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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Teen Protester Brutalized by ‘Cops for Construction’

So much for civil rights, or welcome to just another ugly slice of Kyiv life.



Cop 1: I’ll show you who beat her, and how they beat her.
Woman 1: If you got beaten, you’d be lying [on the ground], too.

Cop 2:
Why are you hollering?

Woman 2:
And why all the talk — with all that insignia on you — you’re the shameless kind, you don’t even know the rules!

Woman 3:
We don’t know what’s with her, wait. Don’t touch. Heaven forbid her neck’s broken.

Women bystanders:
Let the people come and see. We want this to be shown.


Teen:
There are lots of eyewitness accounts. Namely, they saw her being pounded with feet, then raised up. They say, “Get up!” and then they pound her with feet — that’s how they raised her up. Before the day it happened, she defended babushkas, for the babushkas were thrown right under the vehicle.

More on the issue. A few weeks ago, a crack opened in an Obolon high-rise, caused by nearby sardine-packed construction, a zoning policy endorsed by Mayor Chernovetsky.





The high-rise is now unsafe for habitation. How long before Kyiv catches up with Dnipropetrovsk?


Video uploaded from: http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/65225.html
Photos courtesy of: http://unian.net/ukr/news/news-214494.html

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

What in the heck is up with the police?

Do they get training of any sort?

Is the idea that police are just supposed to be able to beat anyone they like, without consequences?

Where does someone who gets beat up by police turn to for a remedy?

Why on earth did they beat her up in the first place?

I noticed one of the cops was on the phone with someone. To whom was he talking?

Taras said...

Elmer,

Scenes of this and this kind have saturated Kyiv with increasing regularity.

That girl is Chernoco’s “collateral damage.” She’s a brave young person who stood up to the barbaric construction boom.

The cop can be heard saying “hello.” He was probably calling his boss.

And as for the remedy issue, if you have no connections, you can only turn to God.

Anonymous said...

Cracks appearing on walls is also going on in other parts of the city such as Podil where huge high rises (link on the level of those going up in Dubai) are appearing next to building some of which should be on the register of historic places and seem to held together by hopes and prayers.

The earth digging equipment in order to secure a base for the high rise has a tremendous impact. see following for photos relating to construction in Vancouver and imagine this being done next to some of the buildings in Kyiv. Horrifying as some of them really could crashing down.
http://www.anthropologising.ca
/Photo-op/index.htm

Anonymous said...

Taras

Exactly.

And that is the difference between civilized democracies and Ukraine.

The ordinary citizen, in a civilized democracy, has a remedy and someone to turn to.

In Ukraine - one can only moan and groan, and pray for the best - and the Party of Regions and Chernoco deliver the worst.

So how long are people going to stand for that?

Taras said...

As bad as it gets there, it gets a lot worse here. I have a 24/7 construction site right outside my window.

I wish we had as “civilized” a construction culture as they have in the Wild West. I wish our court system delivered at least 10 percent of the justice being delivered in Canada. That’s all I can say.

Bravecat said...

Jeez.. I've forgotten already what those buildings look like.... Never been to Obolon'in my life though, but still seen plenty of that stuff. Poor people...

:(

Bravecat said...

Oh and Taras, no matter how bad construction gets near you, revel in the knowledge that it will never, EVER come anywhere NEAR to how it is in Dubai.

And when I say nowhere near, I mean not even as a hypothetical possibility. We don't have nearly 30% of the world's cranes in Dubai for nothing.

Taras said...

Good to see you back, Cat:)!

How come you never paid a visit to my native district while being a Kyivite;)? Do you know that we make some of the coolest beer in the region?

Still, as you can see, not all is cool in Kyiv. And construction makes the top of the list of horrors for many Kyivites. I have no problem with construction as long as it’s civilized — as long as the interests of local residents are taken into consideration. Kyiv’s construction boom fails that test.

I’ve read about the plight of migrant Asian workers who power Dubai’s construction boom. Those people live in conditions very similar to the ones present during the Industrial Revolution.

Based on my Ukrainian experience, I make a case for the UAE to provide more protection for its migrant workers and for the local middle class.

Bravecat said...

I never went anywhere, I just don't feel like I have anything important to contribute to political discussions. I never went much further than recognising Yulia and Yuschenko on photos. So I just read.

As for Obolon' - hey, I was living on K. Marx street, why in the world would I ever go to Obolon'?? :P :P

And don't you worry about UAE LOCAL middle class. Worry about expats, they are the ones bearing the brunt of ... well, everything!

Taras said...

Times change:P!

While K-Marx still remains one of the most prestigious neighborhoods, Obolon is no longer a proletarian slum:)! With Obolonian Lypky, we now have our fair share of Kyiv’s upscale apartments.

As for your ability to contribute to political discussions, you’ve already demonstrated it;)

And, of course, I meant expats, too. Technically speaking, they’re migrant workers. By status, however, I assume they fall somewhere between the migrant working class and the local middle class, right? Take care, Cat:)!

Bravecat said...

Hahaha oh well whatever :P

My granny still refers to my Kiev ex as "shpana obolonskaya" and cares not that the said "shpana" has eventually become a very successful young man (we're friends still). Old habits die hard!

Taras said...

Are you saying you dated an Obolonian guy without ever setting foot on Obolonian soil:)???

Bravecat said...

I was too young and way too decent to visit his house, lol. Well no, I never went there cause he didnt want me to see his house for some reason. And its not like I was allowed to by my parents either! We hanged out in the centre.

;-)

And I was 15, so dating was pretty much limited to, well, hanging out :P

Taras said...

High school sweethearts;)? Next time you come to Kyiv, give Obolon another chance. I mean, don’t be a stranger — it’s one of Kyiv’s finest riverfront districts. You won’t regret it!:)

Pawlina said...

This is appalling ...

That brave young woman deserves much thanks for taking a public stand and risking her life for the common good.

Do you know if she is ok and will recover from her injuries?

Taras said...

There are no follow-up reports on her. I can only hope that she has recovered.

I wish we had more folks like her, not those gutless "моя-хата-з-краю" folks who wait until their house starts cracking apart.