On the radio

Today on radio ERA, they were interviewing a director of a play that will open on the 14th in one of the theatres here in Kiev. Unfortunately, we didn't catch his name or the name of his play.

They took callers on the show. The political situation in Kiev is what's on people's minds here so they got some callers who wanted to talk politics. One caller in particular asked how, being a part of the arts and cultural scene of Kiev and Ukraine, he thinks they can resolve the east/west problem in the country.

This director answered and said (paraphrasing), "We saw what the government did and the result of it. These people in the east are not bad. They weren't a part of it. They did nothing wrong. What we need to do is to not call them names, to say they are this or that. We just need to love these people. That is what really happened in Maidan.

"Why do you think Yanukovych sent his people away from Kiev and stopped sending more of them here in the end? He planned on sending more. Why did he stop and send the others back? I'll tell you why.

"I stayed in the tents down at tent city for a few days on guard duty. There were some men down there who were also on guard duty with me. They were from the Donetsk area and had come to Kiev on one of the trains bringing Yanukovych supporters.

"But they said they had been left to fend for themselves after a few days and the people on Maidan fed them, gave them clothes and made sure they were taken care of. So they got rid of their blue and joined us.

"That's why Yanukovych stopped sending them. And that is the way we need to deal with the people in the east."