The WOX Travel Contest will no longer be held
Yesterday was another terrible day in Ukraine. Russian ballistic missiles hit residential buildings in the city of Kryvyi Rih. Among the dead was a 10-year-old girl who had just returned from abroad...
Every day and every night is like that in Ukraine. It's not just somewhere in the news. It's here, it's every day. These attacks are carried out by the Russian state with the tacit approval of its population. How can I not see this and not pay attention to it?
Today I have to announce the winners. Among the contestants is a post by a Russian author. It is of high quality and deserves a high place. But I cannot reward the Russians. How? They kill us, and I reward them? Is this the war of one Putin? One person is fighting, and 140 million are silent? Don't be so naive.
I have no complaints against a particular author. I have found no evidence that she supports the war. But sooner or later, other authors from Russia will also participate in the competition. I can't forbid them because that would be against the spirit of this open community. But I cannot be objective. Therefore, I decided not to hold any more contests. I will try to find other ways to have fun here and be useful to this platform.
I understand that almost no one shares my position and many will condemn me. But I think this is the right decision. Understand, it hurts me.
And now to the positive part of the post:
1st place - @dove11 with the post Canberra Zoo.
2nd place - @benoitblanc with the post Capri - The Island of Azure Waters.
3rd place - @kozanozdra with the post Paros, Greece.
Honorable mentions:
- @moyeon with the post My Monthly Banaras Trip.
- @charter with the post Desert Ocean.
- @sachin-suresh with the post An unforegtable day - Adventure to "Besama" Sri Lanka.
All prizes have been transferred to the winners:
I wish you all a peaceful sky.
Oleh, I understand you very well. And it doesn't matter if they support this war or not. For years, they were ruled by a dwarf, with huge complexes, and none of the Russians overthrew him. They don't like him, they're not well, and he's still in charge. We saw awake people protesting and being crushed by the police. I understand they're scared. But one thing is certain, there are millions of people, and if they go out into the street the Dwarf leaves! No matter that he hides like a mouse in bunkers and uses doubles, when people come out on the street, he leaves the post! Let them remember how in 2013-2014 thousands protested against Yanukovych. And there was aggression from the police, but Ukrainian people did not stop!!
In my country there are many people brainwashed by Russian propaganda.
Even our f***ing president is a servant of Kaputin... SHAME!
At Prigozhin, the troll network definitely managed to do its job by spreading fake news... But I can say that a lot of us in my country stand with Ukraine! For years, the Bulgarian Black Sea coast has been flooded with Russian своloch and we see what kind of people they are. We remember what Russia did with our gold reserve and how they raped and humiliated our people! They came to free us... I hope that this war will end as soon as possible! We stand with Ukrainian people! Courage 💙
One can immediately see a person who, having access to free information, includes critical thinking. For some reason, the propaganda did not affect you. It is not at all clear to me how in today's world, with the presence of the Internet, someone can be affected by propaganda.
Despite everything, your country immediately, without hesitation, provided us with help when it was critically needed - in the first days of the war. It was done secretly and we didn't know about it. But it is largely thanks to Bulgaria that we still exist and we are still alive. Our people will be forever grateful to you. Someday we will get back on our feet and be able to thank you.
I wish you that the war will never touch you.
The problem is that Russia is brainwashing Bulgarians through our corrupt politicians, corrupt journalists and trolls. And that's more than 100 years. Fortunately, we also have politicians who want us to be in the European family and look ahead, not be Russian puppets. That is why Russian propaganda has intensified even more, especially on the Internet. The flow of fake news is enormous! Even the history we learn in schools is fake and only last year the lies begun to be spoken publicly about it. I hope they will change the textbooks and show the truth about the Russian "liberator"
Maybe you know that Ukrainian people helped a lot to us!
Yes, we sent weapons secretly, and now our support is official))). Take care 💛💙
Firstly thank you so much for the prize and for the mention. Secondly I'm deeply saddened by the tragic events in Ukraine. The loss of innocent lives, including a young girl, is heart-wrenching. It's understandable that you find it difficult to reward a Russian author amidst these ongoing conflicts. Your decision not to hold any more contests is a reflection of your compassion and respect for the situation. It's essential to prioritize empathy and understanding during such challenging times. Take care, and know that your feelings are valid.
Thank you for understanding me. I will miss your wonderful posts, but I love reading your diaries :) They are also about travel.
Thank you for your kind words. It's really sad you are ending your contest, because i still have so many places to share that i know you would love. Honestly your contest is my favourite in WOX and i would become a moderator just to keep it going. :)
You can run a contest without being a moderator. It is possible and often happens.
I also really enjoyed this contest. I think he was surprisingly successful.
I feel so bad when I hear about forced wars. In fact, we are also fighting indirect wars forced on us and we're fighting them alone. I wish all the bombs and weapons were banned immediately.
I am so ashamed to be part of this society that sells bombs to become #1 economic power. If only they spend this money for the welfare of humanity, the world would be a different place to live in.
I welcome your decision to stop this contest.
You are right, if all this money were spent on the social sphere instead of weapons, we would probably be in heaven :)
I really enjoyed traveling with your posts. But I hope you will find an opportunity to write about travel outside of the contest.
I wish you that these conflicts do not grow into something more. War is difficult to control, and its consequences are always terrible.
Thanks for all your good wishes! In fact, I have been writing about travel for almost 15 years, although I was not aware of crypto-based websites.
In fact, I myself wanted to take a break as I am too busy offline. Thanks for all your kind support, which helped me grow rapidly. Thanks for everything. I hope peace prevails in your country and for all humanity. We have had enough of aimless wars.
My best regards!
I hope you will not leave the platform. It would be a great loss for us. Also, you do a lot in the Dream Steem community, which is a haven for good writers. But offline life should always come first. I wish you to cope with your affairs :)
I guess it's about time you go to Australia?
Dear @o1eh - Your contest, your decision! No one should attack you for it - and it seems to me that almost no one has done so.
As for your reasons (which, by the way, you can and should explain here - that is my understanding of openness here on the platform): they are very understandable.
I have all along admired the Steem, the Steemians, for continuing to deal with each other in an amicable, fair, straightforward and non-hostile manner. No matter where they are from. No matter what their country's troubles are at the moment. No matter what one nation is imposing on the other....
This is not a place for fighting, this is a place for talking. Information is exchanged, sympathies are created and connections are forged. I also see examples where it doesn't happen like that, no question. But these seem to me to be exceptions that are due to deep and understandable bitterness.
Ukrainians and Russians can coexist here just fine. So can the Chinese and Taiwanese, by the way, if I'm following this correctly. This is a kind of neutral zone. It can remain so, it should remain so.
Whether you organise a contest or not: forget it. But don't stop talking to each other! Don't stop respecting each other. Listen to the part of your mind that tells you: only in this way, really only in this way, will this war come to an end - in conversation. You are demonstrating here how this can be done.
Lieber @o1eh - Dein Wettbewerb, Deine Entscheidung! Niemand sollte Dich deswegen angreifen - und mir scheint, das hat auch fast keiner getan.
Was Deine Gründe angeht (die Du im übrigen sehr wohl hier darlegen kannst und sollst - so entspricht es meinem Verständnis von Offenheit hier auf der Plattform): die sind sehr verständlich.
Ich habe die ganze Zeit den Steem, die Steemianer, dafür bewundert, daß sie weiterhin freundschaftlich, fair, geradlinig und nicht feindselig miteinander umgehen. Egal, woher sie kommen. Egal, was ihr Land gerade für Schwierigkeiten hat. Egal, was die eine Nation der anderen gerade zumutet...
Hier wird nicht gekämpft, hier wird miteinander geredet. Hier werden Informationen ausgetauscht, Sympathien entstehen und Verbindungen werden geknüpft. Ich sehe auch Beispiele, wo es nicht so abläuft, keine Frage. Das scheinen mir aber Ausnahmen zu sein, die tiefer und verständlicher Verbitterung geschuldet sind.
Ukrainer und Russen können hier prima koexistieren. Chinesen und Taiwanesen übrigens auch, wenn ich das richtig verfolge. Hier ist eine Art neutrale Zone. Sie kann es bleiben, sie sollte es bleiben.
Ob Du einen Wettbewerb veranstaltest oder nicht: geschenkt. Aber hört nicht auf, miteinander zu reden! Hört nicht auf, Euch zu respektieren. Hört auf den Teil des Verstands, der Euch sagt: nur so, wirklich nur so, wird dieser Krieg ein Ende finden - im Gespräch. Ihr macht hier vor, wie das gelingen kann.
It is precisely because of the fact that I am trying to remain open that I explained the reasons for the termination of the contest. Now I regret it a little, maybe it would have been better to quietly go into the shadows. Most of them took it as the fact that I am putting everyone in one row without exception. In fact, it is not. I would be happy to communicate with those russians who would clearly explain their negative attitude towards the war. But no one does this.
Some of my decisions and statements are dictated by the emotional state I had at the time of writing the post. Recently, a rocket hit a house in Lviv, which I passed by every day for five years. There, people I knew died in their beds in the middle of the night. Then the rocket hit a residential building in Kryvyi Rih. Tomorrow a rocket will hit somewhere again and someone will die. Dead soldiers are brought to our city every day. The city is small, so familiar names often come across. Emotions often take over.
Many people sympathized with my decision, but most silently condemned it. Of course, it's better to keep my emotions to myself, but I don't always manage to do that.
If you look at the content in the Ukrainian community, you can see that the war is often mentioned there. antorv presented her new book in Odessa, but was forced to flee from an attack by drones. strecoza lives in Kryvyi Rih, so the rocket attack affected people she knows. One may get the impression that Ukrainians are constantly trying to evoke sympathy. I think many people are tired of it. But we just write about our everyday experiences. So I think it's better for us to stay with our content in our local community.
It is very difficult now. If russian society would at least show a little bit that they are against the extermination of Ukrainians. Are they afraid? Not a single russian on the platform during the year and a half of the war addressed any of the Ukrainians privately in Discord or Telegram and said that he was against murder and violence. This is disappointing.
However, I am happy to communicate with the rest of the world.
I don't think you should dive into your local community.... Again, of course, it's your decision alone.
I sometimes follow posts in the Ukrainian community - of course it is a bit more time-consuming, sometimes actually less relevant for me. But I am aware that you are all affected by what is happening in your country. And many other people on the Steem too, of course. But what can they say to alleviate your situation...? If we are honest: nothing. So that's probably why they keep quiet...
Are you in contact with @gor671? We miss him, he probably also lives in a disputed area... I hope he is doing reasonably well!
@o1eh - this war will end. Not thanks to you or me, not thanks to Europe or the US, not thanks to sudden Russian insights... But it will end. Then it will be important how you got through the hard time yourself: full of hate or full of hope ;-))
No, unfortunately he never joined our Telegram chat, so I don't have his contacts. I don't know why he stopped being active.
You are probably right. But under the current conditions, I cannot pretend that nothing is happening, smile and give prizes to participants from Russia. So I removed this inconvenience from my activity on Steemit. However, it was necessary to do it without explaining the reasons, because now many people think that I drink coffee from the skulls of Russians and eat their babies :)
In general, I think nothing will change in my activity on Steemit, only there will be no contests. But there will be more comments. This is how I plan to interact with authors as a moderator.
This topic is very sensitive to many users. That 10 year kid had nothing to do with any of it, yet she had to give her innocent life to this bloody political game. I'm really sorry to hear about the whole situation you are going through. You have a brave heart to continue this journey on the platform, and I’m glad you are talking about it here because you don't have to carry this burden alone. There's a whole community behind you, ready to listen and support.
It's okay to feel hurt and unsure about what to do right now, so let’s pause the contest for a while and come up with something even more engaging. I can imagine seeing posts from Russians might be bringing up a lot of emotions, but it's important to remember that not all of them have a say in this situation.
Things might not change overnight, but staying strong and compassionate can make a difference. Take care, and remember, you're not alone in this journey ❤️
Actually, I didn't mean to offend anyone. However, my explanation of why I will no longer hold contests caused a strong resonance. As you rightly pointed out, this topic is very sensitive.
Thanks for understanding.
Greetings friend @o1eh
It is unfortunate the situation you are living, let's hope it will end soon.
As for the next comment, we can't bring the general problems to the platform, maybe this Russian user is praying for peace to end, I think it was better not to mention things this way.
#NoToWar
Is this a joke?
THAT PERSON SHOULD SHOW SHE/HE IS AGAINST THE WAR AND RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. DUMB PRAYERS, HATE THIS FUCKING WORLD
Maybe, maybe not.
I simply explained why I will no longer hold contests.
Hi @o1eh, I understand you very well and support your decision. For many of us we are not there where you and we can not really understand the emotions and the feeling that you have.
I just wish that the war finally will come to end and your country fellows will have peace and freedom again.
Thanks for understanding. My announcement may have offended many, but that was not my goal.
Probably a wise decision.
I keep praying that this horror will end soon.
Please understand that the prayers include Russian children who lose their soldier fathers. Or those who get murdered while trying to flee because they do not want to support killing.
I confess, every day I have less and less understanding. But I still have it.
I completely understand and support you with both hands, as much as I don't want this beloved contest to end. 🤝
Thanks for understanding.
But there is also good news, the contest continues, just without me :)
I knew there would be a happy development of the situation. Participate too! :)
Hmmm. Do you run a contest here on Steemit that you gonna stop, too? If I may ask what exactly is the way of supporting o1eh with both hands, in what he is doing?
You didn't understand something correctly. I don't stop contests, I support their existence.
That is nice, I am happy to hear that.
I generally dont welcome the hate speech aimed at other countries and other nationalities. When you want to aim and hit an entire country (say, for its unfriendly actions), you can’t hit the country (cause its too big and, besides, state is a bullet proof beast, like a Hydra) - but you always succed to hit certain people, hurt them, sometimes even deal a fatal blow. Not nice.
Blockchain should serve the aim of uniting people all over the world, but not divide them and heat up the hatred inbetween.
I agree 👍
Hello @o1eh,
I simply hope that the war will cease soon, and your fellow countrymen can regain peace and freedom once more.
Thank you.