『Dr. Charles Boustany – Journey to Ukraine to Witness Human Toll of War』のカバーアート

Dr. Charles Boustany – Journey to Ukraine to Witness Human Toll of War

Dr. Charles Boustany – Journey to Ukraine to Witness Human Toll of War

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Dr. Charles Boustany, retired cardiovascular surgeon and former six-term member of Congress representing South Louisiana from 2005 to 2017, joins Discover Lafayette to recount an extraordinary and deeply personal journey to Ukraine, where he traveled with his longtime friend and former Kentucky Congressman Geoff Davis to witness firsthand the human toll of Russia’s war upon Ukraine. The two former congressmen made the trip at their own expense. They went not as elected officials or representatives of the United States government, but as concerned Americans determined to listen, learn and better understand a conflict that Charles believes has profound implications far beyond Ukraine. Their journey culminated in a terrifying night in Kyiv on May 23, 2026, when Charles found himself sheltering in the basement of his hotel with Ukrainian families as missiles and drones pounded the capital for hours. It was an experience that changed him. A Friendship Forged in Congress Leads to Ukraine Charles and Geoff Davis became close friends while serving together in Congress. Their backgrounds were very different. Charles came to public service after a career as a cardiovascular surgeon. Geoff is a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Ukraine became particularly personal for Geoff after a West Point classmate, a retired U.S. Army colonel of Ukrainian ancestry, went to Ukraine and volunteered to fight after Russia’s invasion. Although the Ukrainians wanted to commission him as a senior officer because of his experience, he chose to enter the fight as a private. He was killed in combat. Charles had his own longstanding concerns about Russian aggression. While serving in Congress, he watched Russia’s actions in Georgia and the 2014 seizure of Crimea and territory in eastern Ukraine. He had traveled to Georgia as a member of Congress and visited within roughly 30 miles of the front line, seeing the consequences of Russian military action there. Over time, Charles and Geoff became increasingly concerned that Americans were losing sight of what was happening in Ukraine. “We felt like you have to go see what’s going on to really understand what’s going on in the world,” Charles says. “And if you’re a policymaker, it’s really important to do that.” They decided to go themselves. Their objective was first to gather information: to speak not only with government and military officials, but with ordinary Ukrainians living through the war. Their second goal was to return home and share what they had witnessed. The Long Road Into Ukraine Rather than entering through Poland, as many American visitors do, Charles traveled from Louisiana through Atlanta, Amsterdam and Bucharest, Romania. From there, he took a commuter flight toward the Romanian-Ukrainian border, where a humanitarian contact arranged for a van to take the group into Ukraine. The drive to Kyiv took approximately ten and a half hours. That route gave Charles an unexpected view of the country. They traveled through the agricultural heartland of southwestern Ukraine, passing farms and countryside that in some ways reminded Charles of home. The landscape was beautiful and peaceful, until reminders of war suddenly appeared: a bombed truck, a destroyed barn or a damaged home. Even those rural areas bore the scars of the conflict. What struck Charles throughout the trip was how familiar much of Ukraine felt. Gas stations offered snacks much like those in America. Stores and restaurants were open. People went about their lives. He laughed as he recalled that the restrooms they encountered along the journey were among “the cleanest bathrooms I’ve seen anywhere.” “The people are so nice,” he says. That sense of normalcy made the destruction they encountered even more jarring. “These Are People Just Like Us” Charles and Geoff deliberately sought out Ukrainians who could tell them what they had experienced. Some of the stories were almost unbearable. Charles met people who had survived Russian occupation and heard accounts of civilians tortured and killed. He spoke of a woman with a Ph.D. in sociology whose husband serves in the Ukrainian military. During Russia’s initial advance toward Kyiv, she hid with her children for two weeks, surviving on whatever water and food she could find until Ukrainian forces reached them. They visited an Orthodox seminary that had been damaged during the early days of the war. The priest who led the seminary described atrocities so horrific, Charles says, that the experience had nearly shaken his Christian faith. “It brought tears to my eyes to hear these things,” Charles recalls. He also met the mother of a young Ukrainian who had been killed during the early days of the war while serving with the Azov forces defending Mariupol. For Charles, these encounters stripped away the distance created by maps, political arguments and television coverage. “These ...
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