Zarina’s Apartment Got Hit — She’s Okay But Here’s How We Can Help
I reached out to war correspondent Zarina Zabrisky to see what I could do to help her and Paul Conroy after their apartment in Kherson was shelled by the Russians, and she’s fundraising for a friend
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I wanted to beg Zarina Zabrisky to come home. I wanted to tell her to come back and stay with me for a while. But I know she is in Ukraine documenting the war, and she will not leave.
She and Paul Conroy are working on a film about the destruction in Kherson, a follow up to their project ‘Under Deadly Skies’ — I think of her daily and send love always.
When she showed the destruction yesterday to the building in which she’s been living, I knew it would be futile to beg her to leave so I wrote this:
I love you and want you to be safe — what can I do to help 🥺🫶🏼
And Zarina, as is her way, thought only about the people of Ukraine.
She wrote back:
Thank you so much, dear Heidi. We are really okay! Sadly enough, used to it. However, our friend’s equipment (phone and laptop) burned down as his house was hit and I am trying to help him. If you can run a small fundraiser for him, I have his PayPal. He only needs $200 for a phone but of course it would be great to get more. Vadym lives by the river in a damaged house and helps so many people, volunteers, risking his life and needs this equipment… he is the most selfless person ever.—Zarina Zabrisky
So of course, I am asking all of you to help if you can and to share with your networks. Vadym’s PayPal is: dellstrec@gmail.com
With enough five or ten dollar donations, we can get to $200 in great haste.
Zarina is aware of how generous the Bette community is — many of you are helping her and Paul finance their latest film, and I am so grateful.🥹
For those of you who are new to Bette Dangerous, here are some recent interviews with Zarina Zabrisky and Paul Conroy:
Thank you as always for your support of my work.
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Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine and Substack bestseller. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members. Thank you, as well, to those who support my work with coffee tips and who buy my ebooks. My reflection, Confessions of a ‘Fox Blonde’ was just published in Byline Supplement. A reviewer of my ebook, the erotic novella Fox Undercover, called me “the punk rock Anaïs Nin” and a “powerful woman - the book is smart and sexy AF.”
More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Writing for a growing global audience brings her great satisfaction.