Manitoba’s Ukrainian Community Marks First Memorial Day – Winnipeg

Liudmyla Faradzheva looks at her son’s photos every day and texts him whenever she gets the chance.

Farajeva from Odessa hasn’t seen 21-year-old Farajeva in over a year. He has returned to his native Ukraine and is fighting for his country.

Farajaba said she was moved to see Canadians wearing poppy flowers, telling a younger generation that fallen soldiers and veterans make the great sacrifices to enjoy a relatively good and free life. I reminded him that I paid.

Farajeva, who arrived in Manitoba four months ago, told Global News on Thursday:

This year’s Remembrance Day highlights the painful reality that the Ukrainian community has been going through for almost nine months.

Refugee Lesia Yaroshenko sees the Ukrainian children of Chief Pegis Jr. Haife in Winnipeg, where she works, take to heart the first Remembrance Day on Canadian soil.

“For them, the war and those who are in military service, it is not from the past or distant countries or TV screens.

“These photos are really heartbreaking as they remind me of what I see every day in the Ukrainian news and what I receive from my Ukrainian friends and relatives.”

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This year, the Ralph Brown School, a bilingual English-Ukrainian school in Winnipeg, incorporated Ukrainian music into its annual anniversary gathering. my name is not a refugee By Kate Milner.

“We were very concerned about how we were planning with our Ukrainian families,” principal Trevor MacVicar told Global News.

“I was very careful not to include images of planes and bombs,” he said, adding that he hoped the students would find the ceremony meaningful.

“If you don’t talk, you won’t understand. If you don’t understand, you’ll be afraid.”

Ukraine observes Defenders Day (a public holiday since 2015 honoring members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces) on October 14, along with Victory Day in May, which marks the end of World War II.

For Yaroshenko, a Russian invasion of Ukraine felt unlikely until it happened in February.

At a time when people around the world are feeling the effects of war, she wants Canadians to understand how connected they are.

“What I want people to think about is to appreciate every day of peace and freedom and not take it for granted,” she said.

Displayed close to people’s hearts, poppies remind Yaroshenko that her husband is still abroad serving in the Ukrainian army.

“I hope he joins us here.”

— Using Drew Stremick’s file

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