It’s becoming a tradition to run to the shelter in the evenings. And it’s not because the shootings activate at this time, but because by the morning, at around 4 a.m., you tend to be so exhausted and cold that you need to go home to get warm and sleep horizontally on something made not of concrete. And during this time, you don’t care about the sirens honestly. By the evening, you’ve had some rest, did some work (yes, I still have full-time remote work), maybe helped people in need (senior neighbors who need food) and did some socially useful things (like spreading info about the war, participating in cyber war to protect the information space, sharing information about the people who need help and volunteering). After that your senses become more acute and the alert cannot be ignored any more, - and so you run to the shelter.
Our shelter is an underground parking of the office near our house, just across the boulevard. Two floors underground, dry but stone cold. The maintenance stuff turned on the heating, but it’s like trying to heat an ocean with a lighter. The good thing is that the place is spacious and there’s plenty of staff inside. As I’ve said, it’s under the office building, and so people brought benches, chairs and soft bags here.
Probably the best thing about this place is the presence of journalists. The thing is that we share a bomb shelter with one of Ukrainian TV channels, so when there’s an alert, the presenters come down to continue broadcasting from here. On this poor-quality screenshot made by my friends who were watching the live streaming you can see me – walking on the left. When the journalists are not here, we can watch the live streaming on the TV here.
Being among people feels soothing. You don’t feel alone in this tragedy, it sometimes even feels like everything’s alright. People support each other, sharing tea, cookies and blankets. It has almost become the new normal. I remember adapting to the “new normal” two years ago. Staying at home because of the pandemic seemed a disaster back then. They say you can truly know something when you compare it. This is an absolute and unwavering truth.
