«Don’t fool the wise, don’t buy the honest, don’t break the brave»

On March 19, a meeting of students with volunteers, representatives of the «Automaidan» of the city of Zaporizhzhia and ATO fighters took place in the assembly hall of ZNTU, organized with the participation of the trade union committee of students of ZNTU.

The volunteer movement was represented by the «Union of Volunteers of Zaporizhzhia». The activists talked about the work they had done, shared their life stories, and also thanked the youth of Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia in particular. According to the volunteers, thanks to the activity of the students, the fighters were provided with fresh vegetables and stoves for the winter. With the money collected by the students, a school in Slovyansk was restored, 4 rehabilitation cars were bought, and a sufficient number of oxygen masks were purchased. The volunteers shared their plans for the future, and also invited all those who wish to join the volunteer movement (in «Mashinka», the registration for the volunteer ranks and the aid reception point is located in office 196-a). Among the large-scale actions planned in the near future, the volunteers named: a meeting of 5,200 demobilized fighters from the city of Zaporizhzhia and the region, as well as the festival «Zaporizhzhia – a city with eggs» (dedicated to the Zaporizhzhia Palm Sunday of 2014).

However, the students were most interested in the performances of people who take a direct part in the battles. The students of Mashinka were visited by: the battery commander of the 55th artillery brigade, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and soldiers of the special purpose regiment «Azov». They talked about their combat days, described the real situation in the East of Ukraine and answered the students’ questions. Each of the speaking fighters addressed the students on his own behalf, but all of them were united in their opinion about you and me: «You are the future of our state. And start building it, you have to immediately. By conscientiously studying, you are already making an invaluable contribution to the future of Ukraine.» So we should remember these words… Because as we believe in each of them, so they believe in us. It is important to understand that we are in the rear, and here we are waging our war. And the way to victory is in our unity. Because as the Cossack proverb says: «If you blow all the people, there will be a hurricane.»

I would like to end with the paraphrased words of Kobzar, which after meeting with the fighters seemed to strengthen faith in the prophetic words of Shevchenko:

Let’s fight – we will fight,

God helps us!

The truth is for us,

Glory to us,

And the will of the Holy One!

Dmytro Kolodin
Press service of the trade union committee of students of ZNTU