To Ukraine with love

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2022 (1321 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans in all walks of life and from various backgrounds have been compelled to help out, any way they can, since the exodus of people from Ukraine after Russian forces began their invasion on Feb. 24.

Hundreds of people have offered to open their homes to refugees, estimated at more than three million as of Friday, and many more have opened their wallets to contribute to the humanitarian cause.

Helping out, both big and small, is the Manitoba way.

Olha Mala, a Ukrainian-Canadian who lives in Winnipeg, struggles to even speak about it. Over the past three weeks, as airstrikes pummelled Ukrainian cities and stories emerged of Russians firing on civilians, Mala has been able to think of little else.

“We’re so tired,” she said. “I feel waves, you know. You feel anger, then you feel stressed and you just don’t have enough strength to keep going.”

Yet Mala, who is secretary at the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Sts. Vladimir and Olga on McGregor Street, and her fellow parishioners push on collecting humanitarian help.

They’ve collected socks, underwear, food and whatever else is needed, and raised money to pay to ship them to Ukraine. The church is raising money to help Ukrainians buy flights to Canada. Many members have registered to house refugees.

To do nothing would be impossible, Mala said.

Mala came to Canada from Bucha, Ukraine less than three years ago.

“It doesn’t exist,” she said in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. “Well, it exists, but it’s totally destroyed. The village of my mom is totally destroyed also.”

Her mother escaped, alongside her father, aunt and two cousins, but her grandmother refused to leave, even as Russian troops started their occupation.

“We just lost connection with her. And we don’t know anything happening with her for a week almost,” she said. “It’s very scary. And unfortunately, the occupants, they’re shooting on civil people just driving somewhere.”

Her mother recently arrived in Canada. She’d already had a visa because she had planned to visit, Mala said.

But her father remains in Ukraine — as all men between 18 and 60 are required to do — and volunteers at a railway station, after learning he could help more there than with the army.

Mala’s brother-in-law is fighting in the war.

Mala says a fresh pair of socks will be a blessing to her brother-in-law and other soldiers. Many of them have gone weeks without a change of clothes.

As hellfire rains down and her people die, the burden gets heavier, she said.

“Everybody is waiting, just watching what’s going on… I don’t know when someone will send something really valuable to defend,” she said.

“All their shooting, all their killings are happening from the sky. The theatre was shot from the sky, and it was signed that the children are here. I don’t know what we need — like, what can happen to us that all the world will start doing something.”

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In western Manitoba, a municipality has decided to dip into its budget as well as open its doors to Ukrainians.

The Harrison Park council has voted to allocate $20,000 to aid Ukrainian refugees.

“We budgeted the money to help any efforts to relocate as many Ukrainian families as possible to the area of Riding Mountain National Park and the towns of Onanole and Sandy Lake,” said Reeve Jason Potter.

The municipality has a large population of people with Ukrainian heritage.

“What’s going on over there is atrocious, and I think that as human beings, you want to help each other out,” he said.

Details on how the money will be spent must be worked out.

The reeve said several businesses have offered to employ refugees as they transition to life in Canada, whether it be on a permanent or temporary basis.

One such business is Elkhorn Resort. General manager Chris Phillips said the resort can house five to eight families, and even more if Ukrainians take them up on their offer of employment, since as a seasonal tourist destination, some lodging is reserved for staff.

“We’re not trying to solve a labour issue by bringing refugees over, but we do have employment at our place and throughout the whole Clear Lake area,” he said.

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The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has sent $150,000 to its partners who work with victims of the war in Ukraine.

“There are something like 180,000 Ukrainians in Manitoba, and to put it within context, there are 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine,” he said. “I drew those comparisons so that it was easier for people in the community to understand the magnitude and size of the population,” said president Gustavo Zentner.

“It is paramount for me, and for us as a community, that the funds we raise not only serve Jews in Ukraine, but any victim of this illegal war… and that makes me very proud,” he said.

Zentner denounced Russian propaganda, which claims the invasion aims to “de-nazify” Ukraine, as despicable remarks that use the atrocities of the Holocaust to justify violence.

As a Jewish organization, Zentner said they stand against such remarks and actions.

The president said the response from his community was immediate and overwhelming, but not surprising.

“Our community is known and recognized to be very generous,” he said.

He said his community is ready to receive and help refugees who want to stay here for the short- or long-term.

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On a smaller scale, the Retired Teachers Association of Manitoba has asked its 7,200 members to donate to Ukrainian humanitarian aid.

“The Russian invasion was unprovoked and wrong and brutal,” said president Bill Cann, who has asked retired teachers to volunteer as tutors.

The Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble will hold two concerts April 3. Proceeds from the sold-out shows will go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. “We announced our second show a couple of weeks ago and received an overwhelming response,” said Carina Romagnoli, an organizer and dancer.

The group is selling half-price tickets for an online stream of the shows.

Romagnoli said the ensemble’s purpose is to display the beauty and strength of Ukrainian heritage. Now, as the group rehearses, they feel a greater sense of purpose.

Christopher Sklepowich, board chair of the Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus, which will perform at the benefit, said he feels that, too.

“It’s just re-awakened that call that says Ukrainians cannot be defeated, they will not be defeated, and the world is watching,” he said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca