We were lucky to catch up with Julia Peters recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Julia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in Odessa (Ukraine) in 1983 and travelled a lot in my 20s. I have lived in London, spent a couple of months in Asia, and then settled down in Austria, which resulted in my getting Austrian citizenship. The Tirolean Alps didn’t become my final destination though; a few years ago, I moved to Switzerland and started my new life in Zurich. By the time I’d made this step, my portfolio included two published books and two of my very own magazines: “Формула скорости” (in Ukraine) and “Про Тироль” (in Austria). Zurich became a totally new beginning for me. At first, I’d discovered in myself a talent for event organising. There are thousands of expats in Zurich, and they all miss social connections and networking. In two years at a new place, I have hosted a few hundred different events, which helped people make new friends and even create couples. I have also started the expat magazine “in Zurich” about things happening in the city. It was all running well, and I was planning on creating a new friending App, but then something awful messed up my plans – the war in Ukraine has begun.

In no time, I had to reorganise my life. I have brought to Switzerland my mom and a few friends of the family who received refugee status and remained living with me. Together with my wonderful expat and Swiss friends, I have started the foundation “Good Friends for Ukraine” to help those in need both in Switzerland and abroad. For many months, I was available to help 24/7. It was exhausting both morally and physically, but I just couldn’t stop! A few times I went to Ukraine and visited such “hotspots” as Mykolaiv and Kherson. My experiences of close encounters with war made me write a new book, “Three Little Birds Burning in the Flames of War”, which was published in February 2023. It was accepted with huge interest from the audience as well as the mass media, and was followed by a sand show in cooperation with talented painter Vira Syvorotkina and musician Baz Francis. Today I am still presiding over my foundation, working on the Ukrainian version of the book that will be presented in Odessa, and planning on turning the book into a script for a film. I guess LA will be a perfect place for this!

So what is my mission? Evaluating myself is not the easiest task. I guess the answer will be “helping others”: actively, by gathering donations, buying supplies, and delivering them to those in need; also, by bringing lonely people together at events and through my book(s).

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I will answer this question with a quote from my book, which also describes my attitude towards charity:

How did this novel come to life?
I was writing it on the plane.
I was writing it in the kitchen and even in the bathroom.
I was writing it on my mobile phone while waiting in public places.
I was writing literally everywhere!
Why?
Because I just had to!
Self-therapy, confession, deep analysis of everything that happened to the world in general and to my family in particular… There are many reasons, and all are equally important.
I personally have always called myself “The writer who doesn’t like to write”. I strongly believe that you should only tell the story when you are unable to keep it inside any longer. Despite publishing a few quite successful books in the past, I stopped my writer’s career because for a long time there were no subjects that “burned”. I could prioritise every other thing in my life, while writing remained somewhere at the end of the list.
Until the war began in February 2022.
This particular story had to be released.
So, here it is.
You can call it fiction or a very accurate biography; both things will be true. There are many destinies that got folded into one, and a lot of nuances had to be considered. All were reflected in the novel.
I hope this book will inspire somebody. If that’s the case, everything was not in vain.
Many people in the world need help nowadays. Let’s keep on making positive contributions by supporting each other.
If you can’t change the situation as a whole, try to change it in small ways!

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Although it is a novel and not a documentary, my book reflects the real-life story and tells how my foundation, “Good Friends for Ukraine” came to life.

All book characters are based on real people. Among them are my friends, who moved me to start the foundation; they have also supported me throughout my NGO journey and co-founded the foundation.

This quote from the book is based on how my foundation actually came to life (all names are changed for literary purposes, and the name of my heroine in the book is Lidiya):

“Lidiya, I was thinking…” Aleks approached her. “We should do something. I mean, there are thousands of refugees, and they need help. We can self-organise us.”
Lidiya put a towel aside. Yes and no, yes and a goddamned no! Aleks expressed what she had been thinking about but avoided formulating it for herself.
Yes, they could and should do something.
But no, she had no power, no knowledge, no resources…
Such things required full dedication, they couldn’t be done in spare time. She would have to rebuild her life, eradicate her usual habits, and create something new from scratch. Was she ready to do so?
Lidiya wasn’t sure.
“I am in too,” Petar joined their talk and looked back at Nikolay. “We both are, right, Niki?”
“Huh?” Nikolay didn’t follow them.
“Will we help the refugees together?”
“Ah, yes, of course.” Nikolay got up from his chair and came closer. “What should we do?”
Three men stood in front of Lidiya and waited for her answer.
Gosh, what have you started, she thought.
But, in fact, they didn’t start anything. It all began far away and came from a bunch of greedy people who were fighting for big money and power. A small group of friends got sucked in by the circumstances. Did they really have a choice? Could they remain neglectful?
“I… have to think of it.” Lidiya didn’t want to kill the enthusiasm, but she was aware of how serious such dedication must be. “Thank you, guys, you’re real friends!”
“I am a fake one. I’m only here for the food.” Aleks grumbled, winking at the others. “Should we get reimbursed with vareniki ?”
“Definitely. I love Ukrainian food,” Nikolay nodded.
“It’s very trendy at the moment,” agreed Petar. “They should cook a proper Ukrainian dinner. This will help them get diverted.”
Lidiya smiled and made a mental note to herself. It was worth separate brainstorming.
They spoke more. Aleks proposed to take some refugees for a day trip to Gruyères or assist them with German lessons, while Nikolay and Petar had no ideas of their own, but were ready to follow the instructions. Still, Lidiya didn’t feel prepared for any decision just yet. She had to think it over and come up with a complete solution.
As everybody left, Lidiya stayed in the kitchen and cleaned up what could be left for tomorrow. Tired as hell, she couldn’t go to sleep. Lidiya was reflecting. Thousands of thoughts galloped through her mind, and there was no way to stop them.
Lidiya took her phone to play some music and saw a message from her Austrian friend Manni. He was a Tirolean architect. She had brought expat groups to his brother’s house a few times. Manni wrote, “Dear Lidiya, I have sent 200 Euros to your account. You will know someone who needs it. Say hello to your mother. I think we all should do something now. Let me know how else I can help.”
Lidiya put the phone down and looked at the presents left from the welcoming party.
There was no doubt anymore. Solidarity existed, and hope existed too. Many people wanted to lend a hand to Ukrainians. Resources, manpower, all this kindness… It only needed to be regularised and brought to a common good.
“We really have to do something!” she decided.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.goodfriends-for-ukraine.ch
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/gf4ua my own account www.instagram.com/_antimodel_ and account of the book www.instagram.com/3littlebirds_book
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GoodFriends4UA and www.facebook.com/talk.to.juliapeters
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/julia-peters-7901151b
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@JuliaPeters_antimodel_

Image Credits
Alyona Gorshkova – www.instagram.com/unterhaltend.fotograf.ch Anna Julia Mueller – www.annajuliamueller.com Robert Tokarczyk – www.facebook.com/robert.tokarczyk Mirco Caruso – www.instagram.com/mircocaruso_photography Vasile Burla – www.vasileburlaphotographer.com