THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
“We work today as volunteers, without any salary, as long as people get the information they need,” says Svitlana Karpenko, editor-in-chief of the Trudova Slava newspaper in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia, “The town is still largely without electricity, and the newspaper is the only way for people to find out what is happening around them.”
“It is impossible to publish a newspaper under the constant shelling to which the enemy is subjecting Orikhiv,” says Svitlana Volodymyrivna. “When the war began, we revised the issue prepared on February 24 and sent it to printing. However, unfortunately, Ukrposhta had already stopped its work in our communities by that time…”
Then the shelling began, and the editorial staff moved to safer places. Svitlana Karpenko moved to Zaporizhzhia, where she was supported by colleagues from the regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and thus from the NUJU Journalists’ Solidarity Center. After leaving Orikhiv, she could only write on social media…
NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko visited Orikhiv in March this year.
“I will always remember the unforgettable impressions of my recent visit to Orikhiv,” he said later. “The city is destroyed; there is no electricity, water or gas… However, it did not give in! The unbreakable Cossack spirit that reigns everywhere in Zaporizhzhia is still felt here today, as it was before,” said Tomilenko. “People who, despite the shelling, remain in Orikhiv want to receive information. They want to receive verified information!”
The NUJU President also remembered the words of local representatives of volunteer organizations: “We are able to provide local residents with food and water, but they also desperately need information.”
Soon after, with the assistance of the NUJU and thanks to the funds of GREEN COOP and Japan Offspring Fund, the first issue of Trudova Slava was prepared after a long break.
“Svitlana Karpenko was emotionally distressed by our visit to the editorial office, where the windows were broken and there was damage from Russian shelling of Orikhiv,” said Sergiy Tomilenko, “But Ms. Karpenko was inspired by communication with her fellow countrymen who was waiting for their native newspaper. Actually, the NUJU showed solidarity with Trudova Slava 5 years ago, when we invited journalists from all over Ukraine to Orikhiv, where local officials were putting pressure on the newspaper. Now we come to the aid of our colleagues and the community again.”
Svitlana Karpenko notes that it was in the summer of 2017 when many colleagues from different parts of Ukraine came to support her that she first truly felt the meaning of the word “solidarity.”
“Today, when the Union helps us revive the newspaper, we feel journalistic solidarity again,” she adds, “Our newspaper has not been published for more than a year, and we have lost subscribers and advertising. Nevertheless, our fellow citizens remember and love us. I am glad that our benefactor partners realize this. Previously, they allocated funds to support the journalists themselves, but now they have helped to restore the publication, for which we are very grateful. In addition, with the assistance of the NUJU and Zaborona, we will receive financial support to print another issue of our newspaper. We hope for further support and cooperation with journalistic organizations. We believe that we will not be left alone with our problems.”
The first issue, 4 pages of which were prepared by two people, contained stories about the work of the Orikhiv Town Council to provide living conditions for those who remained under fire, about the activities of the Red Cross Society in the community, stories of local residents and stories of heroic deeds of community members. In addition, of course, useful information for those who are currently surviving in frontline Orikhiv.
The second issue of this year’s Trudova Slava newspaper has already been published on 8 pages.
“The first issue was intended for residents of the Orikhiv community and internally displaced persons from our area,” says Svitlana Volodymyrivna. “We took most of the copies to Orikhiv, where they were distributed along with humanitarian aid and in resilience centers. We also transferred part of the circulation to the Orikhiv hub in Zaporizhzhia, where we were receiving community members. We distribute a certain number of copies also through the Red Cross. ”
According to Svitlana Karpenko, she received many calls from her fellow countrymen asking her to prepare a new issue of the newspaper as soon as possible. Some said they were even ready to subscribe to Trudova Slava.
“Unfortunately, we are not yet able to organize subscriptions: Ukrposhta does not enter some territories at all,” says Svitlana Karpenko, “so we cannot cooperate with it for now.”
The second issue is designed for an expanded geography of distribution: the communities of the entire former Orikhiv district. In particular, it tells about the activities of the Orikhiv Town Military Administration and its plans to finally restore electricity supply at least in certain areas.
“I would like to believe that we will be able to negotiate with community leaders so that they will financially support the printing of the newspaper, even if it is only with small funds – not for salaries, no, but at least for printing,” says Svitlana Karpenko. “There are many problems, but we will work anyway, because people are waiting for Trudova Slava. This is the most important thing for us today.”
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This story about the media was created by the NUJU in the frame of the project «Improving Ukrainian Media Resilience in Ukraine», financed by Swiss Solidarity and implemented with the support of the Swiss non-profit organization Fondation Hirondelle and the Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI, Ukraine). Fondation Hirondelle and IRMI implement a project of institutional support for Ukrainian media editorial offices in the east, north and south of our country, with an emphasis on the local press. They also launched a 10-month support program for 18 media.
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