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Microsoft Coder Posts Personal Updates About Ukraine Homeland at War
As everybody reading this probably knows, it can be tough to code -- or even write about coding -- amid images of maternity hospitals being bombed and innocent civilians being slaughtered in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Imagining how hard it must be for a high-level developer at Microsoft who is from Ukraine and whose family may be in danger is simply impossible.
Olia Gavrysh, a program manager on the .NET team, is keeping her followers updated on the situation from her Twitter feed. I have long been one of those followers.
[Click on image for larger view.] Olia Gavrysh (source: Twitter).
"My sleep is completely broken but I'm afraid to take sleeping pills to not hear if my parents will call me to ask for help," she says in her latest post. "Do you know anything that can help fall asleep but won't completely turn me off?"
I was about to suggest melatonin (I took a second one at 4 a.m. today), but many others already had, among other solutions.
She is all over the unconscionable Ukraine situation, posting up to eight times or more a day.
Many posts are personal:
[Click on image for larger view.] Why Did They Do It? (source: Twitter).
She posts about how to contribute help. Other posts/retweets are angry. Some are savage. Some are even humorous, even in a macabre setting. Many are just heartbreaking.
"My parents are in a bus trying to cross Ukrainian border. So far standing for 20 hours in a traffic jam and no idea how much longer. My dad just texted me that a woman in their bus just died," reads a March 8 post.
"Kharkiv is under massive attack, many people got injured, lost their houses, need medication and supplies. Here is how you can help: https://t.co/56dX7UmzYS," reads a March 7 post.
So click, and help, and read.
And hope.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.