3 military medics in Ukraine describe how the war has changed them

3 military medics in Ukraine describe how the war has changed them

Transcript¹

Young military medics in Ukraine talk about their experience and life under the Russian siege.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is warning that more civilian² deaths are likely to be uncovered in the suburbs around Kyiv. In the days since Russian forces moved out, Ukrainians say the bodies of hundreds of civilians³ have been found. Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the United Nations Security Council today and asked for the U.N. to investigate possible war crimes. He'll also ask for more help from millions of Ukrainians who still live under the Russian siege, such as in the port city of Mariupol, where the International Red Cross is struggling to reach civilians. Few know the pain of that experience better than military medics. NPR's Elissa Nadworny has been talking with some of them and brings us this report from Kyiv.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE⁴: We meet Margaret Rivchachenko at one of the few open cafes in Kyiv. She's got an hour break, and coffee is a must.

MARGARET RIVCHACHENKO: I'm feeling tired - really tired.

NADWORNY: Before the war, Margaret was a journalist and a press secretary. When the invasion started, she saw her friends - many of them professionals, other journalists - flee, but she felt compelled to stay.

RIVCHACHENKO: If I go abroad, I wouldn't forgive myself for this.

NADWORNY: For leaving?

RIVCHACHENKO: For leaving the Ukraine. Yeah.

NADWORNY: About a month before the war, she'd taken a first aid course just in case. Once the war started, she signed up to be a medic.

RIVCHACHENKO: I think that medics is more necessary than economic journalist or press secretary of deputy.

NADWORNY: She's gotten more training now. The biggest part of her job is to make sure her soldiers have the right medical gear. She trains them to use a tourniquet⁵ - a strap⁶ that stops intense bleeding - correctly, and to be able to do basic first aid, especially when they're in a high-stress situation. She's lonely, far from her family in Kharkiv, and she has her doubts about her decision.

RIVCHACHENKO: And my thoughts was like, what are you doing (laughter)? Why? Maybe I will die.

NADWORNY: She remembers a moment about a week or so after the war started.

RIVCHACHENKO: I saw in the mirror myself, but it's not me, and I realized that everything has changed. My body is changed. My thought is changed.

NADWORNY: You said your thoughts have changed. What do you mean?

RIVCHACHENKO: I was a pacifist before the 24 of February, but now - (laughter) I'm not a pacifist now.

NADWORNY: It doesn't take a long time for war to change you in big and small ways. Margaret carries a gun now. She says she doesn't want to use it, but if she needs to, she will. And even though she's worried these changes in her are permanent, she's also afflicted⁷ with thoughts she's not doing enough - those same thoughts she had weeks ago, when she signed up for the territorial⁸ defense⁹.

RIVCHACHENKO: I wanted to do more, and now I want to do more than I'm doing now.

NADWORNY: Iryna Cherhava - a 26-year-old with a sly smile and long, red hair - feels that, too.

IRYNA CHERHAVA: (Non-English language spoken).

NADWORNY: "I feel a lot of tension," she says, "because I want to be on the front lines." She's a paramedic and an ambulance driver. But right now, it's her job to train new medics like Margaret.

CHERHAVA: (Non-English language spoken).

NADWORNY: I ask her about the Russian troops' withdrawal¹⁰ from Kyiv. Ukrainian officials announced they've taken back the entire region around the capital. She says she just doesn't trust the Russians. This doesn't mean that war is over.

CHERHAVA: (Non-English language spoken).

NADWORNY: "I'm still sleeping in my uniform," she says.

CHERHAVA: (Non-English language spoken).

NADWORNY: "With a missile attack, you never know where the front lines are," she says. "You can't let your guard down, so you're just alert all the time."

IVANKA CHOBANYUK: You're always thinking about danger.

NADWORNY: Ivanka Chobanyuk is on those front lines - the front lines Iryna yearns¹¹ for. She's a combat doctor, and she speaks with a calm that's contagious¹² - that's despite the stuff she's actually talking to me about.

CHOBANIUK: This is a very stressful situation. We have a lot of adrenaline, and we are working in our maximum limits.

NADWORNY: In 2014, she did this same job - treating a lot of gunshot wounds, burns, head injuries. She's seen plenty of those these past several weeks, too. But this war - it's different, she says. The missile attacks are new.

CHOBANIUK: Russia (ph) trauma¹³ - it's more heavier, more difficult trauma.

NADWORNY: She says she's never seen so much compression syndrome¹⁴ - when a body is literally¹⁵ crushed by something heavy, like a building.

CHOBANIUK: There is a lot of people who's under construction, so you should first take all of pieces of building and to then just hope to find a live person.

NADWORNY: I ask her how she deals with her emotions, seeing so much pain and trauma.

CHOBANIUK: Actually, I know that I am very control-freak person.

NADWORNY: Part of that control is practical. It makes her better at her job. But she also says control is what keeps her sane¹⁶, focused. The only time she lets her emotions get to her is in her first minute on a new scene.

CHOBANIUK: I have a fear before every mission. I'm thinking about it and what could happen.

NADWORNY: What could happen to her, to her team, to the people she's treating. Every time, no matter how many times she does this, her legs shake.

CHOBANIUK: So when you are nervous, leg shakes are normal. It's a usual thing (laughter).

NADWORNY: But those nerves are short-lived. She centers.

CHOBANIUK: After this minute, I'm just - yes. Everything could happen, but I'm here, and that's what I'm doing.

NADWORNY: So she takes a deep breath, her legs stop shaking, and in she goes to do her job.

Elissa Nadworny, NPR News, Kyiv, Ukraine.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 tourniquet   

n.止血器，绞压器，驱血带

参考例句：

• Twist the tourniquet tighter.把止血带扎紧点。
• The tourniquet should occlude venous and lymphatic return.止血带应阻断静脉及淋巴回流。

6 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

7 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

8 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

11 yearns   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every man yearns for sympathy in sorrow. 每个遇到不幸的人都渴望得到同情。
• What I dread is to get into a rut. One yearns for freshness of thought and ideas. 我害怕的就是墨守成规。人总是向往新思想和新观念的。

12 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

13 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

14 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。