access to get to food or they don’t have that many resources to provide for it.

“We are there to help sustain people through this economic difficulty they are facing within the country,” he said.

But Martz says despite the difficulties, many Ukrainians are showing a remarkable resolve to carry on with life in the face of Russian attacks.

“To be with a person who had just lost their home due to a rocket attack, he was standing right in front of it, and we are asking how he is going to make it — and I will never forget this — he just said, ‘With tears in our hands, we will rebuild,'” Martz says.

“We went into a village that was completely wiped out and there was one house left standing and there was a 70-year-old gentleman putting a tarp over his destroyed roof. We asked him if he needed any food and he said, ‘No, I’m good because I have four days of food and the next village doesn’t have anything, save it for them.'”

Martz says that determination, however, comes at a cost.

“Regular life is extremely hard and extremely harsh but there is no other option for them. They have to defend themselves. Without the support of the West and the resolve of the Ukrainian people, they wouldn’t be where they are right now.”