Ukrainians have started a campaign to support the army called “Thanks To You,” encouraging the public to greet and express gratitude to members of the military and veterans with a special gesture.
The idea is to help people find a way to say thanks to the soldiers who defend Ukraine from Russia’s war on Ukraine in the Donbas — about 180,000 people now serve in the Ukrainian army and many of them risk their lives, the organizers say.
“We see them on streets, at cafés and work, in public transport,” the Thanks To You campaign’s website says.
According to the campaigners, many people want to say something to the soldiers, but find it hard to find the right words.
So the campaign organizers came up with the gesture — placing a hand over the heart. They believe this gesture can help to break the ice and “can express gratitude to a person who has defended our country and our peaceful lives.”
To spread the idea across Ukraine, the “Thanks To You” campaign has created a range of social media videos with famous people promoting this gesture, including Andrii Khlyvniuk, the leader of the band Boombox, investigative journalist Denys Bihus, Ukrainian hip-hop musician Oleksandr Yarmak, and poet Serhiy Zhadan.
“It’s very easy to overlook people in military clothes on the streets. And even if you notice them — you sometimes can’t find the words,” Denys Bihus wrote on Facebook, sharing the video that features him. “I understand (this feeling). I also had never known how to find the right words of gratitude. And now I don’t need words.”
Dasha Sinelnikova, the producer of the idea, told the Kyiv Post that only a few people the team approached said they would not appear in one of the videos. “Most of them willingly agreed when they got to know what exactly we were creating,” she said.
Preparations to shoot the videos started back in June, and since then the campaign has published 14 of them. They have become popular with Ukrainians — some of them have collected over 1,000 reactions on Facebook.
Ukrainians join the Thanks to You campaign dedicated to military veterans, their sacrifices and courage to protect independence of Ukraine in Donbas. Thank you and happy Independence Day! #ЗавдякиТобі pic.twitter.com/WQfzTKsgdg
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) August 24, 2018
While the original idea belongs to Ivona Kostyna, Sinelnikova said the project was created by people from different spheres: volunteers, journalists, directors, documentary makers, and veterans. She said all of them, despite being busy at work, always found some time for the “Thanks To You” project.
“There wasn’t anyone who had to manage what the others were doing — every one of us understood what was required and just delivered,” Sinelnikova said on Aug. 24.
As for the gesture itself, Sinelnikova said the campaigners were looking for something that can easily convey gratitude. They talked with war veterans, and one, Ihor Kholodylo, suggested: “Put a palm on the chest and nod.”
“He said it was the Cossack greeting. We tried other options, but this one was the best eventually,” Sinelnikova said.
The reaction to the project was upbeat. Sinelnikova’s friend made this gesture at the group of the military during a rehearsal of the military parade on Aug. 23, and they replied with the same nod and movement.
“It seems it is so simple and understandable that even a person who has never heard of the initiative, would understand,” she said. “I hope this gesture of gratitude will become a new tradition among Ukrainians. At least, judging by the popularity after the very first days of the campaign, it seems to us that we have found something that many Ukrainians were missing.”
