'Such different realities on the same planet': why a New Yorker dropped everything and went to Ukraine
'28.07.2022'
Olga Derkach
It is clear why people go from Ukraine to New York; it is understandable why New Yorkers help refugees from Ukraine as best they can. But there is one mystery - why do the residents of the Big Apple go to Ukraine if they have neither relatives nor family there, if they don’t have any combat experience for the war, if life in the metropolis is calm and prosperous. New Yorker Matthew Lewis Morano, who traveled to Ukraine, tried to answer this question. Voice of America.
The overloaded Time Square, of course, bears little resemblance to the abode of calm even at dusk, but Fire Island (an island near New York with cottages for citizens where cars do not even drive), according to many, is just a picture of heaven on earth, especially in the seasons. However, a successful restaurateur Matthew Lewis Morano decided to leave the sandy beaches and went to Ukraine
“My name is Matthew and I live here on Foyer Island Ocean Beach. Our family restaurant is 48 years old. My father and brothers built it in 1970 from drifting debris washed ashore. They started with paper plates and plastic forks. Since then, the restaurant has been operating. Of course, over the years something has changed, we have made repairs and redevelopment. But at the core, the restaurant has remained the same as it was, and with the same energy,” says documentary restaurateur Lewis Morano about the family business.
“We employ 70% of the family and 30% of employees, and when people from the outside start to join our family, they first have to deal with the chaos of the family business. But at the end of the summer they are happy and feel like part of the family,” says Adam Haywood Morano, bartender.
“I've been doing documentaries all my life, so one of the main reasons to go to Ukraine is to document what's going on there. I spontaneously bought a ticket and told my family that I was going to Poland. At first I was going for a few days. I flew there on March 25, on my birthday,” Lewis Morano shares his memories. — I saw on the border endless streams of women with children, with animals, old people who left their homes - it tore my heart. Not knowing Ukrainian, I communicated through Google translator. He introduced himself as a documentary filmmaker from the United States, asking people to tell their story so that I would record it and then translate it. Usually everyone agreed, and I managed to record many stories. I thought about flying home in 9 days, but decided to change my ticket and visit Ukraine. I went by train - to nowhere, not knowing anyone.
“I was in Bucha, Borodianka, and other small towns. Mostly I saw elderly women sitting on the ruins of their houses. It was unbearable to listen to their stories and see their tears. I was allowed into the village of Moshchun, where Ukrainian troops fought to the death so as not to capture Kyiv. 99% of the village has been destroyed and there are now many mines. I signed a document that I realize that I can die from mines, and I bear responsibility for this, ”says Morano.
“We live in a world where pictures change very quickly: sports, news, entertainment, war. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week changing content. People have short attention spans. I hope that we will continue to talk about the war, about what is happening in Ukraine. Now I'm at home, safe. I see on Facebook my friends in Ukraine who are still in this nightmare. Why do I live this life and they live that one? It's all so surreal. Such two different realities on the same planet, ”Lewis shared his thoughts in the end.
