From the dust and rubble of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, demolished buildings have become the site of what have been dubbed “clean up raves”.
As hundreds of people sweep, pick up broken bricks and haul bags of destroyed infrastructure, techno rave music blares as a DJ plays nearby.
So far, eight of these “clean up raves” have successfully been held, helping to rebuild the bombshelled parts of northern Ukraine.
“A rave community has united to help compatriots clean up their destroyed houses and rebuild them,” Twitter user Radio Free Ukraine posted.
“They started their journey from Yahidne, Chernihiv region. For 26 days, the village was under occupation. Now it is getting ready for the cold season.”
Led by community organisation ‘Repair Together’, Ukrainian volunteers have banded together in the hundreds to revive both the country’s vibrant club scene – which shut down after the war began – and its homes.
“Repair Together are volunteers who are rebuilding villages damaged by Russian invaders,” Dattalion, a free and independent open-source database of Russia’s war against Ukraine, posted to Twitter.
“They bring volunteers from #Kyiv for a few days to sort out the debris. The organisation is going to rebuild at least 12 completely destroyed houses and repair 25 more by winter.”
Working in Yahidne, revellers took to shovels and wheelbarrows to clean up the village’s cultural centre.
Men and women who would have once frequented one of Ukraine’s late night clubs were instead seen shovelling piles of dirt and debris, carrying buckets full of brick – all overseen by a DJ standing above them on a raised ledge.
“Young people want to help clean up, but with good music,” David said in a Twitter post.
But it wasn’t just locals who stepped up to help rebuild their community with people from across Ukraine and from overseas making the trek to pitch in.
Foreign volunteers flying from Portugal, the US and Germany also joined the volunteers.
Repair Together cleaned and restored the cultural centre along with 15 homes in Yahidne and are looking to complete 25 more homes in the coming days.
This comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine surpasses 150 days since it began on February 24 this year.
Originally published as ‘Clean up raves’ restoring war-torn Ukraine one beat at a time
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