The Crying, The Crying, The Crying
On Health, Healthcare and Hope in Ukraine: A Conversation with Evegeniy Maloletka | April 16, 2023 by Kimberly J. Soenen
(Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 by phone and has been edited for length and language translation. All photos are by Evegeniy Maloletka.)
Soenen: Evegeniy. Great to connect with you. Thank you so much for making the time.
Maloletka: Of course. The Fine Print has been featuring some exceptional journalists and conversations about Global Health. Glad to be a part of it.
Soenen: Where are you based now?
Maloletka: We were living in basements and in the corridors of the hospital in Mariupol, but now, we live in somewhat normal conditions, renting apartments, staying with friends, or in hotels.
Now it is a much more comfortable situation for all of us who are covering the war. It is much, much better than it was in the beginning. The war is constantly developing and changing though, and we are prepared to move at any moment. The security situation might change in an instant and the places where we stay change, too. It feels a little more stable nowadays, or maybe we are just used to the violence.
The situation on the ground is a little better. In Donbas, for example, the shops and restaurants are open, but not all of them. The major businesses are trying their best to stay open through the violence.
Soenen: How do business owners sustain operations and transactions while rolling power outages persist and limited food, heat and water continue to be an issue?
Maloletka: Everyone is just trying to survive. It’s survival.
Soenen: How are goods getting through with supply chain issues and blockades? Is it now mostly a cash or barter economy?
Maloletka: Yeah, the economic situation is not good. We have seen how businesses try to survive any way they can, to make life livable, you know? People did close their shops for a while, but people need to work. They must survive. They run generators and do other things to survive. The social aspect of shop owners seeing customers trying to do normal things day-to-day is also helpful to health.
Soenen: For those who are not familiar with skilled veteran conflict photographers and how they work in the field, manage logistics, and deal with equipment, can you talk a little bit about what you carry in your pack every day?
Maloletka: We have a lot of training for working in war zones and I did a refreshment course in the summer of 2021. I recommend that everyone take RISC Training or something similar every year to prepare for triage in the field.
I carry a satellite phone, a GPS tracker, and an extra power bank with me. I also pack a medical kit with a minimum of two tourniquets. One tourniquet is carried on my flak jacket, and a second one is always in my medical kit. I take extra food and extra water in the car as we are not always traveling in armored cars.
Soenen: Bio physiologically and mentally, how are you doing? How do you manage your own health day to day, hour to hour? Are you sleeping?