 Two Vermont stands with Ukraine, congregating in a shade, because it's a hot sunny day. My name is Jeanette Visavius, and I am Ukrainian-American. And I live in the Burlington area, and I'm a Vermonter now. I'll be your emcee for today. Thank you for coming out. I know there are so many things happening locally in our country and the world. So many tragedies and upsetting things, including the war in Ukraine. The war continues. It hasn't stopped. Part of the reason we're having this event is to bring awareness that the war is still happening every day in Ukraine. We're going to bring awareness, and we're going to have local, speaking today, local Ukrainian Vermonters about how this war is impacting us. And also our connection to our culture. Parents and great-grandparents escaped from Ukraine during the time of Stalin to save their lives. I feel myself trembling as I say that. I can feel the generational trauma in my bones, in my blood, in my soul. And I know that other Ukrainians and Ukrainian-Americans feel the same way. We carry this trauma in us. And now it's happening again, and we can see what happened to our families and grandparents and great-grandparents all over the Internet, all over the news. And it can be traumatizing for you to know this about your Ukrainian friends. When it was through this last war, Russia's war in Ukraine, Russia's war in the homeland of my grandparents and great-grandparents, that I finally started meeting other Ukrainians here. I was looking for all of you, but I didn't know where you were. I met Yulia and Yana on the other side of City Hall Park when the war started. We started getting to know each other, supporting one another, and having rallies and fundraising and other activities. And this is one of them. We've been working on it for months. So thank you for coming. I'm going to invite Yulia, one of the co-main amazing organizers, to come with me to talk about what to expect for this rally and the rest of the day. Yulia Galenko-Rudik. Coming today. And I'm really happy to see, you know, you guys showed up, even though it's a really hot and warm day today. So thank you. I just wanted to give a quick update on what's happening today. So the rally here will be from one o'clock until 2.30, and we'll have multiple speakers, mostly Ukrainian-Americans, talking about the situation in Ukraine and how it's impacting them. And then at 2.30 we'll march. So we'll gather all together. We'll have flags. We'll have a big banner. We'll walk all together from this place and all the way up to the top of the Church Street, where there's a Church Street Unitarian Church lawn. And we'll finish there at about 2.40 with a cultural program. So from 2.40 till 6 o'clock at the Unitarian Church, 1.52 Pearl Street, at the end of the Church Street. There is a beautiful program set up on the lawn with Ukrainian food, music, arts and crafts. So you can come and just experience Ukrainian culture for a few minutes today. And there's lots of shade. Can you say that? Yes, there's lots of shade, okay? So definitely come there with us at 2.30. And then a huge thank you to the Church Street. Church Street Marketplace has been involved in this, and we have 25 businesses participating with us here today. So 25 businesses on Church Street, yeah, big round of applause. Thank you so much. 25 businesses has donated, participating, have specials. So please, there are booklets. There's information table in the shade right there. So please come. Look at the booklets. Check out the businesses. Come and support them. They've supported the cause. And the cost today is World Central Kitchen. So they have been in Ukraine in over 290 cities feeding people, feeding people that are fleeing their homes, people that don't have, you know, house or food or means to support themselves due to the war, and they've been displaced. And so World Central Kitchen is right there on the ground feeding those people, providing meals. And everything we raise today, everything that we sell, whether it's the flags or the pins or things of the cultural program, 100% everything goes towards Ukraine, as well as all the donations raised through Church Street businesses, 25 of them today. All of that will go towards World Central Kitchen. So please, I just ask, you know, please come and support those businesses. Come and support our cultural program. And the last but not least, we do have a silent auction. So also businesses donated the gift card. So they all start at pretty low bids. So there's a good opportunity to try and grab, you know, whether it's a sweetwaters or reruns or any other, you know, businesses on Church Street that you're interested in, there's plenty of gift cards starting as low as 25 bucks and as high as 150. So if there's an restaurant you're interested, you might as well just grab a gift card for a low price and, you know, enjoy a meal there if you're going to eat there anyway. But that way the funds that are going to go towards, again, Ukraine, World Central Kitchen feeding people in Ukraine. And that's all I have today. Again, I encourage you to come to the information table. Booklets are there. Lots of details. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Yulia. I was complaining about the hot sun about a half hour ago as I sweat. But then I remembered the Ukrainian soldiers and armed forces in their uniforms. How hot are they? So I stopped complaining. And you can remind me that if I complain again, for real. And there is a ton of shade at the UU. So I would like, oh, and also Yana, Yana, do you want to raise your hand She's also one of our co-organizers. Thank you, Yana. So Yana, Yulia, and I with Peace and Justice organize this event. So again, just want to acknowledge all of us and all of you. So I want to formally introduce Yulia Galenko-Rudik. Please forgive me if I don't pronounce your names correctly. I'm trying. Yulia Galenko-Rudik was born in Ukraine and currently lives in Chittenden County. She has close friends and family in Ukraine. Yulia has been actively pushing local events and projects in Vermont to help people in Ukraine. And again, she is one of the main organizers and powerhouse behind this event. We welcome Yulia Galenko-Rudik to the stage. Thank you, everyone. I'm here to give a little speech about kind of how this war impacts me and the situation in Ukraine. And first, I wanted to start with a song. I'm just going to read the lyrics to the song. The name of the song is 1944, and it was written by Ukrainian Crimean singer. Her name is Jamala, and it's a song that won a revision contest. And the song is 1944. It's talking about German invasion in Ukraine. But it really feels pretty much exactly the same, and it's really relevant to the situation that's happening in Ukraine now with Russia invading. When strangers are coming, they come to your house. They kill you all and say we're not guilty, not guilty. Where is your mind? Humanity cries. You think you're gods, but everyone dies. Don't swallow my soul, our souls. We could build a future where people are free to live and love the happiest of time. Where is your heart? Humanity rise. So who am I? I'm a US citizen, but I was born and raised in Ukraine. I've spent about half of my life in Ukraine and half here in the US. I've lived in Vermont for over 15 years now, and I'm a really proud member of this beautiful community. And it's really truly now my home. And I absolutely love this beautiful place and wonderful people of Vermont. And as a matter of fact, I'm so happy to see all of you show up here, or the fellow Vermonters just coming and supporting this cause. However, I still have a special place in my heart for the place where I was born, my motherland, my Ukraine. And I still have a lot of close family and friends there, and specifically my dad and my grandparents. And so as some of you may recall, the war started on February 24. I woke up that day, and I saw social media from my friends in Ukraine posting about the bombings. And I still remember just the feeling of horror I felt that day. And I called my dad in panic because my dad is in Ukraine, obviously. So I call him, and as I talk to him, he describes a bomb hitting in front of him, and he talks about it. And I just remember this terrible feeling of being afraid for your loved one, for someone you really care about, and being in a situation where they're physically in danger, where there's a bomb that could fall in their head and they could be in real danger. And I just remember being afraid to hang out my phone because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to talk to him again. So I try and stay in the phone for as long as I could. And that was the first day of the four months that follow of just constantly being afraid for my friends and my family and close ones. And just so many horrible things that's been happening over the last four months was Russian army invading Ukraine. The thing is, we live in the 21st century, where modern, connected, civilized, diplomatic society, and the society we live in today, we should be focused on solving global world problems. No one should be afraid to die, should be fearful for their lives. No one should be afraid that their loved ones will be killed in the explosion just because another country is proclaiming it's an empire. This is the things that should have gone into history. People of Ukraine are just like people of Vermont here. So just like all of us here, there are some farmers, there's teachers, there are small business owners, some analysts and professionals. A lot of these people worked really hard all their lives to build their livelihoods, to buy a house, build a home, build their lives. And now the Russian army is destroying all those hard-earned lives, all the homes that the people built. Can you just imagine that someone can just come into your house, take it all, say it's not yours, it's theirs, and not only take it, but actually destroy it. It's not like they even gonna use it. There are cities that's been completely torn down to the ground, completely bombed to the ashes. People live there, people build their lives. It was someone's livelihood, it was someone's home, and they just came and completely destroyed it. And we're not just talking material things, but also lives. Over 12 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes and had to flee. But even over 40,000 has been estimated civilians had died in the last four months. It's not just homes that are getting destroyed. Literally, we're seeing casualties every single day in the civilians. Just like the US, Ukraine is a nation that's been always driven by desire for freedom, democracy, and justice. As we know, US has been built on the promise of freedom, on the desire for freedom. And just like that, people of Ukraine, they also believe in freedom, democracy, and justice. People of Ukraine just want their freedom. They want to be able to choose their government, choose their laws, choose their language and traditions. Why should the Russian army just come and claim the Ukrainian land as their own and allow themselves to do whatever they want there? Just like there should be no person breaking into someone's house and taking something, even more so there should be no country that just comes and says, Ukraine is our own. Let's take people's homes. It's just not okay. It messes up the whole world order. And this is a catastrophe that's not only on the Ukrainian level, that not only impacts Ukraine, but the whole worldwide world. And the ripple effect is already impacting supply chain and economies worldwide. So how can the leaders of this world continue to let this happen? What can we do to help? The one thing that I ask, if our government hears me today, I ask them to do everything in their power to stop this war and provide requests and assistance and weapons to Ukraine to win this unjustified, unprovoked, and meaningless war. The war needs to stop and it needs to stop now before any more precious human lives are lost. It needs to stop by any means necessary. No more death, no more destruction. All of it needs to stop now. And now what all of you can do today to help? So first of all, you already did just by showing up. Again, thank you all so much to home, however, everyone who just showed up. And I can tell you having close family and friends in Ukraine, I know firsthand the amount of positive energy and inspiration, the support from remote places like Vermont brings to people in Ukraine. They see pictures and videos and it gives them the inspiration to keep fighting, to keep on going, to know that they're not alone and the whole world stands behind them. And look, the Russian invasion has been going on for almost four months and war fatigue unfortunately seems to be setting in. And I know some are starting to get a little bit tired of hearing the war, it's been for a while. But the truth is, it has not slowed down. People still die there every single day. People lose their home, their homes get destroyed, their last gate destroyed and people die. So we need to stop. And as the public attention starts to decrease, people of Ukraine need help and support now more than ever to win this war. So please keep showing up, keep showing your support, share images of Ukrainian flags or sunflowers on social media and keep spreading in the world and awareness. No matter how tired it is, we have to continue until the war ends. And if you're able, please donate to the cause. There are so many areas of humanitarian crisis where people desperately need basic necessities to survive, from water to shelter to food. Every single penny counts and helps. And again, all donations here today goes to World Central Kitchen, feeding people who have no longer homes and access to food. So whatever you can do to help, whether it's a donation, just simply showing up and sharing a picture, I can tell you it matters. People in Ukraine know and see your support through pictures and videos, and it gives them a new wave of hope to win this war. So it does matter. It matters that you're here with us today. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for coming, showing up here today and standing united in solidarity and support for other human beings across the globe fighting for their freedom. Thank you. Thank you, Julia. Vermont stands with Ukraine. Let me hear you say it. Vermont stands with Ukraine. Vermont stands with Ukraine. Vermont stands with Ukraine. So our next speaker will be Olga Hardin. And after Olga, Natalie and Marina and Marco and I are going to sing a song. Olga Hardin was born in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Ukraine and currently lives here in Shinden County with her family. Olga wants to express support for her birth country of Ukraine. Olga. And thank you for being here today. Last time we met here was in March and it was cold and snowy. And that was the first time that we gathered together after the horrific news of the war in Ukraine broke out. It's hard to think that now we're in a different season where it's warm and sunny here and life is going on and things are moving along in most areas of life, but the war still persists in Ukraine. When Russia started the war in Ukraine, it was too shocking and too horrific to imagine that it could persist long-term. Since then, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives. Many were displaced. Cities and infrastructure has been destroyed in many places. Millions of families have been torn apart and children have been displaced from their homes. Many horrific war crimes have been committed that are too horrific to even talk about here. But our Ukrainian identity is stronger than ever. Majority of the world is supportive and has noted the persistence of the Ukrainian people. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the war will end in the easy or quick fashion and it's vital that we continue to support our Ukrainian people and that our leaders continue to support the Ukrainian nation on a broader scale. I was born in Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine in a city called Dolina. Dolina means valley and it's nestled in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine. It's strikingly similar to the Green Mountains of Vermont and it's now that I appreciate the beauty of the state in a different way and the reminder that I get daily of the people that don't have the same luxury of enjoying the summer without bigger concerns about their safety. I hope that our support here is heard and offers some light to those that feel that way and I hope that we can support Ukrainians in more than just a moral support way. I hope that the world leaders continue to assist with vital resources and the rest of the world also supports the millions of refugees that are trying to find their new normal. I hope that this evil, unjust war and soon. Slava Ukraine. As the singers come up, thank you Olga. Yulia, I wonder if you and I can teach these slogans ahead of time because I hear people calling out in Ukrainian. Can we teach them? Okay. Do you wanna say something about? We're gonna teach you how to say in Ukrainian glory to Ukraine and glory to the heroes. So Yulia's gonna teach us the Ukrainian part and it's a call and response. So there's a call and there a response and we're also gonna do this to the march. All right, so is everyone ready? Yes. So repeat after me. Slava Ukraini. Slava Ukraini. Slava Ukraini. Slava Ukraini. And then the response is hroyam slava. Hroyam slava. Slava Ukraini. Slava Ukraini. Glory to the heroes. And I'm gonna do introductions. Natalie Babi, who is here, is a third generation. Can people hear me? Yeah? Natalie Babi is a third generation Ukrainian-American whose grandparents were displaced from Ukraine during World War II. She grew up strongly involved in the Ukrainian diaspora, communities of Hartford and Willamantic Connecticut. I want to acknowledge Natalie for creating the website Stand With Ukraine, Vermont, and for creating a page on her website for this event. Thank you, Natalie. I just met Natalie a couple weeks ago and I've always wanted to learn this song. I only have the first part down, but there's other singers here that can help. So she'll introduce the song, but wait, I'm first gonna introduce Marina. Marina Varoneva is a Russian person with Ukrainian roots. Marina's father is Ukrainian. His family is from Kyrgyzstan and Odessa. Some of Marina's family is in Odessa right now. And also we have, I'm gonna try to pronounce it correctly, Marco Boreda, and he is from Boston. There he is on the guitar. He came down from Boston or up from Boston to help sing with us. He was born in Kiev and he lives in Boston now. On his day job, he's a lawyer and he's also a musician and singer and he has a passion for singing Ukrainian songs and playing Ukrainian music. And we're grateful he's with us. So anyone, Natalie will introduce the song and if anyone wants to join us here on the stage or down there, you're very welcome to. All voices are welcome. I'm just learning this song. Thank you, Jeanette. Say Sophia's next. Okay, and Sophia will be speaking after us. So we're going to sing a couple verses of a well-known patriotic song of Ukraine that has had a recent resurgence during this war. It's called Oy Uluzy Chervona Kalina, which translates to, oh, the red viburnum in the meadow. As Jeanette mentioned, if anyone else knows the song and would like to sing with us, well, we welcome you to come right up here and join us or sing from wherever you are. The song came to prominence in 1914 as the anthem of the Ukrainian siege rifleman who fought during World War I and were the first Ukrainian military formation in modern times. And the song has remained a symbol of Ukrainian nationalism and the fight for independence throughout the past century. In March of this year, the frontman of the Ukrainian rock band Boombox left his tour and returned to fight for his country in Ukraine and he recorded a rendition of this song in the streets of Kiev while wearing army fatigues and holding a rifle. That video and the remixes went viral and now people around the world are singing this song in solidarity with Ukraine. It's a song about fighting for liberty and a determination to win. Each verse ends with a refrain, hey, hey, our glorious Ukraine will rejoice. The red hill has fallen, our glorious Ukraine will rejoice. For the good will of the Ukrainian brothers, our glorious Ukraine will rejoice. It's with Ukraine. And with Ukraine. I'm going to get my notes to introduce Sophia. Sophia Shatkyvska is an artist who was born in Western Ukraine. She has lived in Vermont most of her life, most of her adult life that is. A few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine this time, she decided to go and protest by herself in Montpelier, the capital of Vermont. Soon another woman joined her and then soon others joined Sophia, protesting the war in our beloved homeland. And now twice a week, people protest the war in Ukraine and hold vigil in front of the Montpelier Post Office and the federal building, twice a week since the war started and there are some of those folks here, including Sophia. Sophia, I can't wait to hear you speak. Sophia, everyone. And the next person after Sophia is Ellen Matz. Thanks to everyone and thank you, you are here on this beautiful day. I would like to talk, thank you, I'd like to talk about one person, one person, the most hated person in the world. Million people wishing him to be dead. This never happened in the history before. And it is not a pleasurable subject to talk about it. He titled himself, Sabiratil means collector of Russian lands, sort of gatherer, pick it up. On St. Petersburg economical meeting a few days ago, Mr. Putin compared himself to historical figure, Peter the Great. But we know that Russian Tsar opened the window to the Europe, but this one instead built the second Berlin wall with the fighting openings for artillery to scare the world. One can go to the woods to pick up mushrooms or strawberries on the field, not a land though, destroying buildings and killing humans before. In 10 commandments declared written, do not kill, do not steal, like last week all sun electrical station was stolen. I will not mention to love your neighbor. Conrad Putin's explanation called be different every day. Most of his speeches directed onto his own public. It could be about so-called protection Russian speaking people. I'm sure he looks now on Israel where are a lot of Russian speaking immigrants. Or for example, he could free Brooklyn. How about Brooklyn? A lot of Russian speakers over there. Denuncification of Ukraine mean genocide. And the third one, he calls it their historical land, such as Crimea, Belarus, Baltic countries, Syria, Kazakhstan, or some countries in Africa today were now inserted Russian KGB Orthodox Church. Why not? Peter's a great occupied land of Ogeroffins, Angra land before World War II. The names of those towns and villages around St. Petersburg was urgently changed. How about Karellium? Now his appetite is about Herson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, Harkiv. Putin's army takes a city, destroys it, and then called it historical Russian land. Down deal. His plan is accomplished. Sort of constant program. From the first day of the ending of the USSR, they felt regret and always wanted to return to the native to have their communist power in the world. And Putin's last speech in Crimea, he announced exactly this vision. Following this all in Donetsk, Luhansk, all local bureaucrats was exchanged on the Russian officers. We understand that the next will be Harkiv-nipro Odessa-Moldova until the Romanian border and then will be occupied the western part of Ukraine. Every night, every night, 30 huge military trucks full of Russian soldiers passing Ukrainian border onto Herson direction, still no success. In Kremlin, continue hysteria. They sending long distance rackets onto peaceful cities, destroying schools, hospitals, living quarters, infrastructions. Now let's look what is going on with the Russian society. One sober Russian journalist mentioned that it looks like people over there got some kind of mental disorder, destructive social consciousness, moral addicts. Everybody needs a serious healing process. Sort of deputinization, dystallinization. It will take a lot of time. That phenomena is much worse than fascism, putting a chief total destruction on his own nation by creating some sadists and executors. How to heal, you would ask. Physicians from the world would be needed to help to understand what is going on with their heads, some kind of brain occupation. Conrad Putin thinking only how to frighten the world, how to destroy Ukraine, how to rule all Russia and all Europe. We heard about one historical figure in much smaller territory. Remember, it was Herod the Great, Tsar of Judea. Same fear, same revenge, but we have plus nuclear button. The Minister of International Affairs, Mr. Lavrov, Minister of the War says, we didn't enter Ukraine by our own wishing. It is United State made us to be over there. It is West follows wrong direction, providing wrong politics toward Russia and we just protecting ourselves. Let's look at the Europe. What is Europe doing about us? The president of France, Mr. Macron, is listening. Around 100 hours he spent on a phone with the president of Russia, helpful, I guess. The grand world fight for humanity will the mentally unstable emperor of the 140 million people country. This is fatal minute. Will appear when all civilized people will unite and lift up their swords. It is only the beginning. We will have to forget some reverences and don't stop staring, steering our political dirt. We have to recover our side on a threshold. Unfortunately, it is time to forget about gas, balalaikas and price for gasoline. A brilliant journalist, Nevzoro, beautifully described the political system in Kremlin. I would like to share with you a little bit of this. It is funny image. He compare the system in Kremlin wisdom, Shishkibon, native Asian gourmet food. He said, there's cure it's main structure of Kremlin politics, Russian government. So skewer is this metal is Putin. Just imagine on this long twisted metal rod, a big juicy meat hang on it. So the rod skewer is Mr. Putin. But the pieces of meat, it is their weapons, clans, procurators, first bad pro-peganda, media, money, and et cetera. So if this nicely marinated meat in mystical Putin's marasm, it's mean craziness and cooks and the flame of the numerous forever wars. They hate him. They hate each other, but they depend on him. They adore him as a giver of job and power. It is a sect. If not that sect, which on historical, a lot of sects even in the United States, but never sect was occupied the government. So this sect created this war, created this politics and whole world supposed to unite and together we are stronger and world will win. But now whole world could see how other country was dealing, making business with home actually, with this monster. So now we recognize this and the world will win. I'm sure of this. Slavo, Ukraine. Thank you, Sofia. Also, I don't know if we mentioned peace and justice center was an integral part in making this happen. So I'm gonna thank the peace and justice center of Vermont for helping to organize with us and making this possible with the Ukrainians. Thank you, peace and justice center. They're an amazing organization, if you don't know them. So I'm gonna introduce Ellen Matz. Okay. Ellen Matz is a medical student at UVM. Ellen is a first generation Ukrainian-American. Ellen spent a lot of her childhood in Ukraine. When the war began, she and another medical student, Caitlin Marasi, joined together to find a way to make it easier for the Vermont community to help out. And they started Vermont for Ukraine. The mission of Vermont for Ukraine is to provide essential medical supplies and aid to those affected by the war in Ukraine. And after Ellen, we have Irene. Ellen Matz. Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for coming and supporting. Sorry, I'm a little nervous. My name's Ellen. I'm a student here and I just moved to Vermont last August. Came from New York, New Jersey. I was always living in a heavily Eastern European community. I think I took it a little bit for granted how easily accessible my roots were there. My dad is Ukrainian. I spent many of my childhood summers in Ukraine. My mom is Azerbaijani and we all speak Russian, so I'm very used to just saying that I'm Russian so that I don't have to go through explaining how complicated it is. But now I've been trying to let everyone know that I am Ukrainian and make a conscious effort. But despite that, I only speak Russian and feel like the language is tainted by what's happening. And it's really sad to see the divide that's happened between Russians and Ukrainians when we come from the same blood. And it's heartbreaking to think about a place that I've spent so much time in, one that's beautiful and kind to be attacked in such a way and it feels deeply personal. Coming to Vermont in August, it was really strange to be away from all of my loved ones who the war was affecting. And seeing that I wasn't talked about as much here as it would have been in my community in New York, it felt very strange to learn about the digestive system and have to keep going with school and pretend that it matters when so many horrible things were happening. So I felt like I needed to take something, like do something about it. And when Caitlin, one of my colleagues, when we learned that we're both passionate about it, we started Vermont for Ukraine. And the thinking was that we lived during a time where it seems that it's sort of one tragedy after another and with social media, you're kind of bombarded with it. And it's easy to get burnt out and feel like you can't do anything. And then you see the same infographics being reposted on social media and there's so many different charities. You don't know which one to choose and it gets overwhelming. And then sometimes you end up not doing anything at all. So that's why I'm really appreciative that there are events like this where we can come together and do something proactive. And that was sort of the goal of starting Vermont for Ukraine. It was to give people an easy way to help and to come together. And we were able to send out half a ton of medical supply to Rosem, which means together in Ukrainian, it's a Ukrainian nonprofit based in New York and they send all of this medical supply to Ukraine and we've sent things like tourniquets, portable ultrasounds. We've had a lot of donations from people in the community and from healthcare staff. And it was really great to see Ukrainians, Americans and really everyone come together for this cause. And I guess the main takeaway is that in times like this it's easy to feel helpless, but any donation counts and one tourniquet can save a life. And there's a saying I like that to save a life is to save the world and I truly believe in it. So I hope everyone, including the people of Vermont keep this cause in their hearts because it's easy to kind of get really rallied about it in the beginning and then to forget and then move on to all the other tragedies that are happening. But it is important to keep fighting and when my dad, similar to what Yulia was saying, when my dad told some friends in Ukraine what different people in Vermont were doing, they were very touched and it was great from where I'll because they know that even somewhere as seemingly random as Vermont people are thinking about them. And while in the past we were collecting direct medical donations, we're now shifting more to collecting money, we just got our 501C3 status and we'll be collecting donations next week and using our contacts at the UVM hospital that handles hospital supplies to order larger equipment like AAD machines and portable ultrasounds to send over. So we'll be updating our social media and website this week, so I guess watch out for that and you can find us at Vermont4Ukraine on Facebook and Instagram and vermont4ukraine.com and thanks again for coming and supporting in Slavo-Ukraine. Thank you so much, Ellen, raising money and collecting medical supplies, thank you. Amazing, I think she, what did you say, a ton or half a ton? Half a ton of medical supplies, that's amazing. There's so many ways we can support Ukraine and Ukrainians. Just gonna give a moment for those bells and maybe we can send our love to the people in Ukraine as the bells ring. It's only two o'clock, we can keep sending the love. Oh, I feel a cool breeze, that feels nice. So, next we have Irene and Yuri Bihun. Irene Bihun grew up in the Ukrainian diaspora in New Jersey, in a Ukrainian-speaking home. Irene loves the Ukrainian language, the culture and the traditions. Irene loves sharing her Ukrainian culture with others and is proud of the fact that she and her husband Yuri raise their Vermont-born children to speak Ukrainian and care deeply about Ukraine, especially given the current situation. In a moment I will welcome Irene and Yuri, but Barbara, you are up next. Irene and Yuri Bihun, welcome. Just like this. Hello, good? I think that's good, okay. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. It's, I too like Ellen, I'm nervous, but it's a pleasure to see all of you here today. And a little more to the right, okay, is that better? Okay. It's a pleasure to see so many of you here today and it's an honor to share some of my story with you, my Ukrainian story. I was born in New Jersey in 1953. The first person in my family to be born in America. My parents had arrived here from Ukraine in 1950 as refugees, although back then they were known as displaced persons. It's still a bit shocking to me to think about how their displacement from their homeland is so much like what we are seeing happening now again nearly 70 years later. My parents were both the oldest children in their families when they managed to escape the post-World War II and take over by the Communist Soviet Union. They were only 19 years old when they left their parents, their siblings and their homeland. Throughout my childhood, my mother sometimes expressed her sadness saying, I never dreamed that I would not see my mother ever again. And today sometimes I think I can't help but wonder how many current Ukrainian refugees may someday repeat this line to their children. I never met my grandparents or aunts or uncles or cousins, but all of that changed in 1991 when Ukraine regained her independence. I have traveled to Ukraine many times in the last 30 years and had the opportunity to live in Western Ukraine in 2003 with my husband and daughter. I established close relationships with my family, made many friends and fell in love with the mountains, villages and cities of Ukraine. You can't imagine how I mourn the loss of all of this. As I meet with other Ukrainian Americans, we all have the same question. What will happen to our beloved Ukraine? How will this end? My family still left in Western Ukraine does not plan on leaving. Aside from frequent air raid sirens, they remain safe, but we all know that in time of war, this can change overnight. And I pray that this part of Ukraine remains peaceful and quiet. Despite the fact that we receive terrible news from Ukraine every day, my husband, my children, my 97-year-old mother in New York State, and perhaps everyone here, we all hold out hope. Haven't we all learned about the resilience of the Ukrainian people? I have never been more proud to be Ukrainian. Please continue to hold Ukraine in your hearts. Glory to Ukraine. Good afternoon. I don't have any prepared statement. I was afraid this would be impromptu, but for a forester that spends most of his time in the woods and a quasi-academic, that should be easy to do. Last week, we had the opportunity here, John Herbst, who was a former ambassador to Ukraine when I was there in my Fulbright in 2003, 2004. I speak at the Hula Center down by the lake. If you haven't been there, it's beautiful. And I've heard John speak in Kiev. I've heard him speak in D.C. at Congressional hearings. John's a bulldog. He's very hawkish on Ukraine. And the first thing he said is, why should Americans care about Ukraine? What does it matter if you're walking down Church Street? Who the hell cares about Ukraine? So, well, things have changed since February and we all learned a lot about Ukraine. But he said it was in the interest of our security and our long-term prosperity to be interested in Ukraine. So I'm going to end soon, but all I can say is, I urge you who are here to keep that in the forefront. Let's not forget Ukraine. There's a hot war. It's chronic. It's not going away. And they will need support. So, on that note, Slava Ukrainyi. Thank you both. Whoo! I have a little bit of a loud voice. I'm going to step back. Thank you, Irene and Yuri. Irene, I especially felt really moved. Some tears really came throughout many of the speeches, but for some reason yours really touched me, especially. Yeah, so just taking a breath. And that's something I need to keep remembering to take some breaths all the time because this hits home. So next, we have someone who's not Ukrainian, but she is someone who is an ally of the Ukrainians, Barbara Filidi. I'm going to read a little bit about Barbara. I met Barbara at the first rally on the other side of City Hall Park when the war first came out. And she asked if she could speak for a few moments. And she has more than a few moments. Barbara Filidi lived and worked in Ukraine from 2005 to 2008, post-Orange Revolution on a US-funded democracy project. Barbara regularly attends the weekly vigils for Ukraine and Montpelier. Today, Barbara will share a message and poem from her friend currently living in Kiev, Barbara Filidi. And then after Barbara, we have Yana. Barbara. Thank you, Jeanette. Yes, I'm here with a message and a poem from a very dear friend in Kiev. And as Jeanette said, I worked there for several years at a time when democracy was really going through a very lively and vibrant period. And I can attest firsthand to how deeply Ukrainians care about their democracy. And so by reading my friend's message in poem today, I am trying to honor her and also all of my friends who are in Ukraine to let them know that we do not forget them, that we remember them, and that we support them. So these are the words of someone who has been living through the war. We are OK, but the pressure does not decrease. I can't get used to the situation because every day we receive messages from our friends or their friends about someone who suffered from this war. A daughter of my classmate lived in Irpin. Her apartment is practically destroyed by Russians. Our daughter is a professor at the university, unlike teaching her students even during this war. Thank you for all your support to Ukraine. Thank you for pushing your government to make the decision to support us in winning this war. Our victory is needed not just for saving Ukraine, but for saving the whole world from evil called Russian Nazism. I can't believe it's the 21st century. I know that Russia will wake up one day. I just feel real pity for all civilized Russians, who are captured in there and who realize the deep of this into which the Putin regime is pushing Russia. And then just this morning after I wrote to her and told her about this event, she sent me this message. I wish your event to be a great success. I wish the participants to renew their electricity of empathy and love, which will make our joint efforts more powerful and invincible. Yes, we are getting tired of this bloody war. We are continuing to lose lives. Our houses are being continuously burnt down to ashes. We do not spend our time to be afraid. We are focusing on one major goal, to push the enemy away from our beloved land. We do not have other goals. We do not have a fear. No. Well, not exactly. We do have one fear, that you all are getting tired. Please do not allow yourselves to get tired. We do need your support. We do need your love. Please help us to keep the divine light on. It's only by joining our forces, by joining our love that we are able to win the war against the darkness. So my friend's poem that I'm going to read was written in March. And it was the day after Russia bombed the theater in Mariupol, where about 1,000 to 2,000 civilians, mostly children and elderly people were sheltering. And the theater was the one which was bombed despite the fact that in very large letters outside the Russian word for children was displayed as a way to warn the jets away from them. But here is her poem. I stand on the edge of the abyss. In front of me is Russian haze. It's the same as before. I will not surrender to the arms of evil. I stand on the edge of the abyss. And behind me is my land. My Ukraine is heavenly. I'm with you, my country. I stand on the edge of the abyss. Above me is the universal light. There is no fear. There is only hope that the world will remember its vow, a vow that is a call to life, that vow which is a call to love. Are you afraid? Get up. Come on. Don't betray me. Don't let me down. Ukraine stands guard. Down there is hatred, vengeance. I will not go down. I know it. We are a message to the earth. We are the message, the message that there is to be peace. The message that there is to be life, to be. To remember the sacrifices and that no one will forget the evil done. Do not forget. Mara Florence Skyer, March 17, 2022. Slava Ukraini. Thank you, Barbara. And thank you to your friend. Powerful, powerful words, powerful message. To not get tired. To not forget Ukraine. So we have Yana Walder up next. And again, Yana is one of our main organizers. We're almost finished with the rally just to give the heads up. After Yana, we are going to sing the Ukrainian anthem. So any Ukrainians or non-Ukrainians who want to come sing with us up here, it's gotten a little cooler up here. You're welcome to. It would be very nice. Or you could sing down there. The words are in your brochure. And they'll be closing the rally and marching. So about Yana, Yana Walder is originally from Ukraine and has been a Vermonter for 11 years. Again, Yana is one of the core organizers of this event. Thank you, Yana. Yana spends time and energy every day, hours, communicating with single mothers in Ukraine. Hours. There have been meetings where Yana was supposed to be there, but she's like, I can't. I'm talking to the single mothers. I'm trying to raise, I am raising money. I'm raising money for these single mothers and their children. And she'll talk more about that. That moves me. That moves me. And I hope that moves you. Yana Walder, you can speak more about this. Come to the microphone. More louder? Okay. Tina, just a little higher. Thanks. Thank you. Sorry, I lost my voice. My name is Yana Walder and I'm a Vermont resident for 11 years and living in the US since 2001. I'm involved with gathering of financial donations for direct cash grant support of Ukrainian single moms and dads. Families with young children, families where dads are missing in action and war, support of grandparents raising minor children, support of teenagers stranded and not able to reunite with their families in Russia occupied Ukrainian territories and teens without families. This type of work is not my profession, but it is my passion. I'm a commercial real estate agent here in Burlington, Vermont, but I have been involved with fundraising for Ukrainian orphanages on and off since moving to US. I'm grateful that with support of my friends and colleagues during this time of a full scale Russian invasion and genocide of Ukrainian people, I'm able to help Ukrainians directly without going through any large international organizations. I'm convinced that the decisions that we all make to help in whatever small way are moving the scales of history toward justice and the victory of good over evil. What Russia has done to Ukrainian people is pure evil. Russia continues to destroy people's homes, their families, cultural heritage, architecture, infrastructure, food security. Russian soldiers physically harm women and children as young as nine months in ways that are difficult to talk about. They also indiscriminately murder Ukrainian men for saying something wrong or not saying anything at all, just for the fact that Ukrainian blood runs in their veins. A too small of a donation doesn't exist, a too small of an effort. Every thoughtful kind gesture matters like never before. Every person here in Vermont and around the world is important in the fight for victory of a young democracy against an oppressor. Ukraine is a young democratic country and its victory is important to every person in the United States. So I'm going to read a list of folks, of people that reached out to me this week seeking help. So I was able to transfer $100 to Natalia in Zaporizhia who suffered a stroke after seeing her 23-year-old son being shot in the abdomen by the Russian soldiers. And I was also able to raise $800 for her son to have his fourth surgery to repair the damage. I sent you $200 to two sisters, 20 and 15 years old, who had to evacuate from Russia-occupied territory with their father. Their father died of a heart event last week and the village scraped together enough money for bus tickets so they could go to Western Ukraine to see their mom who is currently terminally ill. And they're living in the kindergarten as a displaced Ukrainian person. I was able to send $100 to a single mother of two boys who had a three-day-old newborn. She said it took a very long time to give birth under sounds of distant explosions. I was able to find $500 for Anastasia Machushenko in Harkiv region. The town where I was born, Peromysky, is hosting 5,000 internally displaced people that is proportionally equal to Burlington, hosting 7,100 displaced Vermonters from Plainfield. The bombing is that close. 16 people to a room in a kindergarten building, they need to buy slow cookers so that people can make food for themselves. But they also need everything else from clothing to mattresses to shampoo to groceries. And that was just one day, Thursday. And before that, I was able to send $100 to a volunteer named Ivan Medved. He had a loaded van full of food and supplies for the soldiers on the front line in Harkiv and needed money for gas. Previously, I was able to find $600 for ballistic helmets for soldiers who for three months kept Harkiv, a population similar to San Diego, California, saved from Russian occupation and ruined Putin's plan to take my city in three days. I sent $250 to Volodymyr Shapochnikov, who had four boxes of diapers and baby food, which another volunteer in another part of Ukraine was able to trade for sunflower oil. Volodymyr is going to buy pasta and groceries and delivered to a small village in Taranivka, which he actually did while I was here, which is hosting over 1,000 internally displaced Ukrainians, and that's in the village of 5,000. I was able to send $200 to a female soldier who is collecting money to buy a vehicle for her unit to evacuate wounded soldiers. Their vehicle got shot up and destroyed. I sent $100 to an Asetian bakery located in occupied Herson, the baked bread and make soup every day and the lines for food are getting longer. And Russians do not let humanitarian aid pass into the city to deliver life-saving supplies. I sent $30 worth of baby items to a grandma who is alone with a one-month-old baby. Previously, we set her up with all the baby necessities like formula diapers, stroller, baby carrier, and some cash. On June 19, I sent transfers totaling $1,800 to 13 months with a total of 25 kids. It included a young couple who barely evacuated from occupied Herson. Young mother literally negotiated with Chechen soldiers to let them through and not leave them in the field overnight on their bombs with a newborn. She had to lie and pay them. It included two single moms who had four kids each. It included kids with disabilities. On June 16, I found $200 for a dad with a baby. Mom went to visit her elderly parents and is now unable to leave occupied Militopole. Russian soldiers were not let her out. On June 15, I sent 21 transfers to moms with a total of 36 kids, totaling $2,700, including many elderly that these women are also taken care of, including moms battling cancer, including children in need of medical attention, including a pregnant woman who hasn't eaten in four days. Every person I talked to on video to get a little bit about their situation and the urgency is a real person suffering greatly and not at their fault. My wish for the world is to never know the sound of an airplane bomber flying low and dropping rockets on homes and in your beloved homeland, and my other wish is that we do not look away from what is happening in Ukraine and that we always remember that by some chance of luck we ended up here, and if by chance you ended up being born in Ukraine and we're there now with your kids and your elderly parents under bombs and without food and you reached out to someone like me living in the US for help. My hope is that I would make an effort to help you too. Thank you, Yana Walder, thank you for everything you do. My grandmother, again who escaped Ukraine around World War II, she always said to us, we never thought we would come to the United States, we never thought that, and she said, you never know what's gonna happen, you never know where you're gonna end up, and I have some feeling that as I hear people speak. So thank you, Yana, where are my glasses? They're here on my shirt. So next, I believe it's time for the Ukrainian anthem. We welcome anyone who wants to sing with us to come with us. It doesn't matter what your voice sounds like. You're welcome to sing down there, sing with us, we welcome it, we really do. And he's like, just stand right there. So we'll give a moment for a few people to join us. I'm gonna read a translation that my friend Tatyana from Minnesota, it's her own translation, her own interpretation of the Ukrainian anthem. Ukraine still lives. Her freedom and glory still live. Brothers and sisters, luck shall smile upon us. Our enemies shall disappear. Like dew in the morning sun, and we shall remain masters of our own beloved land. We do not fear to give our body and soul, if that is freedom's price. Let the world know, we are the daughters and sons of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Slava Ukraini. Heroine Slava. Slava Ukraini. Heroine Slava. Slava Ukraini. Heroine Slava. So Marco from Boston will lead us and we'll all sing together. She never died in Ukraine. Neither Slava, nor Olya. She is our brother in Ukraine. She will smile upon us. Our enemies shall disappear. Like dew in the morning sun, and we shall remain masters of our own beloved land. We do not fear to give our body and soul, if that is freedom's price. And we shall show that we are brothers of the Cossack family. We shall give our body and soul, if that is freedom's price. And we shall show that we are brothers of the Cossack family. Radoom! It feels really, really good to be with all of you here and to see all of you outside there. Don't forget Ukraine. And we have more. In a few moments we'll have a march. Yulia is going to say a few more words. We're going to talk about what's. I love singing the Ukrainian flags. Thank you for standing with us. So we're going to talk a little bit about what's happening next and then we're going to march up Church Street. So we'll be closing the rally piece and we'll be marching up the top Church Street. We're at 2.40. Once we end the rally, we'll start cultural programs. So again, there'll be food. There'll be some water. And it's been a hot couple of hours. There'll be chairs and shade and tables to sit down. We'll bring silent auction there. There's amazing, beautiful Ukrainian art for sale, as well as different beautiful clothing and other art pieces. Pysenka, there will be demo of live Pysenka. People actually making and painting Ukrainian eggs. And then we just have other wonderful things for sale and other things going on. We do have a workshop at 3.30 and 4.30. So the workshops include one of the workshops is making the head crown. So you can see I'm wearing one of these beautiful Ukrainian flower head crowns. So one of the workshops, you can actually make your own Ukrainian head crown from flowers. So that's one workshop at 3.30. And then we have another workshop at 4.30 that you can learn to make Ukrainian embroidery. So you can see we're all wearing these beautiful embroidered shirts, which is Ukrainian traditional clothing. And it's pretty interesting because Ukrainian clothing, the embroidery actually have hidden messages. Every little stitch means something, whether it's a letter, a symbol, a word. So there's different symbolism behind it. And you can learn a little bit about it over there and actually can make your own stitching. So we hope to see as many of you here and again, Chair Street businesses participating. So along the way, you can also stop by. The booklet have information. We have 25 businesses participating. So please stop by. I know Red Square right there. They're serving some special Ukrainian drinks, blue and yellow, which sounds like really fun. And then we have multiple other stores that are doing 10% specials. So just check out in the booklet. We have a variety of places that are supporting us today. And again, thank you. I hope you all march with us to the Cold Show program. Thank you. We're also going to have more music. I know she mentioned that Marco will be singing and playing more Ukrainian music. Natalie and Marina. And we also have two other performers and much more. We have amazing borscht and other Ukrainian food. Please join us. Let's gather by the tables for the march. Thank you everyone for coming. Thanks again to the Peace and Justice Center for supporting us. Slava Ukraini! The people of Kostan are not just a few, they are young and happy. Well, I think song number one has to do with song number two. Here with me. It's been written about 15 years later or in 1962. I'm now an official anthem of Kiev. It talks about the beauty of the hills over the Knieper, of the quiet nights. And the frame is, how could I possibly not love you, my Kiev? So my wife translated the first words so beautifully. So I got to start with the English lyrics and then go into Russian, go into Ukrainian. Safe, great, swing, swing Quiet days burning low How dear and lovely Hard to meet Knieper slopes Where branches are swaying In dream-seered love Not to love you, my Kiev How could I possibly not love you, my Kiev? Safe, great, swing, swing Quiet days burning low How dear and lovely Hard to meet Knieper slopes Where branches are swaying In dream-seered love Not to love you, my Kiev How could I possibly not love you, my Kiev? So my wife translated the first words so beautifully. So my wife translated the first words so beautifully. Safe, great, swing, swing Quiet days burning low How dear and lovely Hard to meet Knieper slopes Where branches are swaying In dream-seered love Not to love you, my Kiev How could I possibly not love you, my Kiev? Safe, great, swing, swing Quiet days burning low How dear and lovely Hard to meet Knieper slopes Where branches are swaying In dream-seered love Not to love you, my Kiev How could I possibly not love you, my Kiev? So, Odessa is a wonderful, wonderful city. A multicultural hot spot. Fabric where Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Greeks and many, many other nationalities wait to get for hundreds of years. Odessa is a unique human, unique food abiding in protection. And of course, we're at sea. So this song is about Odessa, the city of beauty in my dreams. There is a city that I see in my dreams But if you knew how dear The black sea that I saw The next Caucasians The next Caucasians The next Caucasians There is a city where I swim and dance On the shore I would go to happiness There is a air where I breathe in my childhood And I could not breathe in my home And I could not breathe in my home The black sea I will never forget my bulwars The fire of the passage of life The rock where we are my dear In the first sight In the first sight In the black sea My dear country, my friend We were lying in the fire, we were fighting I will not give wine, I will not drink gold And we are in my city, in the city And my city is called a hero In the black sea And life is always wonderful As long as you are old or young But with each spring, I will meet In Odessa, my sunny city In Odessa, my sunny city In the black sea In the black sea In the black sea A real genius, Bowdy Walsuk Who had a number of hit songs around that timeframe He was a student at the medical university in Chalm FC And also became a performing artist He was really a unique talent This song is also one of his I think this is his first real hit Real well known song And it's absolutely beautiful lyrically I will go to further mountains and a broad meadows and I will ask the wind so the wind won't sleep in the middle of the day because could wind fall on his free wings over the mountains over the woods and help me find my beloved with her hazel eyes and black eyebrows. My darling, my love, the world is brighter because of you. I bring the entire blue world to you in my eyes. I'm bringing love, I'm bringing my dreams and gardens are blossoming for me when I go to see you. I will go to further mountains and a broad meadows and I will ask the wind so the wind won't sleep in the middle of the day because could wind fall on his free wings over the woods over the woods and help me find my beloved with her hazel eyes and black eyebrows. My darling, my love, the world is brighter because of you. I bring the entire blue world to you in my eyes. I bring love. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. The song is about Kobzar, an old Bandura player who is looking back at his life, at his love at the city square, Maidan, where he sang his songs, where he met people, where he saw his life happening all around him in this village. And so he is begging to help him cross Maidan one last time before he dies. He's singing about his son, singing with him at Maidan today about his wife, who can no longer even recognize because he's losing his eyesight. It's a beautiful poetry and quite an emotional song. Hopefully we'll do justice. Like I said, I don't think you ever heard this in Ukrainian, even though you might have heard it a few times in Russian. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. So I'm very proud and happy that I could do it in the original Ukrainian for you today. Thank you, thank you.