NADIA

Nadia did not plan to become a deminer. She was a beautician. When the war began, that was no longer enough. She retrained. Now she clears landmines. Around 30 percent of Ukraine is believed to be contaminated. Fields, roads, gardens, places where children should be able to run. Nadia works in these spaces, knowing exactly what is at stake. She is also a mother. Her daughter is never far from her thoughts. What she does is slow, technical, and unforgiving. There is no room for error. We filmed her as she is trained for first aid on herself and colleagues in case of an explosion as no doctor can right away run to their help. About 30 percent of Ukraine’s deminers are women. Nadia is one of them. This Human Postcard is a chance to meet Nadia and to understand what it means to choose usefulness when everything around you is uncertain.

We went to Ukraine in 2025 on the invitation of the Volya foundation to make portraits of children suffering from the war. We met Nadia during our stay in Mykolaiv and could not help wanting to tell her story. Special thank you to Natalya Vyetrova for her help and translation.