Life goes on

  • Dates
    2022 - 2023
  • Author
  • Topics Daily Life, Documentary, War & Conflicts
  • Locations Bucha, Ukraine, Kyiv, Kharkiv

Project life goes on is the perpetuation of the tragedy of war from a certain, specific perspective. There are no images from the front lines here. I primarily focused on capturing the daily lives

It is a story about people who, in the face of war, gave up their lives and became "soldiers". Women and men decided to fight, sacrificing themselves and their families. They haven’t got any qualifications apart from a short training. They evacuate the wounded to the hospital providing them with first aid, and also deliver food to civilians. They trust each other and believe that thanks to their sacrifice, Ukraine will defeat the enemy and their love for life will overcome everything.

Women were in a particularly difficult situation. By sacrificing themselves, they are sacrificing their children at the same time, exposing them to despair and orphanhood. They do it for their freedom and future. They have to struggle with the weakness of their own bodies, as well as with fear and fatigue. However, the feeling of danger triggers incredible mental resilience in women, even though war is traditionally considered a man's domain.

In the face of annihilation, a community forms where everyone assumes the burden of responsibility for the group as a whole. This is a change of perspective that is difficult for outsiders to comprehend. Collective thinking takes precedence over individual thinking when working towards a common goal. Not only those who fight, but also those who help in the fight become very important. They are willing to expose themselves to traumas that breed new traumas. This represents a unique form of dedication to individuals whom one may encounter only once in a lifetime. The unrelated ones, strangers, those living in remote regions of the country. Everyone.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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Just two weeks earlier, they were collecting the bodies of tortured people from the streets of the city. However, some residents of Bucza decide to return to their homes. What they find is very painful for them. Everything they loved and knew well was gone.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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Volunteer Julia visits her father, who, despite regular bombings, has decided to stay in his apartment in Kharkov. From the window of his apartment on the 12th floor, you can see the city, which is destroyed and almost deserted.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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Forcefully resettled children have lost their toys, belongings, and the usual rhythm of life. Unable to attend school, they invent games using household objects.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Unexpected power outages confuse life. Despite this, people try to live normally.
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Unexpected power outages confuse life. Despite this, people try to live normally.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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A hospital in Dergecze near Kharkiv, where wounded soldiers and civilians were evacuated. When bomb fragments began to fall inside, the windows were secured so that the personnel, regardless of the shelling, could safely save the lives of the victims.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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War not only destroys cities, but also privacy and intimacy. Despite this, life continues to move forward no matter what happens around you.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Volunteer Julia and her friend Nastia take a souvenir selfie. They haven't seen each other for several months.
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Volunteer Julia and her friend Nastia take a souvenir selfie. They haven't seen each other for several months.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Hospital in Biała Cerkiew. In the basement, behind a foil curtain, there is a shelter for children and women giving birth.
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Hospital in Biała Cerkiew. In the basement, behind a foil curtain, there is a shelter for children and women giving birth.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - A cigarette break is usually combined with a cup of coffee and checking messages from friends and relatives.
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A cigarette break is usually combined with a cup of coffee and checking messages from friends and relatives.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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The treatment of wounded soldiers can take up to several months. Jan will soon finish his rehabilitation and return to the front.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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Even during times of war, children are still being born. However, most are premature. Rosa gave birth to her daughter at 34 weeks into her pregnancy.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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Vasily will start preparing for the night watch in a moment. Its task will be to secure the area around the base where one of the evacuation and medical teams is on duty.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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A displaced family from the Donetsk region. A mother of four has to provide for her family without her husband fighting at the front. The eldest daughter instinctively takes on the mother's duties, trying to keep the family together and cared for.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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When Julia and Anna, both volunteers, risk their safety by delivering food parcels to displaced families, other volunteers look after their children.

© Małgorzata Smieszek - Image from the Life goes on photography project
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As a result of war clashes, thousands of residential buildings are destroyed. This girl and her younger siblings were forced to change their place of residence. They cannot rest properly and go to school.

Life goes on by Małgorzata Smieszek

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