TISDALE — Verna Sobool hangs a handmade Ukrainian flag on her porch to raise awareness and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and hopes others do the same.
On Feb. 24, an invasion was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stated the goals were “demilitarizing” and “denazifying.”
The United Nations has recorded 752 civilian casualties so far across Ukraine, including 227 killed and 525 injured in figures released Feb. 28. Ukrainian officials put the toll at more than 2,000, including 21 children.
Canada has one of the largest populations of Ukrainians outside Ukraine. According to the 2016 census, there were 1.36 million people in Canada that said they had Ukrainian ancestry, about four per cent of the population.
Of those, 143,700 live in Saskatchewan, where they make up around 13 per cent of the population. In Tisdale, those with Ukrainian ancestry make up 13.2 per cent of the population.
Sobool said both her and her husband Steve’s grandparents immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s from the country.
“I wish there was more awareness of what has happened over the years,” Sobool said. “It’s just greed and power that Putin’s after.”
On March 2 she went for a walk downtown and when she saw a business showing Ukrainian support through a flag, she stopped and went inside to thank them for. Sobool said it made her feel good to have that recognition.
“I was emotional,” she said. “This is going to affect the whole world, this war… It’s just nice to see the unity with all these countries, they’re supporting Ukraine and there’s unity there.”
She thinks that a lot of people aren’t aware of what’s going on in the country, and would like the community to be educated and show solidarity.
“I just wish people would acknowledge it for something in their window,” she said. “I don’t want my name even brought into it, I just want to see more people showing solidarity. It is a humanitarian crisis.”
The flag Sobool made is using fabric she had bought about 40 years ago, but hadn’t found a use for it until now.
“I said to Steve, you think 40 years later, I would find this piece of material and know I would be making a flag because there’s a war going on?”
Donations to the Red Cross can be made online on their website at donate.redcross.ca under “Ukrainian Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.”
