“What can I say? The war is our life”

This is Ksenia (he/she/they) — a polyamorous, non-binary, pansexual person. Ksenia moved to the Lviv region to care for their mother. In this video, Ksenia invites us to share a glimpse of everyday life in war-torn Ukraine.

Each morning starts with preparing firewood to warm the old family farmhouse. The surrounding landscape is something Ksenia(@wishunka) deeply loves — it calms emotions and slows everything down. Ksenia lives with three cats, lovingly called their daughters.

Ksenia earns a living through their own online shop. Culture also plays a vital role in their life: following theatre, reading books, and engaging in debates are essential sources of strength and meaning.

Ukraine’s infrastructure is frequently under attack, so living without electricity is common. This makes daily life especially challenging when caring for a sick family member. Still, Ksenia says simply: this is life.

We regularly collect and share stories of queer people in Ukraine to show what it means to live as a queer person in a country affected by war. Thanks, Iryna, (@psychologist_odesa_) for being our editor!

If you want to help, please consider donating. We support queer people affected by the war who have lost their homes, jobs, families, and friends, or who are currently on the run.

This is how you can donate

INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

VULNERABLE GROUP And here you can find out why queer people in war need our support.

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/help

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