True Courage: Meeting and discussion with Oleksiy Anulia (former POW)

Location: Nijmegen, Bibliotheek Gelderland Zuid, Mariënburg 29.

Free entry, donations for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers are welcome during the event

Organizers: Nijmegen4Ukraine, De Sociale Brigade te Haren and OpenDoorUkraine.NL te Wassenaar

Languages: Ukrainian with direct translation into English/Dutch.

Agenda:

•     Welcome by Liliya Levandovska, coordinator of Nijmegen4Ukraine (5 minutes)

•     Introduction of Oleksiy Anulia by Willemijn Kemp, chair of Social Brigade (5 minutes)

•     Oleksiy Anulia tells his story (20-25 minutes) – Willemijn can read some lines of the book.

•     Questions from the audience (Liliya leads the session, Sophia translates for Oleksii (15-20 minutes)

•     Thoughts on True Courage and chances for peace by Joris Voorhoeve, Chair of the Board of Advisors of Open Door Ukraine, former Dutch Minister of Defence, prof. at Leiden University (10-15 minutes)

•     Final remarks

About Oleksiy Anulia: Before the invasion, Oleksii was a very strong all-round sportsman of 193 cm and 113 kg. He was defending Ukraine and was captured by Russians. He endured 10 months of torture and starvation and was later exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. He then weighed only 63 kg and was 7 cm shorter due to several fractures in his spine. He underwent complex medical surgeries and wrote a book about his experience. Oleksii has an important message for Europe.