It has been a busy few weeks for us, since my last post. Many supply runs have been delivered to Ukrainian refugees, some via a cultural heritage centre that distributes it, some directly to hotel rooms with individual lists. One of the recent rounds of donations changed direction a little, as we learned of a supply truck heading directly into Ukraine and making at least three stops along the way. We provided medical / surgical supplies, a 3000w generator and many high-capacity USB power banks. It’s now in Ukrainian territory helping those who need it the most.

Unfortunately, as expected, this conflict has become a war of attrition. I am very grateful for my Canadian government’s ongoing and unwavering support of the Ukrainian people, and with support from the US, UK and many other nations – Ukraine will win this. Peace will be restored; but at what cost? The unthinkable horrors of war are shattering the innocence of a generation of Ukrainian children, and some will never see their parents again. Homes destroyed. An economy in freefall. The path to prosperity is so far out of reach, but many dare to dream about picking up the pieces while the conflict still rages on.

I often wonder what conversations Ukrainians are having. “What will you do after the war?” – a conversation between two soldiers, two refugees, two children… all different perspectives, but in all cases a way to express hope. Some people will strive to go back to the lives they once had, while others will have a dramatically different outlook on life. I’m sure everyone just wants to hug their loved ones again, a simple act that we frequently take for granted. For many children, the last time they hugged their father will forever be February 24th.

This image is meant to represent the birth of a new season, and hope that will forever bloom. The way it was created was simple, but required a bit of understanding of physics. The ethereal background is actually just the cover of a notebook I bought for my daughter; it has countless shiny plastic circles sewn into it, that can flip to a different direction and display a different colour. One side is blue, the other is yellow/gold. When light hits these circles, and they are presented out of focus, the resulting specular highlights become beautiful “bokeh”. The lens used here is a simple triplet design, capable of very beautiful “soap bubble bokeh” when shooting wide open. The flower, a white osteospermum flower, picks up a golden colour from the reflected light. The center was already bluish, but the top of this area is also crested with blue reflecting from the notebook.

You can see a "behind the scenes" image here: donkom.ca/bts/IMG_1739.jpeg

We continue our efforts to help those impacted by this unjust war. I believe at this point we’ve moved more humanitarian aid than our car is worth, 4 times over. I even spent a whole day baking “tryzub” bread, in the shape of the Ukrainian Coat of Arms, and I will do so again. If anyone wants to contribute to our efforts, any contribution is most welcome. I can’t give a charitable tax receipt or anything, but I can promise that we will keep doing good over here in Bulgaria as long as can – and I greatly appreciate everyone who has enabled us to keep doing good.

If you’re in Canada, you can send an eTransfer to don.komarechka@gmail.com with the note “Donation for Ukrainian Aid”. If you’re anywhere else in the world, you can always just PayPal me a donation to (different e-mail address) don@komarechka.com with the same note. While most of our efforts are for the refugees here – and Bulgaria has taken in a considerable number – we will also embrace any opportunity we have to send the most-needed supplies across borders into Ukraine itself.

I’ll say it as I have said in previous posts: write to your politicians. Create art that expresses your opinions. Show support and affect the actions you would like to see take place. We can all make an impact, however small, in a war that has never been more clearly “good vs. evil” in over 80 years.