KYIV: Moments after the bus returning him and more than a dozen other children from Russian-held territory arrived in Kyiv, a ten-year-old boy jumped straight into his father’s arms.
Denys Zaporozhchenko held his son and kissed his forehead, before also hugging his two daughters who were among the 17 children separated from their parents for months.
The reunion was organized by Save Ukraine, an NGO that fights what it says are illegal deportations of Ukrainian children to Russian-controlled territory.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
Russia denies the allegations, saying instead it has saved Ukrainian children from the horrors of the war.
But the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
Zaporozhchenko last saw his children in October in Kherson, the only regional capital that Russian forces captured following the invasion, when they left for a so-called Russian summer camp.
He expected tough fighting in his home city as Ukrainian forces were pushing closer to recapturing it, which they ultimately did in November.
Sending his kids to Crimea — a scenic and touristy peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 — seemed the lesser evil.
Russian officials “promised to send them to these camps for a week or two,” he told AFP.
“By the time we realized we shouldn’t have done it (let them go), it was too late,” he said.
Families were sometimes pressured into sending their kids on the so-called holidays, said Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer working with Save Ukraine.
“(Russian officials) told parents that they have one hour to think, and that if Ukrainians get there before, they will bring American mercenaries who will beat and rape the children.”
After “blackmail, manipulation and intimidation, they take the children away,” Kharchenko added.
Parents have previously had to embark on the fraught journey themselves to find their children on their own, Kharchenko said.
But for the first time, Save Ukraine group organized a group collection for the separated children by assuming power of attorney for those parents unable to make the journey.
They chartered a bus that went through Poland and Belarus and then to Russia, before picking up the children in annexed Crimea.
Some of children interviewed by AFP described a level of political indoctrination.
“If we didn’t sing the (Russian) national anthem, they made us write an explanatory note. Over the New Year, we were shown Putin’s speech,” 15-year-old Taisia said.
Zaporozhchenko’s 11-year-old daughter, Yana, said “everything was like in normal camps” but camp officials “made us sing and dance when inspectors came” from Moscow.
Forty-three-year-old Inesa Vertosh said her son had become “more serious” after the long separation.
“He looks at me and says ‘Mom, I don’t want to tell you about it, you wouldn’t sleep at night’.”
All children will be given psychological support, said Kharchenko.
Her organization was “doing everything so that children and their parents do not return to dangerous territories,” she added.
Ukraine children held by Russia reunited with parents
https://arab.news/p4g5q
Ukraine children held by Russia reunited with parents
- The reunion was organised by Save Ukraine, an NGO that fights what it says are illegal deportations of Ukrainian children to Russian-controlled territory
- Russia denies the allegations, saying instead it has saved Ukrainian children from the horrors of the war
Old Delhi iftars revive Mughal heritage, one course at a time
- Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma iftars have been held in Old Delhi since 2017
- Muslim and non-Muslim participants arrive from across India and abroad
NEW DELHI: On a rooftop in Delhi’s historic walled city, guests from across India sit on cushions around a low table overlooking Jama Masjid, waiting for its sunset call to prayer — the signal to start a special iftar that will take them back four centuries, to the Mughal era, if only for a while.
Mughals ruled the Indian subcontinent between the 16th and 19th centuries. Originally from Central Asia, they carried traditions borrowed from Arabs, Persians and Ottomans, which they merged with the various local Indian styles — a fusion that marked the global revival of Islamic architecture and culture.
Jama Masjid is one of the most iconic examples of the Mughal style — a scenic background to the curated iftars that bring 40 to 50 people from across India to share a meal, knowledge and experience.
“People getting together from different walks of life, different parts of the country, different religions, different cultures coming together — it was absolutely and completely amazing,” said Arvind Sirohi, who took part in the event with his wife.
“Lovely storytelling, amazing food, and end of the day, right next to Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. The ambience, the environment, the atmosphere came together so beautifully.”
The community-led iftar experience is called Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma — from Urdu words meaning a “spread of food” and “showing the world.”
For Veena Sirohi, it did exactly what the name promised by bringing together people from different communities, different parts of India, and abroad.
“I think that’s a great way of synthesizing different cultures, bringing people together, bringing the human aspect of what we all are ... we are actually all one,” she told Arab News.
“And we had some wonderful comperes who told us about … the history of Ramadan, what goes behind it, how the food is curated, and how each and every item has a specific place in the menu.”
Served in gilded bowls and plates from traditional Indian crockery, with rose petals dotting the dastarkhwan cloth, the dishes were some of the festive Ramadan delicacies, offering a taste of Mughal culinary heritage.
Among them was mutanjan, or fragrant rice cooked with ghee, sugar, saffron, cardamom, and studded with nuts, which for many Indian Muslims is traditionally the first dish to break the fast.
It was followed by shabde, a rich, slow-cooked aromatic meat stew or the Delhi biryani — a fragrant, mildly spiced saffron rice and meat dish, where marinated chicken or mutton is layered with basmati rice and cooked slowly.
The hearty feast closed with nihari, a hearty stew simmered overnight with spices and bone marrow, which emerged in the 18th century and was originally eaten by Mughal royals for breakfast.
“These are the traditional dishes which are not usually available in the market, but are specially prepared by the bawarchees (cooks) of Old Delhi. Some of the dishes are occasional dishes,” said Abu Sufiyan Khan, the founder of Tales of City, the cultural experience company that has been curating Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma since 2017.
The special iftars are hosted once a week throughout the fasting month, usually on weekends. There are variations in dishes served as they come from different kitchens, as Tales of City collaborates with various local artisans and cooks.
“We are curating this with different experts and every time the menu changes,” Khan said.
“We bring all these dishes onto a single dastarkhwan, and we share this meal with the people coming from all over India to break bread together in the holy month of Ramadan, know each other, learn about each other’s culture, and create a dialogue space where we can have more meaningful conversations and an opportunity to get to know each other.”
Those who take part, like Ayandrali Dutta, a food critic, appreciate everything about the experience, especially as it takes place in Old Delhi, where the vibe is always “jovial, lively, in all positive ways” during Ramadan.
“You get to meet interesting people, you get to hear interesting stories ... It’s a great initiative to show what Ramadan is, what kind of food is eaten, talk about the cultures between Lucknow and Delhi and other parts of the country. And it just brings a lot of happiness,” she said.
“I loved it. My heart is happy, my belly is full. Nothing else I can ask for.”
