On open hearts.
I get very emotional when I think about all the people who have helped Ukrainians around the world. If we start talking about the neighboring countries around Ukraine who took in refugees, forget about it… I’m going to start full on weeping. People are incredible and in the face of the worst tragedies they show their true hearts.
People of Poland. It’s overwhelming to even start to thank the incredible people of Poland for all they have done for our country. As our presidents said: there will virtually no longer be a boundary between our countries. My friends in Poland went above and beyond to try and help - I am so immensely thankful and proud of them. At Eurovillage I got to meet two cuties from Poland and their presence, seeing their flag, brought so much immense peace. That’s the only way I can describe my feelings in that moment, peace.
I met a ton of people from Moldova while in Turin. Moldova is another country that has been terrorized by russian imperialism. Turns out that a lot of people from Moldova moved to Italy over the years. A woman working at a shop told me how much she wanted to come back to Moldova to help her grandma. She’s never wanted to come back until the war started. At Eurovillage a girl from Moldova was so proud of the song that represented her country (it is an amazing bop and you can’t help but dance to it). After Ukraine won we held each other for a while. The pain and pride in our embrace were palpable.
A man from Romania ran over to us when he saw Ukrainian flags before the grand final started. He was telling us how excited he was for Ukraine to win and to come to Ukraine next year. (Had to pause to cry.) I of course started saying that there is a chance that the war won’t be over in time and that other countries may help us host. He stopped me. (Pausing to cry again.) He stopped me and he said: No. Next year we will all be in Ukraine. Everyone will come to Ukraine to celebrate your country.
Thank you to all who continue to support us. We need you so very much and we will need you when we rebuild. Thank you for standing with Ukraine.