Heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed civilians on both sides, while an attempt to reopen peace talks has stalled. The past week has seen by far the worst fighting in Ukraine since the ceasefire was signed five months ago, exacerbating the refugee situation in the country. This comes as rebel forces announced an offensive that Kiev says amounts to a full repudiation of the truce. 

Fighting in the towns of Uglegorsk and Debaltsevo left tens of Ukrainian soldiers and rebel soldiers dead, while civilians from the area fled to a suburb just thirty kilometers from the frontline in Svetlogorsk. Meanwhile in Donetsk, recently the scene of fierce clashes between Ukrainian forces and rebel units, some residents attend a show at the Donetsk Opera while others stay in the safety of makeshift bomb shelters.

So far, fighting in East Ukraine has left 921,640 internally displaced, including 136,216 children, according to a UN report from January 21. Over 600,000 have left the country, 400,000 of whom have fled to Russia.

The war in southeastern Ukraine has turned the region in to a zombie-land. Ukraine has historically been divided into pro-European and pro-Russian regions. Donbass, in the east, has been a battleground since the 2014 revolution in Kiev finally snapped West from East. In this war, propaganda has become the main tool of manipulation, setting some citizens against others. Some locals have become so brainwashed by Russian TV that it appeared they had no opinions of their own, mimicking only what they have heard on TV. They gave their opponents offensive homogenizing nicknames, dehumanizing them so it makes it easier to kill. Youth gangs and armed groups became the main force in the region, seizing administration buildings and setting up checkpoints. Just as they were told on Russian state TV, they believed that a Nazi government, who would soon come to the southeast to kill them, now ruled western Ukraine. At the same time, Ukrainian propaganda was also accusing Donbass of fascism and treachery, using almost same methods to dehumanize separatists. The war in Ukraine has lasted almost a year and ordinary people have been turned into zombies absorbing the flood of propaganda that is designed to continue the war, propagate the criminal laws of the many small warlords on the ground and the hate that was spilled in the air.

In March 2014, Russia annexed most of the Crimean Peninsula, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, into the Russian Federation amid political turmoil following the Ukrainian uprising and violence between Pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

Starting on March 21, 2014, Russia effectively administers Crimea as two federal subjects—the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.

The annexation of Crimea by Russia sparked months of political tension between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Western leaders. The east of Ukraine continues to be devastated by fighting between separatist groups and the Ukrainian armed forces.

Surrounded by mountains and divided into sectors by concrete blast walls, there is a place in Kabul where you can dive into an atmosphere of colors and children’s joy. For the war-torn, landlocked Afghanistan – after more than three decades suffering from multiple invasions and religious conservatism - circus is giving Afghan youth a positive outlet: and they sure put on a show.

Vivid colors and girls singing and juggling still shocks conservative elders, but after a while their smiles give them away. Entering the door to the circus’ main center in Kabul means stepping into a world of fun and colors, where boys and girls practice together and take charge of their own learning.

The Circus was founded in 2002, less than a year after the fall of the Taliban regime, which banned music and dance. While NGOs and government programs focused on building roads, schools and basic education systems, David Mason, who was a former tango dance instructor, and his co-director Berit Muhlhausen, a former journalist, focused on introducing and developing soft values that bring children together and create joyful communities.

The first idea was an orphanage with space for creativity, but they wanted to reach as many kids as possible. A traveling circus proved an excellent opportunity. After all, circus is all about overcoming fear. It's about trust. It's based on non-verbal communication; it represents a multicultural tradition, and its purpose is to make people smile.

For the last 10 years, more than 2.7 million spectators in 25 provinces have enjoyed a performance or participated in one of the hundreds of workshops, despite the reality in Afghanistan that conservative society, especially in rural provinces of Afghanistan, doesn’t accept public arts.

“If we go to remote regions and perform in a very conservative area where mullahs will say ‘no,’ then we adjust our performance,” Berit said. “Maybe we perform without music, less joking, no signing, or we start with the prayer from the holy Quran; and then they relax and see that this is harmless and it’s not dangerous.”

Mohammed Sadat, 13, from Bamiyan dreamt to become a gymnast, and once he found a circus show in one of the schools, he joined them. In the future, he said, he sees himself in two ways: first, becoming a gymnastics coach for young kids, and second, studying and becoming an engineer to help reconstructing his country. For now, he is part of the acrobatic team that builds human pyramids during performances.

In the circus garden in Kabul, girls sing and juggle with clubs and tennis balls, while boys perform backward somersaults and cartwheels and form human pyramids. All together they stage educational performances on the importance of hygiene, school attendance, landmine awareness and malaria prevention. The main goal is to entertain and give joy to an audience of their peers from camps for internally displaced people, schools and orphanages.

Shamsot, 14, is the son of an high ranking officer in the Afghan military who chose to be a circus clown. “I’m really happy to see smiles on the faces of those poor kids,” he said. Berit and David were afraid that Shamsot’s parents wouldn’t be happy with what their son is doing, but after seeing the show they encouraged him to continue training and performing with the circus.

In its centers in Kabul and Bamiyan, and with the help of trained children in other provinces, the circus organizes festivals and joyful events each year, inspiring Afghans as well as internationals to forget the dust and the war for a while - to join the fun and smile a bit.