Donbas and Civilians in London: a book people trust
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation presented the photo book Donbas and Civilians at the London Book Fair 2019.
This photo book drew substantial interest from visitors. According to the Indonesian writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma, Donbas and Civilians opens eyes of the world to the tragedy occurring in the east of Ukraine.
‘I am learning something about Ukraine, and especially about the War in Donbas, only from the news. And I know only what they show there and only under the angle they present it. This book tells about a conflict the world knows little about, and that’s very important. Photographs are something you can trust, something that objectively reflects the reality. They do not impose any opinion – readers can draw their own conclusions as to what is going on in the Donbas,’ the Indonesian writer believes.
In turn, Natalia Yemchenko, member of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s Supervisory Board said that the photo book received a huge public resonance among European readers.
‘Photography is an absolutely universal language, because for a topic as large as this, it is much more suitable than word. This book has a very important mission: not letting people forget about the armed conflict that takes place in the center of Europe in the 21st century, about continuing fighting, about children still being blown up by landmines. Donbas and Civilians is the first step in documenting the fates of Civilians in the east of Ukraine,’ Natalia Yemchenko said.
Donbas and Civilians is a chronicle of horrible events that take place in the center of Europe today. This photo book features 11 stories of ordinary people from Kramatorsk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka, Pisky and other towns who found themselves in the epicenter of the War in Donbas. The book’s heroes are severely wounded children who saw with their own eyes exploding missiles and the death of their close ones. Old people who lost relatives and were left to live in destroyed homes. Schoolchildren and teachers who conduct classes in the area of continuing fighting. This book is about war and civilians. About burnt houses and charred hopes. About the people surviving with the hope for peace.
