While the incumbent in the White House in Washington, DC, was blaming Ukraine for the war and calling Zelensky a dictator, Caritas in Vienna was organizing an event to express solidarity especially with the children of Ukraine. Next Monday it will, unbelievably, be three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Sea of Light wasn’t as big or moving as I thought it would be (fewer people, although a good number of candles carefully laid out). It started at Stephansplatz at 5 p.m. today and I worked until 5:30. Still, I thought it would at least go until 7 p.m. or so and went off with my candle to join those already there. I arrived a few minutes after 6 p.m. to find a medium-sized crowd and a Ukrainian women’s choir just finishing their last song. The organizers then thanked us for attending and started to dismantle the sound system and the small stage.
I stayed for a bit and then went home. It was somehow discouraging that all around us people were just going about their business, and I decided not to stay. But I’m glad I went and was counted.
Is this the new normal? Attacking people out for an afternoon of fun?
I first saw something about this on the Wiener Alltagspoeten site and then looked for the ORF report (link above). I’ll try to write more about this later, but it is a Tuesday and I do have an appointment with a client shortly.
I did want to put in what the Viennese everyday poet said (photo below), sadly in a very dull translation that doesn’t catch the Viennese tone: When you go to a football match to shoot fireworks at children and to run onto the pitch to pound other people bloody, you’re neither a Rapid fan nor an Austria fan, you’re really just a total idiot.” (Which is putting it mildly if you ask me.)
ecbinvienna 