DBC Pierre: Thanks to Ukrainians, we now realize what we have to fight for in this life  

Australian-born author and winner of the Booker Prize DBC Pierre has written a letter of support to Ukrainians. Babylonian Library publishers posted a translation of the letter in Ukrainian on Facebook.   

In his letter, the author tells Ukrainians they should know that «we haven’t forgotten about you and we won’t forget. If this had been a war between traditional enemies in any part of the world, then our news channels, our leaders, and maybe our hearts would switch to the next story and the next, because that’s how people get used to things and forget about them, that’s our trait – adaptability. And it’s often used by politicians, companies and enemies who do evil».

DBC Pierre believes that russia’s war against Ukraine is completely different:

«But the brutal nature of the aggression against you, against a peaceful, naturally democratic society guarantees that the war becomes ours: because they could have attacked us, and now they are really attacking us and our human values. As a fan of the legacy of Rimsky-Korsakov, Dostoyevsky, Rachmaninov, and even the soviet achievements of Yuri Gagarin and the canine astronaut Laika, I feel disgust and anger. We all feel disgust and anger».

The writer says that Ukraine is a part of the West:

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«As I write this letter, I see how harmony is growing between the countries of the West, of which you are a part: the German intelligence services are intercepting conversations between russian soldiers that confirm their intentions; prosecutors from the highest courts of the world are already working on cases that will lead – and we hope very soon – to the triumph of justice».

The writer also urges Ukrainians to take care of themselves, because «when this all ends, a new garden will be sown and a great society will gather in this garden – and we will want to thank you personally for your lesson of courage and moral strength. Thanks to you, we now all realize what we have to fight for in this life». 

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DBS Pierre is an Australian-born author, winner of the 2003 Booker Prize for his novel Vernon God Little, author of the books Ludmila’s Broken English (2006), Lights Out in Wonder Land (2010), Breakfast with the Borgias (2014). 

Babylon Library publishers in Ukraine have published translations of two of his books: Vernon God Little (2020) and Breakfast with the Borgias (2019). 

DBC Pierre was born Peter Warren Finlay. DBC stands for «Dirty But Clean» and Pierre was his childhood nickname.

Cultural figures from around the world have expressed their support for Ukraine since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, including Timothy Snyder, Mitch Cullin, Stephen King, Sofi Oksanen, Anne Applebaum. 

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Source: Babylon Library. Letter translated from Ukrainian by Olena Feshovets.