Tomorrow evening Craig and I are going to the train station in Kyiv and we are heading to Wroclaw. I am leaving my home, again. I have now done this a few times and each time it hurts like hell. God knows if I will be able to ever return. I believe I will, and I want to. I believe all of us will return next year. But again, only God knows. I don’t want to leave tomorrow but I need to get back to Marta and Bunster. It is a sad feeling to leave Kyiv, and I also feel guilty.

The first time we left was the day after the war started. Something none of us will ever forget. At that stage we were terrified and in shock. I am not in shock anymore but the sadness is still there. But I am also inspired and high on life. It is a roller coaster of emotions and it is very hard to describe this feeling. One needs to understand Kyiv and one needs to be here to experience the magic and miracle that is Ukraine. The world predicted that Kyiv would fall in 3 days, and it never happened. Then the Russians were going to freeze everyone to death during the winter, and that never happened. Ukraine is strong and brave. This is the story of David and Goliath. But this story is far from over. Yes, there is a lot of stress about the future. Russia has endless money and way too many zombies that they keep sending to the meat grinder. Looking only at the numbers, things do not look good for Ukraine. But, Ukraine knows why they are fighting. They have the support from much of the normal world, and they have truth on their side. Please God the truth wins out – it generally does. One think I keep wondering: what do Russian soldiers think when they kill Ukrainians. And it is not just Ukrainian soldiers they kill, but also, so many civilians.

I hope I will be able to come back again soon. Maybe Marta will return home with me on the next train ride I take from Wroclaw to Kyiv. I know she desperately wants to return home. Wroclaw has been good to us and we can’t complain. Bunster is in a good kindergarten, the city is kind and pretty, and the fridge is full of food. So many people are fighting, and dying, so that we can one day return to Kyiv. When you are in Kyiv everyone speaks about the soldiers. The soldiers are the reason I can sit in my home in Kyiv and write this. God protect them all.

We have had a busy time here in Kyiv over the past 6 weeks filming interviews and capturing moods and texture. Our film project is in the last stretch and soon we will see the full film come together. It is going to be a powerful and important piece of work and we hope it will showcase the magic that we all experience here in Kyiv. In our group of people that are featured in the film, there are now 6 new Ukrainians. People from our film are getting married in the war, and some are having babies. Life goes on, bomb shelters, air raid sirens, and all.

There is a lot of hardship still to come and the trauma is going to last for generations. And still, with all of this pain, people want to be here and they want to make Ukraine grow and prosper. Corruption is the other war, the internal battle. It is on everyone’s lips. Corruption is everywhere in the world, and here it is one of the painful legacies from the old Soviet system. I believe Mr. Zelensky is doing all he can to fight corruption and that things are slowly getting better.

I love this city. It is my home. The two film editors, Janine and Jol, who just left Kyiv, have fallen in love with this place. It is far from perfect, but it just all works. The soul, the creativity, the laughter, the eccentricity, the beauty … I knew they would not want to leave. And there is a war going on. They experienced missiles being shot down, air raid sirens and all the stresses that have now become the new normal. And with all of that, they would stay on if they could.

We are confident that the film will present all that they have experienced. Ukraine deserves a better conversation in the world. This has been the motivation for the film, going back many many years. There are so many stupid stereotypes when it comes to Ukraine, and a different story needs to be told. That is why we are working like crazy to get this done. We want to share a different take on Ukraine. We believe that a story about modern Ukrainians will capture people’s imaginations in a big way.

Kyiv is a gift for the world. This city is a well kept secret and if the world allows Ukraine to fall then the world loses something so special and very important. Ukraine is a brains trust, a creative hub, a massive food producer, a beautiful land, and so much more. I discovered late in life, during the war actually, that my father’s parents were from Lemberg (Lviv) and that we have Ukrainian roots. This is my home and I can’t wait to return. I am sad and sorry that I have to leave tomorrow, again.

This war is pure evil. Russia keeps on terrorizing Ukraine, day after day. This is terrorism, and the world does not do enough to stop this evil. If Ukraine falls (which I don’t believe will happen) then this evil will not stop and then God help everyone. Ukraine is fighting for the world here. Ukraine is fighting for freedom. Freedom does not come for free. The Western world seems to have forgotten that. Ukraine is paying the ultimate price for freedom. The world could and should help Ukraine more.

We are busy shooting material in Kyiv for our Ukraine film project which we started in 2018 and will complete by December. Two from our small team are here from South Africa and another team member is joining us next week. We are on our feet 7 to 8 hours a day, in and around the city, capturing all kinds of moods, textures, emotions. And of course, sometimes air raid sirens go off, and there is an edge to everything. While we are all together filming things, we are also walking and talking, and this week we have been discussing the parallels between South Africa and Ukraine. Both places are not living normally. People are stressed and the future is uncertain.

The reasons for the uncertainty are very different of course, but the end result is the same. Anxiety, stress, fear. These are not good for the soul. Not at all. And this is not a way to raise a family. Many people are leaving SA, for years and years now, and it is not stopping. And in Ukraine many people have lost their homes, and millions have left the country since the start of the war. In Ukraine’s case, most want to come back. That is my understanding.

We were walking in the beautiful Mariinsky Park here in the center of Kyiv one evening earlier this week. It was after 9 pm and it was getting dark. We all commented how we would never do this back in SA. And here, in Kyiv, we have no fear of being mugged.

There are over 10 people in my circle of friends/colleagues that have been killed in SA over the past 20 years because of the violent crime crises. When people in Kyiv ask me about life in SA and the subject of violent crime comes up, they are always shocked. I thank God that I have never had a violent incident happen to me, but my mother, brother, so many friends, co-workers, etc. have all had bad experiences. When people here hear this they say to me things like, “Do you watch too many Hollywood movies or maybe you do drugs ???” They simply can’t believe that this is reality. “How do people live this ?!” I would get asked. That is a very good question.

Here in Kyiv nothing is normal, and yet, like in SA, life goes in. People go to work, go out to eat, go shopping. People are getting married, having babies, and doing what normal people do. But everyone by now has a war story in Ukraine. Like in SA, everyone has a crime story. Sadly, most have more than one story of violence. And in Kyiv, everyone you talk to knows someone who has been injured or killed in this evil war.

The two film editors from the team were at my apartment earlier this week and we met my one neighbour as we all got into the elevator together. I have met this neighbour a few times. She is warm and friendly. A mom of 3, and they have a small, cute dog. We ask her if she knows anyone who has been injured in the war. And she says her best friend just lost her husband who was killed in the army. Anyone you speak to has first hand experience of the pain of this evil war. And everyone in SA has suffered because of the violent crime nightmare. And it is a nightmare. SA has statistics for a country at war.

The most important question we are asking our closing part of the film, “How does one plan for the future with so much uncertainty?” Not an easy situation for anyone to be in. People here are tired and anxious. The same in SA. Again, this is not how life is meant to be. And having said that, you hear more laughter than ever here in Kyiv. People make jokes all the time. The sense of humour here has always been brilliant, and the laughter has not stopped. But there is a nervousness to the laughter, and everyone prays this nightmare war will end soon. Same in SA. Please God all this killing and violence comes to an end. It is not the way to live. As my one friend summed it up, “There is too much fear in the world. How did we get here? This isn’t the way it’s meant to be. I just pray that we find a better way.”

I ordered some magic tricks online from Alakazam in the UK and had the package sent to Kyiv. I got the box this week from the post office up the road, and I was so excited. For starters, you can get stuff sent to Kyiv and this is amazing to me. The war is not stopping the magic. Also, going to the post office this week was quite moving. The young guy there who I used to see at least once a month, from before the war, is still there, and he gave me such a big smile when he saw me enter the post office.

He looked excited to see me. Perhaps he thought he may never seen me again. Or anyone else for that matter. In the same week as I received this magic package many missiles struck different cities in Ukraine and there has been death and destruction again. The terrorism simply does not stop.

It is my birthday tomorrow so receiving this package from the UK this week was good timing. It was partly an experiment, to see if one can send stuff from abroad to Kyiv, and the answer is: yes you can. Yeah, life goes on here in Ukraine’s capital, but nothing is normal. How does one plan a future with so much uncertainty?

This week another member of our small film team, Jol, arrived in Kyiv from SA. It is his first time here and I am confident that he is having his imagination captured in a big way. Kyiv is a magical city.

This clip was taken at Respublika mall this week. It was good to see youngsters having some fun. It is very very hot again this week in Kyiv and being indoors at lunch time I guess is not the worst idea. All feels normal, and, well, good. Until the next air raid sirens go off …

Kyiv is very hot at the moment. I think most of Europe is boiling. But the heat in Ukraine is different. There is a war here, that Russia started, and while everything may seem normal nothing could be further from the truth.

We have been very busy this week, shooting footage in this magical city. Janine, from our small film team, captured this moment a few days ago. We have experienced a lot these past 7 days. Joy and pain, and sunshine and rain.

God bless Ukraine.

I am on a train again tomorrow from Wroclaw to Kyiv, via Przemysl. I am meeting our small film team there from SA who start to arrive from Sunday. We will be shooting in Kyiv for about 5 weeks for our documentary film project which is in very good shape. We are on track to finish the film by year end.

Here is a cool, new web site about Kyiv. Have a look : www.kyivandmore.com

Ukraine has a long and painful history and an inspired soul. Yes, Ukrainians love life and they are very proud of their identity and culture. This evil war brought on by Ukraine’s twisted neighour to the East is all about identity. Ukraine is not Russia. Ukraine has its own language, its own traditions and Ukrainians are all about progress and going forward. There is a desire to get closer to Europe and the West and the majority of the country believes in joining the EU.