Footage of the attack shot by a Ukrainian bystanderBy the time the tear gas filled the van, I had already covered my face with my hoodie. I could feel tiny shards of glass in my mouth. The windows had been smashed. My friends were screaming. All I could think was, Am I going to die?As stupid as it sounds, I didn’t think anything bad would happen to us in Ukraine. Our crew had been here twice before, for the documentary about an orphanage we were filming in Mariupol, a city far from the turbulence in Kiev and Crimea. People on the ground were telling us things were peaceful, and it appeared that the violence was isolated and perhaps being sensationalized by the media. I had to finish the documentary before all-out war ruined our chances of returning. It was a risk but, it seemed to me, a small one. We would avoid rallies. We weren’t looking for trouble.
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Video footage we shot before the attack, followed by audio of the attackShattering glass pulled me back to the reality of the situation. I was telling our sound guy, George, how sorry I was that I convinced him to come on this trip when he had a pregnant wife and a son at home.
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