In 1991, Ukraine had become an independent country without a drop of blood being shed or a bullet being fired. The hope of its people at the time, that this would result in an honest political system being established, in which those elected would modernise the country and build institutions, had been quickly shattered. As its elites looted the country’s resources, leaving its people vulnerable and disillusioned, a younger generation had been introduced to greener pastures beyond the Ukrainian borders: thanks to travel and the bountiful and abundant prairies of the World Wide Web, they had been able to see how the other half lived. Young Ukrainians acted and felt European; they were the initiators of the protests and they were willing to fight and risk their lives, if need be, in an effort to change the entire political system and shake off the old post-Soviet legacy.
As the calls for Yanukovych to step down became louder, the president, who was still in China, let the protesters know that he was prepared to negotiate only if the activists were willing to stop blockading government buildings. At home the statement was considered one-sided and it largely ignored any of the protesters’ demands.
Although his country was in a state of great turmoil, Yanukovych continued with his state visit. He viewed a collection of ancient artefacts, met with the government chairman in Shaanxi province, toured a factory of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and flew on to Beijing for a business conference. China had helped Ukraine in the past and Yanukovych knew that China could provide an alternative source of financing. At home things were bad, but business was business and Yanukovych let his countrymen wait.
On 6 December, Yanukovych left China and headed straight for Russia, almost in denial of any crisis taking place in his country. As he engaged in unannounced talks in Sochi with Putin on a ‘strategic partnership’, the people in Ukraine became furious. On 8 December more than a hundred thousand people rallied in Kiev and, in a collective act of fury, destroyed Lenin’s statue, which had stood for decades in the city centre, hacking it to pieces in their rage.
The people on Maidan, still entering Kiev from all over the country, became ever more determined not to go home without having achieved something. The defiant mood was boosted when veterans of the Afghan war, clerics and pop stars joined in the protest. But everyone knew the backlash would inevitably come. Many protesters hoped, against all odds, that Yanukovych, awed by the number of people demanding his resignation, would rethink his position and step down. Most of them, however, were sceptical and some had armed themselves as they held their breaths in anticipation and fear of what would happen next. They didn’t have to wait for long.
On 11 December, as temperatures fell to minus thirteen Celsius during the coldest night of that winter, columns of riot police entered the protest camp. Shortly after 1am battalions of police began to dismantle the makeshift barricades. The protesters, not planning to surrender what they had managed to achieve, put up a fight. Somebody brought in a tractor, trying to ram it into a police line. Petro Poroshenko, a politician and billionaire who actively supported the protest and would later become president of Ukraine, climbed on top of the tractor, speaking to his enraged countrymen, trying to calm the horde in an effort to prevent any violence, but it was too late. Rage took over as masked provocateurs started to hurl stones and wield chains at the police. As the pent-up anger on both sides began to explode, what had begun days before as a peaceful demonstration rapidly turned very ugly and spun out of control.
The fiercest battle came on the north side of the square, where hundreds of black-helmeted riot police struggled for several hours against lines of protesters wearing orange helmets distributed by organisers, in scenes that threatened to descend into an all-out pitched battle. There were no figures on injuries, but it was said that several protesters had been hurt, while police said at least ten of their officers had suffered serious injuries in the scuffles. People later reported that many more protesters had been injured during the clashes, their numbers climbing as the days passed. Miraculously nobody died that night.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, released a strongly worded statement on the events: ‘The United States expresses its disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest in Kiev’s Maidan Square with riot police, bulldozers and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity. This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy.’
On 15 December the people, in no way defeated, returned to Maidan, rallying once again in the city centre. By now even Yanukovych’s own government was losing faith in the president. High-profile opposition politicians, such as boxer Vitali Klitschko, started leading the protests, and a number of Yanukovych’s supporters, including many MPs and his chief of administration, quit their jobs and surprisingly joined the opposition. Opposition leaders were calling for a nationwide strike, demanding that Yanukovych and his government resign.
Two days later, Yanukovych set out to make yet another visit to Moscow to talk to Putin. Several hundred protesters stood along the route as he headed to the airport, holding signs that read: ‘Turn the plane round to Europe!’ In the subsequent TV news footage, Ukrainians witnessed how Putin appeared relaxed and somewhat uninterested before the meeting, slouching in his chair, while Yanukovych sat tensely bolt upright, speaking slowly, leaving long thoughtful pauses between sentences.
Day after day the protesters continued to fill Maidan. In scuffles with the police, people fell wounded on both sides. Sometimes police were trapped behind protester lines during the scuffles, but the demonstrators would set them free and even hand them back their shields; moments later both sides would once more be involved in fights.
One evening a priest brandishing a cross walked towards the police lines, but he was pulled back by protesters. Protest leaders announced from the main stage that theirs was a peaceful demonstration, pleading with police for a stop to the crackdown. By now hordes of people were paralysing the centre of Kiev daily.
When Christmas came, there was a noticeable dwindling appetite for protest. Pro-Yanukovych politicians thought the protest had finally reached its peak, but they soon realised they were wrong. As the New Year arrived, protesters returned and the talk in Kiev was not whether blood would be spilt but how much of it would eventually flow through the capital’s streets.
Chapter 5
17 July 2014
Samira Calehr had seen two of her sons off at Schiphol airport earlier that morning. All three of Samira’s children would be going to Bali to visit their grandmother, Yasmine, who lived in Houston but had a bungalow in the mountains there; the boys were looking forward to their annual trip. Shaka, nineteen, and his little eleven-year-old brother Miguel had boarded Flight MH17 to Kuala Lumpur that day. Samira’s middle son, Mika, had not been able to get a ticket on this flight, so he would be taking the same route a day later.
Mother and sons lived in Almere, a Dutch town not far from Amsterdam. Samira’s sons were born in Indonesia, but their mother had migrated to the Netherlands four years ago. The boys loved their new home, but they still held on to their Indonesian roots and traditions. They were popular and their mother welcomed their new friends into her home. Those who came to visit quickly called Samira ‘Aunty’, as is the Indonesian tradition, and removed their shoes before entering the house. Friends unexpectedly turning up for dinner were never a problem for Samira—her house soon became a regular meeting place.
Shaka had just finished high school at the International School of Almere and was going to Enschede to study textile engineering and management at Saxion College when he returned from his holiday. He had a passion for the native fabrics of his birth country and wanted to discover and develop new fabrics inspired by his heritage. Miguel would join his brother Mika at the International School after the summer holidays, starting in first grade. Miguel was an enthusiastic football player and a gifted go-kart driver; the S-bend was his specialty and he had recently obtained his go-kart driver’s diploma. When he came back from holidays, he was due to start a specialised training course.