00:002022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matvichek says
00:06ordinary Ukrainians have shown extraordinary courage and solidarity. This as they emerged as
00:12key actors amid the devastation caused by Russia's invasion. In her speech during Rappler's social
00:18goods summit, Matvichek highlights the power of ordinary people in the face of such destruction.
00:23We get used to thinking through the categories of states and inter-states organization,
00:29but ordinary people have a much greater impact that they can even imagine. She also notes that
00:37her team witnessed how international organizations evacuated when Russia launched its invasion in
00:43February 2022. It was the ordinary citizens who helped people survive artillery fire,
00:49evacuate from destroyed cities, and deliver humanitarian aid. I know from my own experience,
00:55when you can't rely on the legal instruments, when you can't rely on the UN system of peace and
01:02security, you can still rely on people. Matvichek received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. She
01:09stresses the importance of human dignity in the face of brutal aggression, citing the case of Ukrainian
01:15scientist Ihor Kozlovsky. He spent 700 days in Russian captivity. He was abducted, illegally detained,
01:23kept in unhuman conditions. He was tortured so severely that he had to learn how to walk again.
01:30All his experience, it's not a reason for him to treat himself as a victim. Because the basis of our
01:38existence is dignity, it's dignity, not victimhood.
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