20 years ago Jan Morris published the book ‘Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere’.
20 years ago I knew nothing of Trieste and very little of Europe.
20 years ago I left Moscow.
People and cities have been shaping me ever since. 5 years ago crowdfunding for the project Fragments of Memory in Lviv of Western Ukraine connected me with people round the world, and eventually brought me to Trieste.
Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24.02.2022 has changed the lives of millions. It is tearing apart everything that is dear to me. My Jewish ancestors lived in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mariupol, Odesa. My family and friends in Ukraine are living under the bombs or fleeing, some of them lost their homes. My family and friends in Russia are protesting under the threat of prison or going into exile.
Trieste connected people who speak Italian, Slovenian, English, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Polish, and other languages. Together we created a network of support through information dissemination, collecting and distributing humanitarian aid, mediating and interpreting, driving, assisting with schools and summer camps, organising social meet-ups, art and craft workshops. We coordinate our efforts with Associazione Italo Americana del FVG, Caritas Trieste, Chiesa Avventista Trieste, CLIC Trieste Psicologia e Psicomotricità, ENPA Trieste, Happy Circus “Cartonito Show”, ICS – Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà, Il Tesoro Nascosto, Immaginario scientifico, International School of Trieste, IRC – International Rescue Committee, Trieste Recupera, UNHCR – Blue dot, Zeno Trieste and other groups and associations.