Héctor Abad Faciolince — on Victoria Amelina, Pablo Escobar’s legacy, and the hour of death

In June 2023, Colombian congressman Sergio Jaramillo, writer Héctor Abad Faciolince, and journalist Catalina Gómez traveled to Donbas to witness the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine. They were all representing the campaign “Aguanta Ucrania” (“Hold on, Ukraine”), which aims to raise awareness of Russian war crimes in Ukraine throughout Latin America. During this trip, they were accompanied by Ukrainian writer, member of PEN Ukraine, and war crimes documentarian at Truth Hounds, Victoria Amelina. On June 27, they stopped for lunch at the Ria Pizza restaurant in downtown Kramatorsk. That day, Russia launched three Iskander-M missiles at the city center. One of them struck the pizzeria. As a result of the missile strike, 13 people were killed and 59 injured. Victoria Amelina sustained severe injuries. Her heart stopped on July 1 in a hospital in Dnipro.After returning to Colombia, Héctor Abad Faciolince began working on a new book — “Ahora y en la hora” (“Now and at the Hour”). The book tells not only the story and events he experienced, but also about the Ukrainian people, including Victoria Amelina.“Sometimes I feel that maybe I also died along with all those people in that pizzeria. When I was writing the book, for weeks and months I had doubts whether I was still alive or not. I had this sense that I hadn’t survived after Victoria’s death — the death of the little twin sisters who died in that restaurant, where they came with their father. This became an obsessive thought for me,” — says Héctor Abad.Natalie Humeniuk and Héctor Abad Faciolince talk about their impressions of Ukraine, why Latin America often doesn’t understand the reasons behind Russia’s war, about their encounter with Victoria Amelina and the memory of her, and how atheism, mysticism, and conversations about hell can intertwine.