Life in occupied Mariupol: Hardly any clean water, work for food

Mariupol has been under Russian control for weeks. State media stage normal life in the port city – those who have contact with the city, on the other hand, hear about distress, fear and the risk of epidemics.

An elderly woman turns on the tap and fills a dusty plastic bottle. The reporter from the Russian state broadcaster Perwyj Kanal asks from the off whether she is happy that there is tap water again. “Of course it’s a great pleasure and physically it’s a big help for us,” she says into the camera. Then other residents express their thanks: You no longer have to carry canisters. Next – at the bread distribution point – a woman smiles and hugs two loaves. Another is to demonstrate how the light in her apartment goes on when she presses a light switch.

In a once modern, well-developed city, its residents should now be happy about the most elementary things for Russian television. The aim is to show the return of everyday life to Mariupol. A strange normality amidst rubble. Because the downsides remain hidden from the viewers in Russia.

Danger of epidemics from unclean water

Ukrainians know them all too well: a verified shot from the city shows water pouring into the street through bullet holes in a pipe. “They put the water in, but the pipe is like a sieve. The water just doesn’t reach the houses. It floods the streets. The city is now a kind of Venice,” tells Alya. She fled Mariupol but keeps in touch with several friends who are still there. “Drinking water is particularly valuable in the city. When it was distributed, huge queues formed. People even fought for the water,” she reports.

Some draw it from natural sources, some even from sewers. Without electricity and gas, cooking is very time-consuming for many. The Ukrainian authorities therefore fear an outbreak of cholera or dysentery. The regional office of the WHO also warns of this risk.

“It’s difficult to assess the situation because access to information is difficult. But we know that the city’s infrastructure is largely damaged,” says Ukraine’s chief hygienist Ihor Kusin. “As a result, the wastewater mixes with the drinking water and the groundwater. Wells are also polluted.” The upcoming summer increases the risk of infectious diseases.

work for the most necessary provisions

Mariupol is known for its hot summers – and heavy rain. This already revealed another problem in many neighborhoods of the city. Because cemeteries were created on numerous lawns during the blockade. “The bodies weren’t really buried deep in the courtyards. They were just buried a bit,” describes Alja. “And the water then exposed the corpses, the dead bodies that were already decomposing. And the streams that formed carried smells of corpses through the city.”

In some districts, the destroyed houses are now being cleared. If there are dead people in it, they would not be recovered, but taken to the landfill with the rubble, the city officials complained to Telegram.

Current videos show how oppressive the reality in the city is. The cheerful green of the trees does not hide the need. People cook on open fireplaces in their bombed-out courtyards. In many places, the garbage rots away. Food is scarce. Pictures show residents queuing for noodles, pearl barley and pickled lard.

Again and again it is reported that the residents get food for their work instead of wages. Alja’s acquaintances also confirm this: “This practice – working for food – is quite common because people are desperate,” she says. “And when they report something positive about their lives, they say: It’s good that there’s no shooting.”

Medication scarce, no freedom of expression

Drugs are also apparently in short supply in Mariupol. The top Ukrainian medical doctor, Kusin, emphasizes Russia’s responsibility: “According to the Geneva Convention, the occupying state is obliged to provide the inhabitants with both food and medicine. The occupying state must also replenish the medical reserves that it had before the occupation gave.”

Whether this happens cannot be verified. Should Russia agree to humanitarian corridors to Mariupol, Ukraine could bring medicines and aid to the city, Kusin added. However, it is not officially known whether this is being negotiated at all.

It is difficult to find out how the residents think about their future and the future of their city. For fear of repression, many could not dare to speak honestly. “Supporting the Ukrainian government in any way – even in private communication – is currently life-threatening,” says Alja. “Unfortunately, this is not a metaphor. People cannot openly express their mood. But I personally know people who are forced to live in Mariupol under occupation and cannot leave the city for some reason. And who wish that a Ukrainian flag flies over Mariupol.”

So far, Ukraine has stuck to its plan to liberate the occupied territories – including Mariupol. According to various estimates, around 100,000 people could still be living there under the occupying power of Russia.