Ukrainian students share family stories and words of support at U of G vigil

U of G’s Ukrainian Students’ Club offers support to fellow Ukrainians in the Guelph community

On March 15, a vigil in support of the people of Ukraine was held at the University of Guelph.

Roughly 100 individuals gathered in Branion Plaza as members of the U of G Ukrainian Students’ Club shared family stories, reflections, and words of support.

Oresta Hewryk, co-president of the Ukrainian Students’ Club, was the first to share and spoke about how different her life has been compared to the experiences of her older family members fighting for Ukrainian independence.

“While my parents grew up attending marches and protests for Ukrainian independence, I grew up with easy travel and frequent contact with my family members in Ukraine,” she said.

“When my grandparents and great grandparents told stories about the fight for independence and life during the war, they were just that—stories. Never in my lifetime would I think that these stories would come back to haunt us.”

Hewryk went on to detail her loved one’s current struggles in Ukraine. She spoke of friends enlisting to defend their country, and of her aunt and uncle being separated because women and children can flee Ukraine but 18 to 60-year-old men cannot as they may be called to service.

“I cannot help but feel like I’m in some type of dystopian reality where a country is attacked for exercising its fundamental rights of peacefully existing,” she said.

Fellow Ukrainian Students’ Club member Ruslan Laluck also has family in Ukraine. He spoke of their experiences with war, from his mother’s cousin’s PTSD from fighting in the Donbas War in 2014, to his cousins living through air raids today.

“And it just really made me think that a lot of people will joke about, ‘oh, you’re gonna get drafted’ and whatnot. But I don’t think a lot of people can really handle the mental and physical toll that a war can take, because I know for a fact that most people will not even be able to handle a gun or take another person’s life,” he said.

Laluck says he is grateful to be living in safety.

“I just can’t imagine what it’s like to live in that sort of terror, knowing that your life, or someone you love’s life, can be taken away from you, and just in an instant,” he said.

U of G’s President and Vice Chancellor Charlotte Yates was also in attendance and expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine before condemning the Russian government’s violent invasion.

“University of Guelph joins folks around the world calling for a peaceful and immediate end to this unwarranted aggression. Every day at the university, through our programming and our research, we seek to create a more peaceful, more compassionate, and more just society. Our mission, very simply, is to improve life,” she said.

Yates went on to note the actions of global leaders and organizations who are working towards a resolution. She then spoke to the power of small scale actions, such as coming together as a community.

“We are creating awareness, awareness within our own community, and awareness in our broader set of communities. We need to engage in democracy, supporting organizations, and to support those within our own communities,” she said.

Before ending her speech, Yates told the crowd that the university is there for them, and encouraged community members to lean on each other and the university’s resources for support.

Similarly, the Ukrainian Students’ Club expressed support for its fellow Ukrainians.

“I just want to say to all the Ukrainians here that as a community, we’re here for you. If you ever need anyone, just reach out and others will hear your call,” Laluck said.

Please visit www.theontarion.com/submit to find out how you can share your work with The Ontarion.