The Fruit Thieves against the war and how I lost my country twice

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The Fruit Thieves: Max Simov

In the middle of the last century in the remote region of the Northern Caucuses local children raid their neighbours' orchards for fun. The fruit on the trees of the small town Gorsk is abundant and the children just help themselves. The inhabitants of Gorsk are of mixed ethnicity and beliefs and this theme is intertwined with the lives of the main protagonists. The story does not explain that the children's father, although living in the Caucasus, is Ukrainian, but more will be said about him in the follow-up book.

I lost my country twice

I was born in the Soviet Union to a Ukrainian father and the mother who was half Mordovian (also know as Volga Finns) and half Russian. I grew up in the Northern Caucasus which was and is part of the Russian Federation with a highly diverse ethnicity. If asked before 24 February 2022 what nationality I was, I used to say ‘Russian’, as it did not really matter what my ethnicity was. It was true for most of us, ex-Soviets, living abroad or in Russia. But the moment Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine and started committing abhorrent atrocities, I refuse to say I am Russian and sympathise with those of my countrymen who say they are ashamed to be Russian. That country is now lost to me.

However, I had already lost my country once before. That country was the Soviet Union and it was dissolved in 1991 with the mutual consent of its constituent members. The collapse of the Soviet Union was greeted by all progressive people as the end of the Soviet empire. I of course shared the feeling that each state has the right to self-determination and independence. But it appears that the dark imperial aspirations of the current Russian regime have never died.

Svetlana Carsten

Raising funds for the Ukrainian Refugee Relief

My illustrator for The Fruit Thieves, Yulia Sharova, and I came up with idea of cards in support of the Ukrainian Refugee Relief charity in Moldova: The Friends of Moldova.

Moldova is both a very small country and the poorest in Europe. It borders Ukraine and has received the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita. It is in great need of support to host them.

We have been distributing the cards since May 2022 and the card 'Fruit Thieves against the war' seems to be doing its good work in raising funds for The Friends of Moldova. We have been acknowledged by the charity in their post: Creatives for Ukraine