Watch the video above: concern grows in Saskatoon for loved ones in the Ukraine
SASKATOON – The ongoing crisis in Ukraine is hitting close to home for many Saskatchewan residents. This week’s violence has been the worst the country has seen since it became independent in 1991.
A deal signed on Friday between the Ukrainian opposition and president to defuse the crisis isn’t quite alleviating fears over here.
Ivanka Siolkowsky has traveled to Ukraine a number of times to work in orphanages.
“I have friends there who are there right now and I’m communicating with them and its hard to watch because you don’t know whose name is going to show up on that list of the fallen, you don’t know if it’s going to be someone you know, it’s scary,” Siolkowsky said.
Taras Makowsky has also been paying close attention to the situation, especially this week, his youngest daughter is over in Ukraine going to university.
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“She’s in contact with us every day, we basically told her you know keep your nose clean, don’t do anything silly stay on campus until all this blows over,” said Rev. Taras Makowsky, Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral.
Still Makowsky is worried, his concern increased when one of his daughter’s lecturers was among those killed on Thursday.
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On Thursday evening , around 50 people gathered for a freedom vigil at Saskatoon’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church to show solidarity with other cities around the world.
“A number of the people especially some of those who have just immigrated from Ukraine were saying thank you father for organizing, this was just fantastic because their families, they feel helpless here,” Makowsky said.
The province raising the Ukrainian flag Thursday means a lot to Ivanka Siolkowsky and others in Saskatchewan with Ukrainian ties. She knows a solution isn’t going to happen over night.
“Why can’t we treat this like a bully in a school where all the other people come in and say no stop and out,” Siolkowsky said.
A week long vigil will start March 3, the beginning of Great Fast at the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral.
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