Ukrainian Singer who won the Eurovision in 2016, Jamala: This is not a war, this is ruthless genocide against my people

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Famous Ukrainian singer Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, internationally known as Jamala, is the winner of the biggest European music competition, Eurovision Song Contest in 2016.

She won this competition with the song “1944”, at the time an emotional song with personal dedication inspired by her grandmother’s true story – which she performed without knowing that this song would turn into her bitter reality in 2022.

Everyone’s already familiar with the current war ongoing in Ukraine, which has and is still causing deaths of innocent civilians and destruction of several cities.

Jamala, who like many Ukrainian women and children has been forced to leave her country, in an exclusive interview for Telegrafi.com she expressed from an artist perspective how difficult it is for her, and her people leaving their loved ones behind, their cities, their everything.

“It is so painful to see innocent people suffering, many forced to flee their homes and many others fight for their lives and the lives of their families. The Ukrainians are losing all they had, their homes, families and friends. Some cities have already been completely destroyed. I cannot say these without tears but in two weeks we have already lost 85 innocent children’s lives, hundreds injured. More than 2187 civilian people have already been killed in just one city of Mariupol and I’m even scared to add all the other cities to the list”, she said.

The singer adds that what is happening in Ukraine is not a war, but an act of terrorism, and she goes even further, calling it a genocide against her people – as many lives have already been lost from current conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“This is an act of terrorism against the entire population of Ukraine, the Russians have taken Melitopol’s mayor hostage, the military is running over civilian cars with tanks, they are shooting down women and kids. The city of Mariupol is now under blockade, people are starving in bomb shelters as they can’t go out for 12 days already. People are cut out from supplies of water, food, heat or electricity. Furthermore, Russia is blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid to the majority of cities under siege including the city of Mariupol which is now on the verge of catastrophe. This is not a war, this is ruthless genocide against my people”, said Jamala for Telegrafi.

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Jamala is a famous artist in Ukraine – her origin is from the Crimea.

She gained European fame by winning the song contest, “Eurovision Song Contest”, in 2016 with the song “1944”.

For Telegrafi, the performer of this Eurovision winning song, said that she had never thought that its meaning would become the reality of 2022.

“The song is once again relevant, as Russia has been attempting to destroy Ukraine for years. Every note, every word is soaked with bitterness. While in 2016 it was a personal story for me, the story of my great-grandmother who was deported by Stalin’s Regime to Central Asia on a freight train. Now, the track reflects the reality of each and every Ukrainian in 2022. Once again they have come to take our homes, kill people, and shatter lives under the cover of lies”, said the winner of Eurovision 2016.

Ukraine made the selection of its representative at Eurovision a few weeks ago – a responsibility entrusted to the Kalush Orchestra.

During the interview, the Eurovision winner said that she heard the representative song of her country, emphasizing that according to her she meets all the criteria to be the number one song of this edition.

“Yes, of course I have heard of the song ‘Stefania’, I like it. I think this material has every chance of winning. Then it all depends on the level of the performance itself and the support of other countries”, said the interpreter of the song “1944”.

Kosovo, had a really similar situation even started by the British prime-minister, Boris Johnson. 23 years ago, the Serbian aggressor, which supports the Russian side today, did terrible damages killing innocent civilians and destroying their homes.

Asked about her information about the Kosovo war, Jamala said that she is aware of the difficulties that the Albanian people in Kosovo went through during the war and that she appreciates the empathy that this country is showing with the current war in Ukraine.

She responded positively to the invitation to pay a visit to Kosovo in the future – but that it is impossible for her to make plans, much less at this time.

“Kosovo has a complicated history at its core, at many stages of their history, many people have suffered. I also remember that Kosovo joined the sanctions towards Russia after they had annexed and started military action in the East. The support of the international community is very important to us then and now. The most difficult thing now is planning the future, because the present is changing every second. But thank you very much for the invitation”, said Jamala.

Belarus and Serbia are currently the only countries supporting Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, while the Serbian state is the first in the world to hold a pro-Russian march in its capital. With the exception of these two, all other countries have expressed support for Ukraine.

Jamala told to Telegrafi that he was happy to see how much support he had received around the globe, with the one and only desire – to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Of course, I feel very grateful to each and every person who supports my homeland during these terrible events. Together we are a huge force capable of overcoming the universal evil called Vladimir Putin. Support not only helps save thousands of lives of our soldiers and citizens, it also inspires and replenishes our strength to fight Russian aggression on a daily basis. It is insanely important and insanely valuable”, said Jamala.

Finally, Jamala had a public call to NATO to offer solutions to this fierce conflict, which has already taken on great proportions.

She added that if such a thing does not happen and Russia achieves its goal, then obviously Ukraine will remain only as a starting point of the Russian state, with the desire to cause even more wars.

“I ask NATO to close the sky above Ukraine or at least provide anti-aircraft and warplanes. Every day Russian troops shell civilians with particular brutality, and afterwards prevent many of them from moving to safety by blockading cities. Such a terrible picture can now be seen in the city of Mariupol, where people have been living in basements for two weeks without water, food and heat. Without the ability to leave the city. Many are dying from the bullets of the Russian military, trying to save themselves and their children. According to the Mariupol City Council, more than 2187 citizens died during the 12 days of the blockade. Please help to stop these criminals who are simply exterminating the Ukrainian people. After all, if the Hitler of our time is not stopped now, Ukraine will definitely not be the last victim of his bloody crimes”, she said.

* YOU also can also help Ukraine by donating through:

Save Life in Ukraine
UNICEF Ukrainë
Global Giving (Ukraine Crisis Relief)

/Telegrafi/