One year later – Convicts original Dry Souls captures the voices from the war in Ukraine
“The girls and women working as paramedics have dry souls right now. They’ve forgotten how to cry. Of course, they are all wounded. Every person will have their own trauma, but now? It’s just dry souls.”
While the creative community and ad industry have lent their support to the community in Ukraine since the war started, for most people in the U.S. it’s been back to business and attention has waned. To keep the spotlight on the citizens and people on the ground in Ukraine, global creative studio and digital media brand, Convicts, continues to use their platforms to give a voice to those who need it most. In 2022, Convicts sent their Senior Writer, Cam Higgins to Poland and Ukraine for two weeks to conduct a series of interviews with citizens affected by the war to provide a human perspective to an inhumane war.
Cam’s interviews and insights from the voices in Ukraine have been developed into a Convicts Original (original content funded and produced by the creative studio unassociated with any brand), DRY SOULS. Dry Souls includes a microsite that documents a wide range of harrowing stories, from regular citizens becoming paramedics, spies, refugee coordinators, and translators overnight, to a Ukrainian cab driver sharing that he and his brothers played rock, paper, scissors to determine who would go to fight in the war and who would stay home to take care of the family.
While some agencies only take a stand on behalf of the brands they work with, Convicts thinks differently. The team believes that agencies can’t just be commentators of culture, rather, they need to participate in it, have their own point of view, and create some good trouble along the way – all in service of a better world.
“Agencies should have a voice just like the brands they serve.” says Pete Maiden, Founder of Convicts. “Stories that came from these series of interviews are nothing short of extraordinary and we just hope that we did our part in getting their messages the attention it deserves.”
In an interview that inspired the title of the project, Anna Maiboroda, Ukrainian Tactical Medic and Grandmother stated, “The girls and women working as paramedics have dry souls right now. They’ve forgotten how to cry. Of course, they are all wounded. Every person will have their own trauma, but now? It’s just dry souls.”
The four groups of “Dry Souls” that Cam interviewed includes everyday citizens forced to assume new, unexpected responsibilities. Here are a few quotes from the four groups;
The Healers
“We are always doing something. Always learning something. Every day, every hour, we do not sit. Each morning, we get a list from the Ukrainian troops about what they need. Because so many people have joined the army, the Ministry of Defense couldn’t afford to give every soldier everything they need.
The Fighters
“Nobody listened to us. The problem was ignored. They didn’t acknowledge our warnings. They thought we were Russophobic. That we were against Russia without reason. That we were the obstacles to doing great business with Russia. So for others, it was uncomfortable and they ignored our warning and explanations.”
The Leaders
“We Ukrainians will change the future. Because it is not only our future: it is the future of Europe and the future of the world. Two huge systems are fighting. The totalitarian system versus the democratic system. David and Goliath. I believe in our David
The Displaced
“It’s not just our people dying, it’s our nature. Our forests and our air.”
