With Ukraine in the news and on our minds today, I would like to share a story about a new friend I made last spring.
Olena was visiting the United States through a program offered by the American Councils for International Education, and for several weeks she worked in my office, attending legislative briefings and advocacy meetings along with staff members. Given the nature of her visit, we all made it a point to discuss state government and policy with her, but the conversations always naturally drifted to more personal topics, like our families, the Red Sox, or opinions on where the best pizza could be found in the North End.
Suffice it to say, Olena got to know us, and we got to know her.
She talked about the early stages of Russia’s invasion, how she fled Ukraine with her children, leaving her husband behind, and how she felt compelled to return home despite the danger. She talked of the war and the carnage that had become a part of daily life back home. Several members of her family, people who until recently had been ordinary citizens like you and I, were now soldiers killed in action while defending their homes. Olena told us about her uncles who had died, her husband who was a military reserve officer, and her daughter, who was doing the very normal thing of wondering what college she should go to despite the world around her falling apart.
Our friend shared the reality of what happened. Russia invaded Ukraine. Despite what President Trump says, that is what happened, and it was wrong. I don’t know this just because I’ve followed the reporting since the conflict began. I know it because I have heard it directly from someone who was there, someone whose life was turned upside down, someone who suffered personal loss at the hands of invading Russian troops. Some in the United States feel they have the luxury to ignore or even refute these truths, but for people like Olena it is simply reality. Her life exists in a deadly struggle to preserve democracy and protect innocent communities. They are fighting for what we here seemingly take for granted.
Olena is more real than anything said by our President, repeated by a TV pundit, or shared in a social media comment section.
President John Adams wrote that “facts are stubborn things.” Well, reality is a stubborn thing too. I believe this is a space in which we can all act. We should challenge those who attempt to change facts and reality and in doing so weaken our democracy. Talk to the people you disagree with.
And we must support those living a tough reality not of their making, those who believe in their democracy and are willing to fight for its survival. My staff and I wish Olena and her family safety, and a future filled with the reality of hope and freedom.
State Senator John F. Keenan 