<
https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/@dylan_combellick/they-have-no-idea-333e337739a4>
'They live in bubbles of their own creation, these Russians. Very odd
creatures, who build walls around themselves so that they can't see out, and
cover the inside with reassuring scenes of comfort.
Russian mothers and wives have different approaches to send their husbands and
sons off to die. Some are relieved that their man will finally amount to
something more than alcoholism and abuse. The initial signing bonus will
remodel the kitchen, and just one month will fix the car and allow her to
afford the dentist. And then, as Putin promises, she will get a smaller check
every month for the rest of her life, a widow benefit, although she may never
see it in her account. She has a picture of a man in uniform to keep her
company, which sits on the table for a while, and then on a shelf, and then
gets tucked away in a drawer and forgotten. The bathroom needs a remodel, too.
Other women are lucky enough to find a man they love, and he see the posters
and dreams of the better life his family will have of he serves just one year.
One year can't be all that bad, and little Ivan can go to college, and little
Maria will get her braces. A month later, his wife posts on VK (Russian
Facebook): (this is a real post)
"Girls, tell me how to survive the loss of a loved one? My husband signed the
contract on May 4, we talked on May 14, everything was fine, he was in the
Belgorod region.
He warned me that he was turning off the phone because they were going on a
mission near Kharkiv, and he would call in a week.
Yesterday morning they called me and told me to come to the military
registration and enlistment office, and there they told me that my husband had
died. Everything was like in a fog. I came home still waiting for him to call
me, as he promised.
How is it possible that there was a man, and then he was gone, I don't believe
it.
I don't understand what to do now, I couldn't have even imagined that this
could happen. Maybe it's a mistake."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
