海角大神

Monitor reporter Martin Kuz often sees the Ukraine conflict through his father鈥檚 eyes. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the root of my empathy and interest in this country,鈥� says Martin.

We felt it was important to share that with our readers because transparency can be a key ingredient in producing credible journalism. Martin is aware of his allegiances, and he wants you to know them too.聽

Martin鈥檚 father was a child in Ukraine during the 1932 famine inflicted upon the country for its resistance to Russian leader Josef Stalin鈥檚 efforts to replace small, independent farms with big, communist collectives. At least 3.9 million Ukrainians died of starvation. Then, German and Soviet armies clashed on Ukrainian soil during World War II, devastating the country. Like the hundreds of thousands now fleeing the fighting in Ukraine, Martin鈥檚 dad also fled but ended up in a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy.聽

Eventually, Martin鈥檚 dad was released. He made his way to England, Ireland, and finally America in the 1950s. He became a small-town physician and raised a family in Minnesota. Martin grew up hearing proud stories of Ukrainian generosity and kindness amid hardship. 鈥淗e was the strongest person I鈥檝e ever known,鈥� says Martin.聽

In 2014, Martin visited his relatives in Ukraine for the first time. He saw his dad鈥檚 hometown of Lviv. He never learned his father鈥檚 native tongue because his parents 鈥� both immigrants 鈥� insisted he speak English. When Martin sees the vast prairies of Ukraine, 鈥淓urope鈥檚 breadbasket,鈥� it reminds him of home. And he wonders if his dad felt the same way gazing at the grasslands of rural Minnesota.

Martin, who covered the war in Afghanistan for three years, sees historical similarities: Both nations have been at the crossroads of outside forces pulling at them for centuries.聽

With Ukraine once again caught in聽the gears of war, 鈥渋t鈥檚 deepened my appreciation for my father鈥檚 homeland and the man himself. Specifically, his ability to endure what he did and yet continue聽to pursue his dreams and ambitions in the U.S.鈥�

Martin says his reporting from Ukraine is a kind of 鈥渉omage to my father. I know what his people withstood and how they鈥檝e remained remarkably resilient. That was a lesson imprinted on me by him.鈥澛�

What Martin has witnessed 鈥� and the world is now seeing 鈥� in Ukrainian聽villages and cities amid the Russian invasion reinforces that lesson: 鈥淭he strength of the collective spirit of Ukrainians, their ability to face up to more hardship, uncertainty, and [now] bloodshed.鈥�

Martin Kuz is part of a team of Monitor reporters covering the conflict and its geopolitical implications from around the world. Our full coverage can be found聽here.