For Young Ukrainians, Dance Parties Aim to Repair Damage

 

In Ukraine, young people are holding dance parties to help rebuild damage caused by the war with Russia.

In the northern Ukrainian village of Ya-hid-ne, a dance party, called a rave¹, took place among the destruction² from the Russian occupation just months before. A rave is a large party with techno dance music.

The dance party had more than one purpose. It provided³ a way for almost 200 young people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, to help rebuild their country. The party was called a "clean-up rave" and it took place during the daytime instead of at night.

Young Ukrainians are organizing the parties to help with recovery⁴ efforts in Ukraine's northern area, which suffered major damage during the Russian attack.

The volunteers used shovels⁶ to move debris⁷ from the bombed cultural center near the edge of the village of Yahidne. The center was destroyed by a Russian rocket in March.

Oleksandr Buchinskiy is a DJ, a person who plays recorded music as a job. He placed his record turntables on boxes of ammunition⁸. As he played the music, some of the volunteers take a break from working to dance.

Tania Burianova is 26 years old and is the organizer of Repair Together Initiative⁹, a group that brings together volunteers to help on the recovery projects. She enjoys electronic music and used to go to parties. "But now it's wartime and we want to help, and we're doing it with music. Volunteering is my lifestyle now," she said.

With the Russian invasion¹⁰ of Ukraine starting in February, came the sudden end to Ukraine's lively club and music activities. In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, there is a nighttime curfew because of the threat of rocket attacks. People who loved Ukraine's party culture wanted a way to enjoy the fun and freedom of music and dance, but also to help rebuild the country they love.

Burianova said that clean-up raves¹¹ create a sense of normal life for those who lost their nightlife communities during the war. It also gives them a chance to help.

She told the Associated Press, "We miss (parties) and we want to come back to normal life, but our normal life now is volunteering."

During the Russian occupation, nearly all the population of Yahidne, just over 300 people, lived in a basement, or underground room, for weeks.

Nina is a 68-year-old who lives in the village, which is in the northern area of Chernihiv. She said that she spent weeks in the basement. She added that 11 people died there because of the poor conditions. She said that she was thankful to see the young people coming to help with the recovery efforts.

Nina spoke¹² about the volunteers. "They already repaired our windows, doors and entrances. We could not do it ourselves with our salaries or pensions¹⁴. I'm thankful that they helped us."

Most of the volunteers come from Kyiv, which is about two hours away by car. Others have come from nearby Chernihiv or further away from the western city of Lviv. In addition, some of the volunteers have even come from other countries, including Portugal, Germany, and the United States.

The clean-up at Yahidne's cultural center was Repair Together's eighth project, and the group helped to repair 15 homes in the village. Burianova said that the group wants to grow and have a building camp event in the town of Lu-ka-shiv-ka nearby. They will build 12 houses for people who had their homes destroyed.

Buchinskiy said that a feeling of hopefulness and responsibility connected the volunteers although they feel pain, sadness, and anger from the war.

He said, "These are all young people that still have a passion for life..."

And he added, "They feel a need to take part in this historical moment, and help people, and make Ukraine a better place with a smile on their faces."

Words in This Story

techno – n. a type of electronic dance music that has a fast beat

shovel⁵ – n. a tool with a long handle that is used for lifting and throwing dirt, sand, snow, etc.

debris – n. pieces that are left after something has been destroyed

turntable – n. the part of a record player that turns the record

curfew – n. an order or law that requires people to be indoors¹⁵ after a certain time at night

pension¹³ – n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works¹⁶

passion –n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

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1 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

2 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

3 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

4 recovery   

n.恢复，痊愈；追回，寻回，收复

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。

5 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

6 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

7 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

10 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

11 raves   

n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• She raves about that singer. 她醉心地谈论那位歌手。 来自辞典例句
• His new play received raves in the paper. 他的新剧本在报纸上受到赞扬。 来自辞典例句

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 pension   

n.退休金，年金，抚恤金；v.发给退休金

参考例句：

• The country provided a pension to the old person.国家给老人们提供养老金。
• She went to the company to draw her pension.她去公司领退休金。

14 pensions   

n.退休金，养老金( pension的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pensions are linked to inflation, whereas they should be linked to the cost of living. 养老金与通货膨胀挂钩，然而它们其实应该和生活费用挂钩。 来自辞典例句
• At the moment they are existing on pensions that are subsidised by the government. 此刻他们正依靠政府发放的养老金维持生计。 来自辞典例句

15 indoors   

adv.(在)室内，(在)户内

参考例句：

• Because of the coldness of the weather we stayed indoors.我们因天气寒冷呆在家里。
• It is very cold outside,you'd better come indoors across the board.外面很冷，你们所有人最好都进屋。

16 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。