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Tony Bryant
Alhaurín de la Torre
Friday, 8 November 2024, 13:40
Many people around Europe were outraged, angered and concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since WWII. Many of us have been saddened by images of the conflict on the television and in the press, yet most of us feel there is absolutely nothing we can do about this illegal invasion, which has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties.
However, one young Briton based in Alhaurín de la Torre has not only visited the frontline, to "do whatever he can to help the Ukrainian people", but he has also produced a documentary, Voces del Frente (Voices from the Front), a testimony of his hard journey through the "hell" in which the inhabitants of the regions of Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia have to survive. His aim is that the projection of his work will raise at least 15,000 euros for For a Peaceful Sky, a charity established to help people in Ukraine.
SUR in English spoke to Jay JC Buckley about his decision to go to the Ukraine frontline as a freelance war reporter, and the reception he received on his first visit in August 2022.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in Harlow, Essex in 2002. I moved to Murcia at just five years old with my parents. I went through a serious depression and spent some time in hospital. I was in self destruct mode. When I got my life back on track, I discovered Alhaurín de la Torre by chance and fell in love with it. I got paid on 1 February this year and that same day decided to quit my job and have a fresh start there.
What made you decide to help Ukraine?
There isn't a simple answer to this question, in fact I could write a whole book on this. But the short answer is because the Ukrainian war is our war; they are defending the doors of Europe from a common enemy. Today it's Ukraine being invaded; yesterday it was Georgia: who will it be tomorrow? The moment it's a Nato or EU country, we are directly involved and it stops being a proxy war.
Were you nervous visiting the frontline?
Of course. At the time I was a 20-year-old who grew up in what's unquestionably the most peaceful country on the planet, so walking into a war-torn country with nothing but the sound of air raid sirens, fighter jets and explosions is terribly scary, but the adrenaline is stronger.
How did the Ukrainians react?
I was shocked. They treated me like a hero because they are desperate for the rest of the world to see what's happening; quite the contrary to Israel, where the press are hated and not really allowed to see much.
How did the documentary come about?
I am not Ukrainian, but my friends are, and they need help. The documentary tries to put a face to the numbers we see on the news. It's meant to educate people and open people's eyes to witness Russian terrorism first hand. I work alongside the charity, For a Peaceful Sky, an organisation that volunteers on the frontlines providing aid to civilian victims and military personnel.
In your opinion, is the USA/Europe doing enough to help Ukraine?
No. It's insufficient. We need to let Ukraine use our weapons inside Russian territory and strike back. The USA is only giving the basic needs which they are obliged to do under the Bucharest treaty that made Ukraine give up their nuclear weapons and lose its rank as the third in nuclear arms. It's our war. We need to do more.
What more can be done to bring an end to the conflict?
Letting Ukraine strike back. That is the only way to end this, with a Ukrainian victory. Ukraine should not give up a single square foot of its land.
Donald Trump claimed he would put an immediate end to the war if he wins the 2024 presidential election: do you think he can uphold this claim?
I don't know. It's difficult to know. He said that he'd end the war in 24 hours. But people forget Ukraine has been at war for a decade since the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk), which is my primary area of work alongside Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. So, he didn't end the war when he was president before and it was a smaller scale war. Why not then? Why now? And under what agreement? Because giving up Ukrainian land and prohibiting them from joining Nato is just setting Russia up for a future and inevitable invasion. It makes me nervous. I hope that he does end it, but in the right way. But then we have to help rebuild and get justice for Ukraine.
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