75 years LFI: A glimpse into the future (2)
75 years LFI: A glimpse into the future (2)
Sitara Ambrosio
September 16, 2024
“Between the air alarms and daily life, Mino Chumachenko (18) tries to enjoy the calm, watching as a transformer station passes by the window of the Kyiv bus he's on. Today, shortly after Ukraine’s 33rd Independence Day, Russia fired several hundred drones and missiles all over the country. Including the capital. In the morning, explosions shook Kyiv.
Two years ago, Chumachenko lived in the city of Kherson in the south of Ukraine. Under Russian occupation, he hardly dared to leave his house. The fear of the invaders was too great, as Mino Chumachenko is trans and a member of the LGBTQ community. “It's more dangerous if you appear queer than if it's not directly visible,” Chumachenko recounts, speaking about life under the occupation. When Kherson fell, Chumachenko hid everything that could have indicated a trans identity – even small items such as a pen with a trans flag on it. At some point, the Chumachenko family fled all together and left Kherson. When Mino Chumachenko came out as trans, the relationship with their mother became difficult. Chumachenko currently lives on their own, works in customer service at a company and dreams of studying medicine in Germany one day.
War has been raging in Europe for over two years now. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the political and social reformation of the country initiated by Euromaidan is being put to the test. Including the rights of transexual people, because war particularly affects people who are already marginalized. At the same time, their perspectives are repeatedly pushed into the background in the course of armed conflicts. In Ukraine, people from the LGBTQ community are exposed to very different dangers; especially from the Russian army in the occupied territories.
I wish for nothing more than peace for people here in Ukraine. For international solidarity to continue. We in Europe, in particular, should keep reminding ourselves of the reality here, just a few hundred kilometres from home.”
Two years ago, Chumachenko lived in the city of Kherson in the south of Ukraine. Under Russian occupation, he hardly dared to leave his house. The fear of the invaders was too great, as Mino Chumachenko is trans and a member of the LGBTQ community. “It's more dangerous if you appear queer than if it's not directly visible,” Chumachenko recounts, speaking about life under the occupation. When Kherson fell, Chumachenko hid everything that could have indicated a trans identity – even small items such as a pen with a trans flag on it. At some point, the Chumachenko family fled all together and left Kherson. When Mino Chumachenko came out as trans, the relationship with their mother became difficult. Chumachenko currently lives on their own, works in customer service at a company and dreams of studying medicine in Germany one day.
War has been raging in Europe for over two years now. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the political and social reformation of the country initiated by Euromaidan is being put to the test. Including the rights of transexual people, because war particularly affects people who are already marginalized. At the same time, their perspectives are repeatedly pushed into the background in the course of armed conflicts. In Ukraine, people from the LGBTQ community are exposed to very different dangers; especially from the Russian army in the occupied territories.
I wish for nothing more than peace for people here in Ukraine. For international solidarity to continue. We in Europe, in particular, should keep reminding ourselves of the reality here, just a few hundred kilometres from home.”
Text and picture: Sitara Ambrosio
EQUIPMENT: Leica SL2-S, Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 f/2.8-4 Asph
Sitara Ambrosio+-
Born in 2002, the German photojournalist grew up in a worker family with Slovenian roots, and currently lives in Hanover. Her work focuses mainly on under-reported aspects of conflicts. She deals primarily with questions of gender, migration and human rights' violations – in Germany, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Ambrosio frequently integrates her works into voluntary educational activities, such as lectures and workshops at schools and youth centres. Her work is regularly exhibited and has been honoured repeatedly. Among other things, she and a team received the Grimme Online Award in 2022 for the multimedia report, Kandvala. She is represented by the Laif Agency. More