“We missed so much in 23 years of independence”

Almost a year ago, Ukrainian TV channels started showing true Ukrainians, both the best representatives of civil society and those who just chose to defend their opinions, people of all ages, statuses, and professions. They were seen first in the news, flying blue-and-yellow flags at Maidan, then at the barricades, and eventually in the warzone. Some TV channels started inviting them to talk shows, but these people felt ill at ease there, amid political farce. Finally, national TV channels have started, for the first time in 23 years of independence, to show on a large scale Ukrainians who build up this country instead of plundering it. The 1+1 channel pioneered it, launching military-patriotic talk show The Brave Hearts. When standards are too low, one’s activity seems to be a heroic innovation. The 1+1 is now creating a new image for itself in the national TV space, as the channel was the first and is still the only one to pull all Russian TV serials off air, remade its formerly show business-like Special News into a socio-political news product, and most importantly, began to show to all of Ukraine its real heroes. For example, the first three broadcasts of The Brave Hearts featured Artem Usyk, a boxer who volunteered to serve with the National Guard; a famous roofer known as Hryhorii the Mustang, who repainted a star on a Moscow high-rise in yellow and blue colors; machine-gunner of the Aidar battalion’s reconnaissance platoon Anna Stetsko and many others, sometimes less known but no less active Ukrainians. Thus, the 1+1 has started to show its viewers the brave hearts long covered by Den/The Day. Of course, it would be nice to see other channels following the suit and turning it into a good trend. However, so far, unfortunately, we see no prerequisites for creation of similar projects by other broadcasters.

The Brave Hearts has not just accumulated the people who are building the state anew. The military-patriotic project is accompanied by a charity auction, and the TV team has launched a fundraiser to equip frontline ambulances with modern resuscitation equipment. They plan to raise 5,000,000 hryvnias, enough to send at least 10 such vehicles into the anti-terrorist operation area. As of October 16, they have already collected 56,000 hryvnias, and the Poroshenkos were the first to offer an item for the charity auction, as they donated triptych United Ukraine to it. Alla Mazur put up for sale the statue awarded to her as winner of the first TV Triumph contest, Katia Osadcha offered a dress of her own, and Serhii Zhadan donated a T-shirt with the logo of the Kyiv Laurels festival, held this May.

“I expected it to be a difficult project emotionally,” The Brave Hearts’ presenter Akhtem Seitablayev commented for The Day. “It is about meeting people who carry out almost daily feats of incredible courage and commitment in various fields – as civic volunteers, mothers or soldiers. When you meet directly with these people and look them in the eye, you feel sincerity being born within you... No one can be prepared for stories of these people. As this job is in fact my TV debut, I have not got used to their stories, and do not think I ever will. Talking to guests of our program, I have become convinced that the greatest treasure, the hope, the engine, the foundation of this country is its people. My personal opinion is that these people need to be shown, and not just now. We missed so much in 23 years of independence as we did not try to learn more about ourselves. Heroic feats were always present, they are just clearer visible now, with these tectonic societal faults emerging and making heroism an imperative necessity for the nation. In my opinion, we had to address this matter much earlier, especially people who in one way or another create something that will then be broadcast to a mass audience, the listener or reader. These omissions also played a role in making the Ukrainians know little about each other, not to mention the Crimean Tatars. The whole policy was designed to ensure that we understood each other poorly. After all, if people do not know about the other something allowing them to build up a good relationship, it makes it easier to instill negative attitudes and fear of others. I would like to use this program and the people who appear in it, coming from different professions and social groups, to inspire us with hope. After all, they are all committed to making our country comfortable and safe.