The Bunster is 3 years old today. Wow, what a journey this little man has had already. Talk about a wild ride, not that he will ever remember any of it. But we sure do have a lot of pics and videos. One day we can show him how his first 3 years were.

Being a dad is magical and exhausting. And yes, I am just another dad. No big deal. I know. Please excuse me. I do love this new dimension to life, but throw in the war, and everything else, and, well, we are seriously tired just about all the time. Marta is a trooper – I am very lucky to be married to her. The Bun has one helluva cool mom. He is lucky this little man.

I feel confident that the Bun man is nurtured and loved to the maximum. We are hands on parents and we don’t outsource his days to a TV set. He is active, and we walk with him, talk with him, ride bikes and scooters, build things with Lego, learn magic (well, er, I am trying to teach him some stuff, but he eats the cards), read books (in English and Ukrainian) and more. He is often not easy on us our busy little Bun and he still does not sleep through the night. But we love him too bits and he makes us smile, and sometimes cry.

I imagine a purpose of every parent is to leave the world in a better state for the next generation but it looks like we are all failing. What a mad world the Bun will grow up in – it often scares me. Between the wired kids and the digital devices everywhere, and the violence, this evil war, toxic social media, a hotter planet … it is a very different world to when I was a kid.

The war has been so traumatic and it is not ending any time soon. We just want to return to where Bun was born, to his home city, Kyiv. The devastation of this insane war can be seen in the divorce rate in Ukraine which has more than doubled since the start of the full scale invasion. And then there are the children that Russia has “taken”. Hundreds and thousands of innocent young souls. It is frightening to think about this. And the world just watches, and no one can do anything to stop it. We do thank God the Bunster knows nothing of this evil.

We sometimes talk about a brother or sister for Bun. But we would only ever consider this when the war ends. For now, the Bun man is our focus, and we are doing all we can to try give him a good life experience. So far so good, we think … war and all.

I remember my first visit to Kyiv, which was over 15 years ago. I remember the friendly, innocent young guys working at the hotel. At that stage of the world DVDs were still a thing. I found some of our movies, by chance, in a DVD shop at the bottom level of the Globus mall by Independence Square. That shop is no longer there. DVDs are not something one can easily find these days in shops. I remember asking this one guy at the hotel about trying to find a particular movie. He said that I should just give him a memory stick and he would put it onto the stick for me. And I discovered that the word “copyright” in Eastern Europe was interpreted as the “right to copy”.

There are rules, like the 10 Commandments, which if everyone followed, would mean the world would be a more peaceful place. And then there are international laws, formed by governments, which we all think are important, but if some countries don’t follow these laws then we let it go. So what if Eastern Europe copies software, music, movies, etc. Corporations can’t really do anything about it so they live with it. But when one country starts sending missiles to its neighbour and killing innocent people, week after week, somehow this too is something everyone just lives with. What if those missiles suddenly were sent to your city?

Last night Ukraine was hit by so many missiles. The trauma, the death, the destruction, just doesn’t seem to ever stop. And it is amazing that the world cannot stop it. What is the point of the United Nations, for example. Some countries don’t follow the rules and because it is just Ukraine, so what. But what happens if it is suddenly meant that France or Canada, say, were attacked by deadly missiles. Would the world watch or would there be serious action?!

Here is an excerpt from one of the online news channels from Ukraine – this is from last night. And this is taking place every week, often many times a week.

What is currently known about the consequences of the missile attack and shelling:

▪️ In Kyiv, several high-rise buildings, a service station, a gas pipe, and an institution were damaged by rocket fragments. Seven people were injured, including two children.

▪️ In Kharkiv, six hits in Slobodsky district. Two people are wounded.

▪️ A missiles hits a civilian infrastructure facility in Cherkasy. Five people are wounded. At least one person is under the rubble.

▪️ In Kherson, Russians shelled residential neighborhoods. Two people were killed, five wounded, and seven others injured.

▪️ Missiles hit Rivne. Details are still unknown.

▪️ In Lviv region, three Russian missiles hit Drohobych. Two hit an industrial facility and one hit a private two-story warehouse.

Here in Poland people are worried. If Ukraine falls, God forbid, then the Russian border will be pushed to Poland and if you think that the evil will suddenly stop there then you are mad. Evil is exactly that, evil. It doesn’t have boundaries. It will continue to spread, like a cancer. Putin will keep testing the weakness of the West and I would not be surprised if he suddenly attacked the Baltics next.

Russia has never played by the rules, so if you think they have limits to their evil then you are wrong.

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.

I have been back at home now in Kyiv for the past three weeks and everything feels normal. The city is busy and buzzing and it is hard to believe that this evil war is still raging on. And it feels good, and, well, magical. Yes, there is something extraordinary going on here in Ukraine.

It is indeed like magic. It is not what anyone thought would ever happen. 

The media certainly got it all wrong. Everyone said that Kyiv would fall in three days, and then people went on about how Ukraine would freeze to death over the winter, and how there would be bandits and looting all over the place. Quite the opposite, actually.                                                                               

But of course, it is not normal at all. When the air raid sirens go off, then you know that nothing is the same. People are exhausted and traumatised and, yes, people are dying. Innocent people are being killed. The Russians bomb shopping malls, restaurants, residential buildings, hospitals, schools… It is pure evil.

I got back to Wroclaw yesterday. My time back home in Kyiv was good for the soul. Yes, of course, it’s not for everyone – there is a war that is raging on. But the spirit in Kyiv is intact and the city is packed. All feels “normal” and then drones and missiles attack and air raid sirens blare … and then nothing is normal. And the next day, life goes on, and the city continues to buzz.

The train ride from Kyiv to Wroclaw via the Polish border town of Przemyśl is intense. Not too uncomfortable, but very very long. And of course, being from South Africa I am always staying close to my luggage and never letting my laptop bag out of my site. Hard to try switch off and catch 40 winks when you are so wired. It is the South African way. We are well trained. And on this subject of crime, I heard an interesting story in Kyiv about the crime rate.

The crime rate in Ukraine is at all time low. Living in Kyiv I can’t say I was ever conscious about crime. In all my time in Kyiv I never heard of a robbery, mugging, hijacking, or anything bad. Coming from South Africa we know all about the crime rate, and we are very aware of our surroundings. So when I get told that Kyiv has never been safer I am thinking “Patriots ?”. Well, that too. But this was about criminal activity. With the war raging on the country is at a record low crime rate.

Of course, I was intrigued. And considering that the world’s commentators went on about how it would be like Mad Max in Ukraine with looting and riots … it’s actually quite the opposite. Everyone is kind in Ukraine and since the war, the kindness is greater than ever.

So why is the crime rate so low. The explanation I heard was funny but plausible. If someone steals my phone, say, and the cops catch the criminal, they just shoot them. No questions. No court date. No lawyers, No fines. Just, BAM – end of that criminal’s career. There is simply no time for crime. The police, for example, are worrying about a war, so if you do something wrong they just end you. Now I am sure this is not the case, but I think you get the message. If you do something wrong they throw the book at you. They are fighting a war – there is just no time for nonsense.

Next month I am on the lonnnnnnnnng train back to Kyiv. Meeting up with our small film team there for a film shoot. We are on the last stretch of our Ukraine film project. We are crafting an important story with purpose. All is good and on track. Something amazing is coming together. A story that will talk to people’s hearts and help drive a different conversation about Ukraine.