Who treats the wounded from Maidan?

Dmytro Hissa from Zhytomyr has a hole in his head: his skull was broken by the so-called titushky. “I need some kind of plug,” laughs Dmytro, who sells car parts. On February 22, he was patrolling streets of Zhytomyr as a member of self-defense along with the road police. A message came in that another road police car was attacked. When Dmytro and his mates arrived at the place, the car was shattered. Activists chased the attackers and got into a fight. Dmytro was hit on the head with a heavy metal object.

Now the man has social security disability insurance (Group 2). He went through rehabilitation recently, is preparing for another course of treatment, and is slowly returning to work. People who injured him will hardly be punished. “I filed a statement at the prosecutor’s office, a criminal case was opened, but the assaulters were never found. It took me a long time to recover from the injury, and by the time I went to the police, I would have not been able to recognize the attackers,” Hissa says.

Theoretically, the activist has claims for aid from the state, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers “On Social Protection of Persons, who Received Grave Bodily Injuries during Participation in Mass Protest Rallies” provides for a single payment of about 61,000 hryvnias. But this document applies to people who suffered from November 21, 2013, to February 21, 2014. Hissa was injured on February 22, so he is not entitled to the aid.

The activist is in contact with the “Initiative E+” NGO. This organization helps injured activists of Euromaidans from all over the country. Volunteers want to make sure Hissa is put on the list of the injured who will receive governmental aid. “There are 67 citizens on the state list of people who were gravely wounded during the mass protest rallies, over 20 of them have received the money so far. We are working on having the Cabinet of Ministers adopt a new resolution or change the existing one, so people injured after February 21 could receive aid,” emphasized Dmytro Stryhun, coordinator of the project “Unified Database of Injured at Maidan.”

Volunteers have information about 685 injured at the maidans all over Ukraine. According to “Initiative E+” chairperson Oksana Syvak, about 140 of them were heavily wounded. The search is complicated by the fact that a part of data is missing: people were escaping from hospitals, because they were afraid of persecution, and some just live in remote areas. Volunteers meet each injured in person and study their medical records. The injured are assisted in passing medicolegal examination to document the degree of injuries.

“About 40 Maidan participants are being treated, the majority of them is treated at home, they receive medication. There are boys in rehabilitation centers or hospitals abroad. Several activists are paralyzed, one came out of coma recently,” Syvak said. A part of Maidan participants have been injured again or died in fights in the east of the country.

Activists receive help from foreign doctors. A large-scale project with medics from Operation Rainbow Canada is to start in November. Experts will perform restorative surgeries on face, neck, head, arms, and hands. “Our organization selects patients – these are Maidan activists and those wounded in the ATO zone, both military and civilians,” Syvak emphasizes. “Foreign experts want to treat at least 50 patients, it will be a joint project with Ukrainian doctors. Overall 25 medics will arrive from Canada with their own equipment and work at the Main Military Clinical Hospital.”

Meanwhile, Hissa is adapting to normal life. The man does not know whether he will be able to “mend” the hole in the head. “It’s no big deal, people live like that. I just wish the war was over,” Dmytro shrugs. The Revolution of Dignity has changed the activist, but a lot still functions according to the old ways in Ukraine. “Zhytomyr has not changed much after Maidan. There are political shifts, but the majority of figures are the same. Unfortunately, not everyone understands what we are fighting for. However, I hope for the best,” Hissa muses.

P.S. Those who were injured on Maidan and in fights in eastern Ukraine and who would like to be helped by Canadian surgeons, can call the “Initiative E+” hotline: +38 (067) 407-87-07.