Funeral

My first full day in Lviv, I had a meeting with a member of the Oblast Rada on housing issues. We spoke about the large numbers of internally displaced people in Lviv and those who will return from Poland, Slovakia, Germany and other nations. Lviv Region is preparing to have long-term housing issues for hundreds of thousands of people. They are thinking about this, but without the resources and there is no clarity on real numbers or timeframe.

Minutes later, I was walking down the street with several connections when we saw the car in the photo. Over the last several days, I have seen a few signs like this, but this was the first time in the center of Lviv. The reference is to the famous slogan broadcast at a Russian ship near Odessa that has become a rallying cry for Ukraine.   

There was just a moment of levity and within several blocks reality hits home again. I rounded a corner close to the Opera House and saw several older women sobbing near a large church. Then there was a group of very young men in uniform. They looked about the age of our own son, who is 18. Moments later, two vehicles arrived and the soldiers arranged themselves to serve as pallbearers and crossbearers. Then the bore two coffins of their fellow soldiers into the church. 

The pace of life in Lviv is this way. As citizens carry on with the tasks of every day life, thousands of refugees are among them, daily funerals are held and air raid sirens pierce the calm.