This post will appear on both Back to the Front and the Grizzly Bear Diaries as, I hope, it is of interest to readers of both.
It was the perfect end to a day. As the last light faded from the sky we sat around a campfire and stared deep into the flames. The lake nearby was serene and began to turn a deep blue.
Earlier in the evening there had been chat, and laughter, and we ate skewers of fresh meat grilled over flames and served with salad, potatoes and onions. But now each us were lost in our own thoughts.
The scene could easily have played out by our wilderness river in Canada. For guests who come in the warmer months we light a camp fire and enjoy the last hour of the day with a can of beer or a glass of wine and some quiet reflections.
(For those who come in October we have a sauna and hot tub that we built on a wooden platform cantilevered over our river.)
But this idyllic scene wasn’t in western Canada. It was in eastern Ukraine. We were near Kropyvnytski, a provincial town (with an almost unpronounceable name) that is half way between Kyiv and the advancing Russian army a few hours drive to the east.
Among the men and women sitting with us were veterans of that frontline, some of them with injuries. The rest were volunteers who help run a local grassroots group that organises everything from nature therapy, to film nights, to arts classes to help them recover.
Natali, who founded the Kropyvnytski group, is one of half a dozen Ukrainians who will now be coming to Wild Bear Lodge. This week, after months of delays and problems with Canadian visas, we have finally given the green lights to Wild Bear Vets 2024.
The last time we ran a wounded veterans wilderness programme was in 2021. Back then we hosted five British and Canadian military veterans, some with mental trauma, others with physical injuries.
Some of those who took part said the experience was life-changing.
“I would go for months without speaking to anybody,” Andy, a former British Royal Marine, said to the Guardian, which wrote an article about the programme. “From […] just being around nature, [I realised I could] thrive in my own way. I could actually have a life and be happy. So this has been massive for me.”
When the Ukrainian war broke out in February 2022, we decided that the next programme we run should be for injured Ukrainians. There were simply so many who needed help.
But then, just as we got rolling on selecting participants, Canada dropped its easy visa programme for Ukrainians. The time it took to process the average application went from two weeks to over a year.
Many months later we now finally have the pieces in place. On June 6th this year – all fingers crossed - at least six Ukrainians (and possibly as many as nine) will arrive at the lodge.
Several of them are combat medics, others are soldiers who have been invalided out of the military with physical or mental injuries.
Kim and I have already made several trips to Ukraine to meet potential candidates. We have visited veterans organisations, clinics and hospitals. We are bringing over a remarkable group of people.
Tetyana, 51, ran a team of medics that were encircled by the Russians during the siege of Mariupol at the beginning of the war. She suffered multiple concussions and injuries. She was captured by the Russians and held for five months before being released in a prisoner swap.
Serhii, 39, from Kyiv, was badly injured by shellfire nine days after he was first deployed to Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. One of the men under his command died while trying to shield him. He has been through psychiatric care and multiple surgeries.
Irina, 40, is a volunteer combat medic who has served 19 tours on the frontline and counting. She recently inherited a farm in western Ukraine and dreams of setting up a regional veterans support centre there.
Oleksandr, 27, lost both legs and sustained several other injuries in an artillery attack. Before the war he was a barista in a café in Kyiv. Since his injuries he has taken part in the Invictus Games and became the first double amputee to act with the United Ukrainian ballet troupe. His aim is to inspire other amputees.
And Vasyl, 64, was a doctor and deputy head of a hospital in charge of 1,800 people. When the war started he gave up his job and went to work full-time on the frontlines. He recently recovered from cancer. His dream now is to help at veterans rehabilitation centres in the Carpathian mountains.
And then there are Joe and Andy, former British Royal Marines who were on our 2021 programme. Both have volunteered their time for free to help out, this time as trainers and mentors.
We’ll keep you updated.
Please ‘like’ this if you liked it, and please offer comments, positive or negative. If you would like to make a donation to Wild Bear Vets, we are still raising money, both to meet the cost of the programme, and to help finance grassroots veterans rehabilitation programmes in Ukraine. Wild Bear Vets is funded partly from our own pockets, and partly through private donations. Many former guests have given generously. We received a large donation from Janek, the brother of Kristin, my wonderful wife who died in Feb 2020. Steppes Travel are helping with the cost of the flights.
IN OTHER NEWS
+ It’s been a busy spring. Kim and I have recently returned from a 10-day reporting trip in Ukraine, which included a few days in Kharkiv, the country’s second city, and a road trip through frontline towns in the east. I have written a six-part account of the trip. Kim has added photos and video. If you would like to see it, please click here.
+ I am finishing up a documentary I have made with my daughter Emma and an old university friend, Donald. It is about a little boy who, at five years old, was the oldest survivor of a brutal massacre I reported on in Kosovo in 1998. Two decades later the boy, whose name is Besnik, contacted me and asked to meet again. The documentary tells the story of that reunion and what happened next. We will be giving a private screening next Wednesday for Besnik’s family in Kosovo. (Being Kosovo up to 300 ‘close friends and family’ are expected.) We can’t share the documentary as yet as we may take it to festivals or possibly sell rights to broadcast to try and recoup some of the production costs. But I’ll let you know how the screening goes.
+ I am wrapping up my annual teaching job in Budapest and Transylvania, which has been busier than ever. This semester I taught a course on war reporting, a course on Ukraine and the Middle East, a course on the big news stories of the day, and also led two multi-day study trips for students, one to Georgia, and the other to western Ukraine.
+ After Kosovo it’s back to Canada to get ready for our spring season, which I’m very pleased to report is fully-booked. We do, however, still have availability in October for what promises to be some grizzly-bear viewing. Click here for a description of what we will be offering, and, if you are interested, please drop us a line.
This is wonderful news. Well done to everyone involved.