Malin School Visit. Part one.

During one of my visits to Malin hospital, girls from no.1 School who had voluteered to translate for me at the hospital asked if I would like to see their School. I said I would be happy to go to see a Ukrainian School as it would be very interesting for me as I had not been in any schools in Ukraine. I was also invited to go on a hunt for wild Boar by friends, but I declined their offer as I had already accepted the Schools offer. Next morning Anton the Doctors son took me to a very large building which was down at a lower level from our vantage point,he pointed to doors in the middle and said, that's the entrance I will see you later and left.
Making my way down past a large World War 2 monument,I approached the entrance,wondering where my Schoolgirl hosts were. Pushing through the old worn doors I saw I was in a large reception area, over to my left sat a woman behind a desk,I was just about to go over and try to explain in my limited Russian why I was there,when she indicated that I should keep going forward. I suddenly became aware that there was a large crowd of girls, boys, and what I assumed to be teachers standing in rows.
I thought I had arrived at the wrong time, probably some sort of school function was taking place. I started to walk over to the side out of the way, where I could wait for someone, anyone, to come to my rescue!
I heard a shout ,Mr.Gillies, Mr.Gillies turning round I saw Anastasia one of my tranlators heading towards me, this way she said leading the way towards the assembled crowd. Girls and boys dressed in Ukrainian dress offered me a circular loaf of crusty bread, in the middle a section of bread had been removed,and filled with salt.It was handed a piece of bread which I was asked to dip in the salt and eat. Anastasia explained that I was getting a Traditional welcome, and the local Press and TV reporters were there to cover the story of my visit. I was amazed, it was indeed a school function but to welcome me!

Inside Malin Hospital,Ukraine.

Journey back to Scotland

I watched the ballot boxes being opened and emptied on large tables pushed together to allow about 20 people and officials. They worked fast each person collecting a pile of ballot papers and sorting them into batches. When they were finished sorting, a woman standing at one end of the table took the batches of ballot papers lifting them one at a time reading out who's name was on the ballot paper. All you heard her saying was Yanacovich,or Yushchenko in a loud clear voice. At the end of all this the ballot papers were put in large sealed envelopes to be taken to a secure building in the city where only people of official standing could enter to see the final results from all the Polling Stations in the Region.We left Dnepropetrovsk the following morning to return to Kiev. On the way home we stopped at a roadside memorial cross to a politician called Chernobyl who died at this spot when his car ran into a large blacked out truck parked across the road one dark night. When I left Kiev on a bus to Belgium it was night time and the bus passed many bonfires surrounded by supporters of Yushchenko, chanting his name. In Lvov cars full of young men drove round and round the streets shouting Yushchenko,Yushchenko and sounding the car horns in a pattern like his name.It was unlike any other political scenarios I had seen. A few years later the Ukrainian people have become disillusioned with the Political landscape.On my arrival in Scotland I continued to follow the News about Ukraine holding another, election free of corruption.