Aurika Shvets is a 15-year-old girl who has received protection in Lyngdal. She fled the war in Ukraine, and her hometown is Kryvy Rih, the city that has a Solidarity and Partnership Agreement with Lyngdal municipality. She is a reflective young person and misses her hometown. She has been involved in the solidarity work in support of Ukraine throughout the 2 years the war has been going on, both in Lyngdal and in Oslo. 

From the Youth in Kryvyi Rih and Ukraine by Aurika Shvets:

Dear Lyngdøl, dear Ukrainians, dear everyone.  

I experienced the war in my hometown Kryvyi Rih, the brutal total invasion. After all, we had knowledge of the war from Russia in the east of our homeland, which started already in 2014, but did not experience the brutality until February 2022. My mother and I fled.

We eventually came to peaceful Norway and Lyngdal. But some of my family still live in Kryvyi Rih, where missiles and drones are destroying apartment blocks and killing our fellow citizens.

After I came to Norway, I learned a poem that means a lot to me. It is called "To the Youth" written by Nordahl Grieg. It is a poem that has been important to young people for generations in Norway. And it is very relevant to me in this terrible time. The theme of the poem is about war and solidarity. I will therefore change the topic today, "From the youth and the youth in Kryvyi Rih." Many people were very happy when we heard the news that Lyngdal municipality had signed an agreement with my hometown on "Solidarity and Partnership". I hope that the agreement can fulfill some of its content also for the young people in my hometown.

I know what war is, and I know what our peace in Norway means. It is good to live in peaceful Lyngdal and we Ukrainians who have protection here are very grateful.

We must never take peace for granted. We must always be on guard against forces and groups that wish to harm our fellow human beings.

Let us work together for freedom and democracy in Kryvyi Rih and Ukraine and let us together take care of peace and democracy in Norway.

See the video of Aurikas speech

Also inspired by: 

To the Youth

By Nordahl Grieg