ukraine: voices from ottawa — 'people don’t know if they’re going to wake up, or what’s the next thing that this lunatic will pull off'
the shots being fired in ukraine have been heard, and f...
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the shots being fired in ukraine have been heard, and felt, around the world — by residents there, by expats, by the sons and daughters of émigrés, and by people with no direct connection to the country who are nonetheless deeply troubled by what’s taking place. we’re reaching out to people in the ottawa area to learn their thoughts and stories.
ivan razghoner
“i was born in ukraine in 1990, a year before independence. the town was called kirovograd, named after an old soviet leader who was never there. it’s now called kropyvnitsky. i grew up speaking russian, but, when i went to school, i began learning ukrainian as a second language. i came to canada when i was 17 — first to montreal and then to ottawa for my degree.
“in 2016, i think, i attended the first ukrainian festival held in ottawa at the ukrainian church on heron road and watched a ukrainian dance ensemble. my mom and dad were part of a ukrainian dance ensemble when i was growing up — that’s how they met. and, when i saw the ensemble in ottawa, i was really impressed and thought, ‘i want to try that.’ and a year later i was performing there. so that’s how i got more involved with the ukrainian community here and more interested in the culture. and i feel much more connected to ukraine now.
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“after independence, a lot of ukrainians wanted to go more to the west, while some people wanted to go east. there was no unity. but, since the invasion, ukraine is united like never before. there’s so much heroism and patriotism that i’ve never seen before.
“i still have family there: my grandfather and grandmother, my biological father, my uncle and cousins. there’s no shelling where they, but there are sirens … and fear. people don’t know if they’re going to wake up or what’s the next thing that this lunatic will pull off. nobody knows because he’s unpredictable, so there’s this sense of fear.
“my grandparents lived through the second world war. when they were four or five, the nazis came and bombed the cities at 4 a.m. and that’s what (vladimir) putin did, too.
“my grandmother’s sister lives in moscow, and they don’t speak anymore because the way the propaganda works there is incredible. she believes what they’re being told. i visited her after the annexation of crimea in 2014, and she believed that putin was doing the right thing, that he’s bringing back the soviet union, that he’s liberating the western part from nazis. she’s very much a believer of that because it’s been a part of her for so long. he’s like jesus christ there. people there believe that he’s the one, and, without him, everything there will fall apart.
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“it’s heartbreaking to see, with families on both sides not able to communicate. there’s so much tension. but our relatives in russia who are younger, they sent us a message the day after the invasion, saying they were so sorry and that they were watching it and it was so horrifying. but they have access to different sources.
“i have lots of friends in ukraine. a good friend of mine, my guitar teacher in kharkiv, which is being bombed now, said he had to spend nights in a bomb shelter. there’s no electricity — he has to go outside and make a fire to heat his food. a bomb hit the apartment right next to him. he’s sleeping in his bathtub, for protection, when he doesn’t want to go to the bomb shelter in the basement because there’s no electricity and it’s pitch black.
“i’ve been donating to the red cross, and i support the resistance of the people, but i haven’t gone to protests. i passed by the russian embassy, but i’m not against anybody there, and it seems to me that the hatred towards russian speakers — russophobia — would be hard for anyone from russia. i’ve seen that hatred — like someone spilled red paint on the embassy’s fence. but there’s already too much hatred, and i don’t think that kind of protesting will bring this conflict to an end. i bought flags that i put up in the clinic where i work. my protest is by helping my friends, talking to colleagues and patients of mine to understand better what’s going on, and not by kindling the fire.”
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how you can help
numerous groups and organizations are collecting donations in support and relief of ukraine residents and refugees, including the following:
canada-ukraine foundation
cufoundation.ca/
cufoundation.ca/
canadian medical students aid for ukraine
redcross.ca/ukrainecrisis/medaid4ukraine
redcross.ca/ukrainecrisis/medaid4ukraine
the canadian red cross: ukraine humanitarian crisis appeal
redcross.ca/donate
redcross.ca/donate
come back alive
comebackalive.in.ua/
comebackalive.in.ua/
doctors without borders
doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine
doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine
national bank of ukraine (nbu) special account to raise funds for ukraine armed forces
bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi
bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi
unhcr canada: ukraine humanitarian crisis
give.unhcr.ca/page/100190/donate
give.unhcr.ca/page/100190/donate
unicef canada
secure.unicef.ca/page/98630/donate/1?locale=en-us
secure.unicef.ca/page/98630/donate/1?locale=en-us
additionally, other groups seeking funds can be found on the ukrainian canadian congress’s website, at ucc.ca/2022/03/03/where-to-donate-to-support-ukraine
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