Dylan Bettencourt
Volunteers in the Ukraine have turned a bomb site into a space for people to party.
Revellers are pictured with mortar shells and the DJ plays on an ammunition box.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, bringing normal life in the European region to a standstill. Now a group called Repair Together has used the opportunity to create an escape for residents.
They’re combining wartime cleanup with a chance to feel life is back to normal by using a site that was bombed by Russia to create a nightclub experience.
The rave spot is in the village of Yahidne, which was heavily bombed by Russia in March before it was liberated by Ukraine’s military a month later.
Over 200 volunteers returned to the village at the weekend to help to restore the area back to its former glory, according to Associated Press.
Photographs of their return showed young adults dancing on the debris with shovels in their hands while the DJ played them music on top of ammunition boxes.
“Volunteering is my lifestyle now. I like electronic music and I used to party. But now it’s wartime and we want to help, and we’re doing it with music,” said Tania Burianova, an organiser with the group.
Burianova said the party is a way to make the volunteers feel normal again during testing times.
“We miss [parties] and we want to come back to normal life, but our normal life now is volunteering,” she added.
Repair Together has thus far completed eight cleanups and plans to expand their events across Ukraine.
Local DJ Oleksandr Buchinskiy said young people in the country still have passion but the war has brought them great pain.
“These are all young people that still have a passion for life, but they feel pain and are very sad and angry because of the war,” he said.
“But 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.”
Image source: @BusinessInsider
