December 10 is a great holiday, because this date is considered Human Rights Day, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt called the Declaration «the great charter of freedom for all mankind». On this day, we spoke with Maria Zub, a police officer in the Zhytomyr Region Patrol Police Response Sector

«Working in the police motivates me to want to help people. I liked it since childhood. And now I want to help. To all people, very different. Not so long ago, I lived abroad, and when I returned, I decided to go to work for the police. It was not a spontaneous, but a balanced decision, which we discussed with the family. Everyone understood what we were going for. And in two years of service, despite different situations, I have never regretted»

«The first impressions of the work turned out to be unexpected and not very pleasant. Daily details are difficult. I remember my first day: there were eight calls at once, all similar. Drunk men insult, humiliate or beat their wives. However, this is my job, and you should love your job if you choose it. I enjoy the service. I like to find ways out of difficult situations where working on a family call results in peace or a person who feels safe. At least if a person at least speaks out and gets advice – it’s good»

«After the first year of service in the patrol police, I received an offer: they offered to transfer me to a special anti-violence unit, Polina. I have heard about such units for a long time, but they were only in big cities. In Zhytomyr, it was just beginning to take shape. I immediately wrote a report and have been working against domestic violence for a year now»

«My family, my friends are my wealth. They are always there both in a difficult and in a good moment. At first, everyone at home worried about me, they understood that I would work daily shifts. In fact, you do not know what the change will be. At night, everyone rests, and we can have anything. And the challenges are very different. One day a drunken man called his wife a snake. And in this family any insults were generally unacceptable, people didn’t even speak rude words to each other. And the wife felt so offended that she called the police. When I asked, «Did you call the police just because your husband called you?» She replied that this was the first time in 30 years of living together. Compared to other cases, this may seem strange, but in the family everything depends on respect, on self-esteem»

«My son is proud of me. At every meeting with his little friends, he proudly says that his mother works in the police. And I am grateful to my husband, from whom I have never heard dissatisfaction. He supports me»

«I love sport. We all have to take care of our bodies, so my hobby is sport. In my free time I do Pilates training. I am very inspired by this. And at the slightest opportunity I like to travel. I like weekend tours, I like to be abroad. Zhytomyr also has great places to relax. Personally, I love Gagarin Park. Walking on the bridge, breathing heavily and dreaming is an incredible pleasure»

«The ideal life of a police officer is when you just get some sleep. Of course, I want to have a decent salary, but for now I think that first of all you need a normal vacation»

«The topic of violence cannot be ignored, because silence leads to terrible consequences. I’m trying to talk about it. We have to talk. My publicity is an opportunity to provide people with truthful information. It is important for me that my speeches, my actions have an impact, help to solve problems. Let it be at least a small positive shift, but… Maybe I don’t always succeed, but I’m learning»

«Male colleagues react sharply to domestic violence, especially when they see women being beaten. They are doing explanatory work, and I see that it hurts them to look at it. Women’s solidarity is when they do not say «she is to blame for what happened», when they listen, understand, get into the situation. Sometimes it’s enough to just listen to a person»

«I am vulnerable to the elderly and young children. I once even cried on call. It is difficult to see the eyes of the children we have to take away from their parents, who become dangerous. On one of the calls, a little boy approached me and said, «Auntie, promise me I won’t eat potato peelings». And everything covered me…»

«Beauty for me is when a person is full inside, when he speaks the truth, when he is sincere. Such people are beautiful to me!»

«Children need to be taught love from an early age. No punishment, no threats, no pressure will make a child happy. So you just have to love and give a clear understanding of what is good and what is bad. And parents have to show it to the child»

«The ideal New Year’s holidays, especially in 2021, when you have already contracted the coronavirus, you have antibodies – this is when everyone is healthy, in a good mood, give each other gifts and meet at a generous New Year’s table. And sincerely wish each other good wishes. May everyone have perfect holidays»