On July 25, an online presentation of Yevgeniya Genova’s book *They Chose Ukraine* took place. The book, which will be published soon, explores the realities of life for children and teenagers amid armed conflict, occupation, and deportation.
The presentation was held on the author’s social media page.
In her book, the author sheds light on a rarely seen aspect of war —genocide aimed at destroying generational memory and identity, as well as that of future generations. The Ukrainian people have repeatedly endured the abduction, deportation, and forced placement of children in boarding schools.
This time, according to rough estimates, at least 20,000 young Ukrainians were deported to Russia. Only 2,300 were successfully returned. Another 1.6 million Ukrainian children live in the occupied territories. All these young people find themselves in difficult circumstances that seek to erase their Ukrainian identity every day.
The book *They Chose Ukraine* tells the stories of children who have found themselves in foreign countries where no one is waiting for them, where they are strangers, and where they are told that their past is wrong and must be forgotten. As the author noted, in such conditions, one must be very strong not to break down and to preserve the memory of one’s past, family, and national identity. The children and teenagers who endured these circumstances and did not give up entrusted their stories to the author and agreed to let them be shared. During the book presentation, Yevheniia nearly broke down in tears.
According to the author, the book will be of interest to other young people, parents, psychologists, educators, and anyone who loves true, non-fictional stories and is interested in various aspects of Ukrainian life.
In May, the Ukrainian Book Institute approved the list of winners, which had been endorsed by the UBI Supervisory Board.Among them is Yevheniia Genova, an Odesa-based writer, journalist, and candidate of philological sciences,with her book *The Nogais: The Erased Memory of the Ukrainian Steppe*.
