Legendary US singer, activist Joan Baez visits Ukraine

Nine-time Grammy winner, U.S. folk and country singer Joan Baez has visited Ukraine and shared her impressions of the trip.

Baez arrived in Ukraine together with U.S. pediatrician and public activist Dr. Irwin Redlener and his wife Karen Redlener, who is a co-founder of the Ukraine Children’s Action Project.

Founded in May 2022, the non-profit organization works with local officials and NGOs in Lviv and Warsaw to optimize the health, well-being and education of children who have been affected by the war in Ukraine.

Together they visited children’s camps in Warsaw and Lviv, as well as paying a visit to Kyiv. The famous singer shared her impressions of Poland and Ukraine on her social media pages.

On her way to Ukraine, 82-year-old Baez met Ukrainian children in Warsaw, who presented her with yellow and blue dumplings.

In an Instagram post, the singer said that she had met displaced kids in Warsaw, “who were behaving like kids everywhere, goofing around, giggling.”

“They made us Ukrainian dumplings…dying the dough blue and yellow. Our only rule as guests is to not ask, ‘How are you? How are you feeling?’ Because they may not know,” she wrote.

She told her followers that she was heading to Ukraine “where there’s probably not quite as much goofing around and giggling among the kids.”

“The trauma is too deep and is ongoing. I hope to learn something about survival and resilience from them. And sing them a song or two,” Baez said.

Baez posted footage from Lviv in which children were having fun near the fountain in front of the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater.

“Saturday night in Lviv. Life as it should be,” she captioned the video.

In Kyiv, Baez visited Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and the National Remembrance lawn, a memorial where a flag is planted in memory of every Ukrainian: military or civilian, adult or child, who has been killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Iuliia Mendel, the former press secretary of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shared her impressions of the meeting with Baez on Instagram, describing how she had met a “legend.”

Baez is an U.S. folk and country singer, songwriter, composer, music producer, and nine-time Grammy winner. During her long musical career, she has released more than 30 albums, several of which achieved gold record status. The singer worked with U.S. singer Bob Dylan, with whom she recorded several albums and toured together.

In addition to her musical life, the singer is known for her active civic position. In the 1960s, she protested against the Vietnam war, and advocated for nuclear disarmament in the 1970s.

In 1986, she participated in “A Conspiracy of Hope” tour organized by Amnesty International as part of the meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland. In 1993, she gave concerts in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the capital of Sarajevo.

In 2015, Amnesty International honored Joan Baez, as well as Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, with the Ambassador of Conscience Award for active citizenship.

Read also:

• US actor Misha Collins arrives in Kyiv to show support for Ukraine

• Hollywood starlet Angelina Jolie calls for direct support for Ukrainian charities

• Enjoy life despite war, Ukrainian actor, paratrooper Linartovych tells Ukrainians

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine