"Expectations vs. reality in communication with veterans" – this was the topic of the next event within the framework of the "Speak Up, Veteran" project, which is being implemented in Kryvyi Rih with the support of Metinvest and the city authorities. Senior pupils of "Credo" Lyceum and Kryvyi Rih Gymnasium No. 8, war veterans and psychologists were invited to the event.
The return of a military person to civilian life can often be accompanied by dissonance in his/her worldview. Just like people in non-military professions, the older generation or young people may experience inconvenience in communicating with veterans.
"Due to different experiences and a sense of isolation, returning veterans may enter a depressive state, anxiety, because it seems to them that civilians do not understand them, are embarrassed when talking. Such events with the participation of different parties help to build a strong dialogue, and also demonstrate the readiness of a part of society that was not directly involved in hostilities to understand and better feel the defenders," says Serhiy DRUZHYNIN, pshycologist, regional coordinator of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme "Are You OK?”
How to talk about the war and the experience of veterans? How can society help defenders readapt to peaceful life? Topical issues for discussion were preliminarily determined by a survey of participants. In the format of an open dialogue, an exchange of views and a joint search for answers to important questions took place.
"We understand that a person, when he or she returns from the front, is already a little different. Therefore, we must understand that it is the civilian part of society that needs to change and adapt. After all, our hero is already the way he/she is, he saw what we did not see here, in the rear, and for this we hold such events. We are building a common language, a common attitude and making sure that our veterans feel supported," said Deputy Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Serhiy MILIUTIN.
The project "Speak Up, Veteran" in Kryvyi Rih is implemented on the initiative of NGO "Kryvyi Rih Foundation for the Future". According to its head Olena Leshchenko, the participants of the panel discussions - veterans, guests and experts, give positive feedback about them and consider them useful for themselves.
Veterans say that sometimes only a frank conversation is needed to understand. The participant of the event, Denys Ilyin, defended our city, was a participant in the battles near Ingulets, and liberated the Kherson region. Last year, after being wounded, he resigned from the service and returned to Ingulets mining and processing plant, where he works as a mechanic for the repair and maintenance of instrumentation and automation in the quality management shop. Denys believes that society should be tolerant of the feelings of veterans, avoid taboo topics.
"Now a lot of people are returning from the front, and it is necessary, starting with children, to teach people how to communicate correctly with veterans. There are a lot of trigger questions that should not be asked. For example, have you killed people, or seen enemies, how many have you killed? These questions are inappropriate and painfully perceived. We shall only remember that the majority of veterans are those people who went to defend our Motherland on their own, so that there would be no enemy here," says Denys ILYIN.
Since the beginning of the major war, more than 2.5 thousand employees of Metinvest's integrated mining and processing plants have joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The company supports them at the mobilization stage and during their stay in the army, helping to cover basic needs for gear, equipment, and different things. And after returning from the front, it creates conditions for comfortable readaptation through corporate programs and projects such as "Speak Up, Veteran".
"This project, which was supported by Metinvest Group and the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, is expanding its horizons every time, attracting more and more people – experts, psychologists, students, and now schoolchildren. This connection is important because we live in a period of the war, and we need to maintain empathy, humanity and mutual respect. It is thanks to our defenders that today we can work, study and just live. For our defenders to comfortably and quickly enter the civilian and industrial atmosphere when returning from the front to their workplaces, proper conditions have been created at the enterprises. We accompany our heroes in the process of employment, retraining, readaptation. For all employees, we have introduced the "Heroes Among Us" training program, where we give advice on how to communicate with veterans correctly and with understanding," said Oleksandr SHULIKA, Head of Human Resources at Metinvest integrated mining and processing plants.
