785: Through the Looking Glass
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A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show. If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org. In Ukraine, the government has set up this phone line. It's your soldiers call, Russian soldiers, if they want to surrender. Ukraine says over 3,500 soldiers have texted or called the number. One of my co-workers, Valerie Kibness, has been looking into this hotline, and hopefully speaks Russian. So what did they just say? So they said hello to another, and then the guy asked, is this Ukraine? And the guy in the hotline answered, "Yeah, this is Ukraine." And then the soldier said, "I got a text that, if we wish to surrender, call this number." You got a text? Yeah, people pass around the number on social media and telegram, there's even a website for it. It's called hichuzreets.com. And that means, I want to live.com. That's very direct. Yeah, on it, it reads, "Servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, do you notice that you're greeted not with flowers but with fire and curses? Do you notice that your commanders run away first? Save your life for yourself and your family. Stop fighting for other people's slogans. Protect us. Save your life." So, what happens in this call? One interesting thing is that the guy doesn't seem to know if he can actually believe them. He's questioning if he can trust them. He's saying, "You won't be cutting our balls off?" And then the hotline guy answers, "No, those are myths you guys are being fed. No one's going to be cutting anybody." Don't worry. Wait, but can I ask you, like, why would somebody who's calling this number, like, why would they trust them? Well, obviously, it's a scary decision and they have to judge it for themselves. But on the website, it says, you know, we follow the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of prisoners of war and they say they guarantee certain things. Three meals a day, medical service, legal support from international organizations and regular communication with relatives. What else happens in this call? Well, there's a bunch of stuff about how does this actually work? Like, how do I surrender? Where should we come by? The soldier asks. The hotline guy says, "If you're fighting, then you're probably located in a certain region." Well, yeah. And you'll come pick us up? Yeah. We need to understand where you are and whether you really want to surrender. For that, I need your information.
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