Exhibition "The Price of the Silence of the World" / Photo by the Seimas Chancellery (author – Viktorija Chorna)
On September 25, 2024, an exhibition titled "The Price of the Silence of the World" opened at the Seimas Stained Glass Gallery (Building I), dedicated to the memory of Ukrainian children who were killed by Russian occupiers between 2022 and 2024. The exhibition will be on display until October 10.
The exhibition was organized by pediatricians, primarily from the academic community of Vilnius University – led by Professor Arūnas Valiulis, MD, PhD, from the Faculty of Medicine's Clinic of Pediatric Diseases – as well as representatives from the university's alumni, together with interns from Ukraine, including Professor Olga Belousova, MD, PhD, a pediatrician from Kharkiv University. It was also supported by the war crimes documentation organization "Memorial" and the IPOKRaTES Lithuania foundation. The patron of the exhibition is Seimas member and child psychiatrist Linas Slušnys.
Exhibition "The Price of the Silence of the World" / Photo by the Seimas Chancellery (author – Viktorija Chorna)
The exhibition features over 30 life stories of children who have died since 2022 during Russia’s war against Ukraine. Notably, the exhibition is titled "The Price of the Silence of the World" not because no one has spoken about the tragedy of Ukrainian children, but because perhaps the voices have been too quiet, and too little effort has been made to reach the hearts of policymakers in the free world. The organizers believe that everyone – from decision-makers to ordinary citizens – should be doing more for Ukraine than they currently are.
In the center – Professor Arūnas Valiulis from the Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine's Clinic of Pediatric Diseases / Photo by the Seimas Chancellery (author – Viktorija Chorna)
The opening event was attended by many distinguished guests. Speeches were delivered by Seimas member Linas Slušnys, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Emanuelis Zingeris, Ukrainian Ambassador to Lithuania Petro Beshta, Vilnius University Vice-Rector Vilmantė Pakalniškienė, Director of the NGO "Memorial" Haiane Avakian, and the event’s moderator, Professor Arūnas Valiulis of Vilnius University’s Faculty of Medicine’s Clinic of Pediatric Diseases.
The opening ceremony was accompanied by a beautiful piano performance by Joris Mikužis, a student from the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Arts.