In the war between Russia and Ukraine, there are no friends or foes for me. It is very difficult to resist dehumanization during the war. It is much easier to kill an impersonal “Khokhol” than a person like you who also lived, loved, and made plans. It is easier to hate all Russians than to see in a person – a person in the first place. While working on this project, I am thinking about the phenomenon of resistance to dehumanization. I myself try not to succumb to the temptation to divide everyone into friends and strangers, as the line between friends and strangers can be very fine.
Maija Bondar is Fine Art/Documentary photographer from Finland. Born in Ukraine in 1981. She lived in Russia for 17 years. She is currently engaged in research on national identity and internal conflicts. She graduated from the North-Western State Technical University “Economics and Management at the Enterprise”. At the moment she is a student in the Practical school Gradia, Media and visual expression Faculty (Jyväskylä, Finland), Academy of Documentary and Art Photography Fotografika (Saint Petersburg)
