Actors have come together to re-interpret the stories as told by ATO veterans – provoking many emotional responses.
The first meeting of the Civil Pixel project with ATO veterans and their families took place in Kharkiv.
A group of psychologists from Line of Agreement, together with actors of the Beautiful Flowers theater, helped the demobilized ATO fighters to rethink their military experiences.
Stories told by the veterans were immediately turned into mini-performances in front of them.
“Of course, there were lots of emotions, women cried, men changed their countenance. And it was not just a reaction to the actors’ interpretations, but to the stories themselves,” project curator Olga Ladiya-Shcherbakova said.
A former ATO, called Yuri Demenkov, commented: “Here, at this meeting you feel qualitatively different emotions, more communication. There are no obligations, here everything is completely different from the ATO atmosphere.”
The overall impression from veterans about the project was a desire to come again. Future meetings are planned for March 5 and early April in Kharkiv, and two in May in Chuguev and Lozova.
Organizers said the meeting, that brought together demobilized ATO participants, their relatives and others, was vitally important for the project and its effect will increase with time.
American colleagues of the Kharkiv activists are also sure of the project’s positive effect. Civil Pixel received support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI).
Read more news: Volunteers will use the technique of interactive theater for ATO soldiers
