Expats and locals stand in solidarity with Ukraine

Around 50 people got together for another peaceful anti-war protest in Arambol on Monday, with a message to stop war and stop killing civilians. The protesters included people from Ukraine, Russians living in Goa, and Indians and they stood in solidarity with the people in Ukraine. Ukrainian nationals shared stories of what their families in their home country were going through.
Denis Chernenko, a Ukrainian origin, with a Russian passport, who lives in Arambol and was one of the organisers of the protest, said, “The message we want to send out is ‘stop war’, ‘stop killing civilians’ and ‘we want peace’. I just want my mother and grandmother in Ukraine to be safe and don’t want civilians being threatened, injured and killed.”
Yevheniya Marenych from Ukraine, who lives in Goa, said, “What’s happening now in Ukraine is unacceptable. No country deserves to be bombed and invaded in our modern world. People of Ukraine want to be with their president and tell Russia – hands off Ukraine.” Talking about her family back home, she says, “My family is in Kharkiv now and are in danger, under the bombs and I just pray that all stay alive. There are air raid sirens all day for the last three days and it’s not even possible to evacuate them.”
Rahul Jamad, based in Tivim, who took part in the protest, said, “We joined the ‘anti-war’ protest because our friend is Ukrainian and her parents were feeding and counselling Indian students stuck in Kyiv despite being war victims themselves. It stirred up something inside us, we wanted to show our solidarity to those who are fighting to stay humane and compassionate despite their homes beings bombed and their lives being upturned. Above all, we believe that ordinary citizens around the world want peace, and that only through collective will and action, can we change the world. We stand with victims of war everywhere.”