A selection of films from The Reckoning Project about Russian war crimes in Ukraine will be shown at the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Buenos Aires. Following the film screening, there will be a discussion with the project's co-founder, Ukrainian journalist Natalia Gumenyuk. The event will be moderated by Argentine journalist Carolina Amoroso.
When: March 21, 7:00 PM
Where: Centro Cultural Recoleta, Junín 1930, C1113 Buenos Aires, Argentina
“RETURN ME TO MY DAD”. THREE UKRAINIAN CHILDREN SENT TO RUSSIA AGAINST THEIR WILL
The film tells the story of the Mezhevyi family, residents of the city of Mariupol, which was attacked and captured by the Russian troops. The children were separated from their father during the forced evacuation following a violent filtration procedure. The father was detained. Later, three kinds were sent to the sanatorium near Moscow, where they were given a choice: adoption by a Russian family or being moved to an orphanage. Fortunately, the eldest boy Matvii found a way to call the father. Yevhen managed to save his children from Russia and reach Latvia where the family is currently building their new life.
THE MOST FRIGHTENING DAYS OF MY LIFE. YAHIDNE
In March 2022 the Russian troops for a month locked up 367 residents of the village Yahidne in a school basement. In a room of only 86 m2 people including the elderly and children were imprisoned and denied food and medication. On the 5th day, the first death occurred as a result of asphyxiation. In total, ten people died inside the basement. The dead bodies remained inside the room, alongside those who were still alive, for an extended period of time, as the occupiers would not allow those bodies to be buried. Fifteen more people were killed outside of the basement. The film tells the story of how it all happened, and how people managed to survive.
THE LOST PARADISE. VIKTOR MARUNYAK
Viktor Marunyak, the Head of Stara Zburivka, a village in the Kherson Oblast, shares memories of his unlawful arrest and the violent tortures that the Russian soldiers subjected him to after the village was occupied. He was only released when his health deteriorated to the point of it becoming critical. Viktor, and his wife Katia, eventually managed to evacuate and find a quiet place in Latvia where they recall the paradise that had been lost due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
THE HOSPITAL THAT WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE
A pesar de las amenazas y las tácticas de miedo practicadas por los militares rusos, durante 9 meses 80 médicos siguieron prestando ayuda médica a los residentes locales de Snihurivka tras la ocupación de la ciudad en el sur de Ucrania. Practicaban cirugías en condiciones inadecuadas y trataban a los invasores, en virtud de su compromiso con los juramentos médicos. Los médicos también trataban a las personas que habían sido encarceladas y torturadas, ocultaban material médico durante los registros y mantenían el contacto con el mundo exterior para contar su verdadera historia, mientras esperaban la liberación.
Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist, and author specializing in conflict reporting. She is the founder and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab which promotes constructive discussion around complex social issues. After the full-scale Russian invasion, Gumenyuk co-founded "The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies" which documents war crimes committed during the war. The Reckoning Project’s documentaries and articles have been published by TIME, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The Dial, and New Lines Magazine. In 2023, under Gumenyuk's leadership within the “Connecting The Continents” initiative, PIJL brought to Ukraine senior editors, public intellectuals and journalists from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Nataliya is the author of several documentaries and books, including “The Lost Island: Tales From The Occupied Crimea” and “The Maidan Tahrir” on the development after the Arab Spring, as well as the co-author of the book “The Scariest Days of My Life. The Dispatches of The Reckoning Project“. As a foreign news correspondent, she has reported from over 50 countries. Nataliya regularly writes for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, The Rolling Stone, Die Zeit, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
Carolina Amoroso is an Argentine journalist, host and writer. She won the Martín Fierro Award as a female host and the FOPEA award for in-depth journalism for the documentary “Darién, the jungle of hell”. She currently works as host of the television program TN Internacional and the daily news program Está Pasando, on the channel Todo Noticias (TN), a media for which she has carried out international coverage work in Ukraine, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Chile, Paraguay, and in the migratory routes of the Darién jungle and the Central Mediterranean, among other places. She is a columnist for Cadena 3, where she develops Un mundo de historias, and she also participates in the radio program Día de tregua broadcast by the Radio con vos station. Amoroso is the author of two books: “Llorarás. Stories of the Venezuelan Exodus” and “Hacking Argentina”.
This event was made possible by generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the Human Rights in Action Program implemented by Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.
USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID’s work demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience, and advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAID’s current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please call USAID’s Development Outreach and Communications Office at: +38 (044) 521-5753. You may also visit our website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine