A group of Ukrainian students held a rally on campus today, calling on UBC to take stronger action to support students impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Students and Vancouverites gathered in front of the UBC Bookstore at 12:30 p.m. with signs and Ukrainian flags. The rally consisted of speeches from both impacted students and members of the Maple Leaf Organization, a group of Ukrainian-Canadians dedicated to providing aid to Ukraine.
“The goal of the protest is for UBC [to] stop being silent and actually [speak] up about the atrocities that Russia commits not against just Ukraine, but against the whole world,” said one of the organizers Liliya Syvytska, a fourth-year student majoring in film production. Syvytska is from Kiev, Ukraine.
President Santa Ono called the conflict an “illegal and unjust war” in a broadcast on February 24 and called for de-escalation. UBC also recently affirmed that it would defer tuition payments for students from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
But Syvytska said some Ukrainian students want their tuition fees waived.
“We are losing our friends, we are losing literally our houses, we need help financially … while living in one of the most expensive cities in the world,” Syvytska said.
“[Ukrainian students’] livelihoods have been obliterated. They have nothing. A deferral is not good enough. Especially coming from a business such as UBC that has so much money,” said Kseniya Valsenko, a third-year international student from Russia and one of the organizers of the rally. Valsenko advocated for a solid timeline for divestment from Russian businesses and oil.
Kseniya Yakovenko, an attendee at the rally and a second-year student in kinesiology, called the conflict a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Yakovenko was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine but moved to Canada as a child.
“Seeing the injustices being done to the rest of my family, to my friends, to everyone, it’s just so unfair. It's just causing so much distress in our lives,” Yakovenko said.
Several protestors said they want UBC to educate people on where to donate money. They pointed to the news about the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC)’s plans to open an office in Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border.
This week, Ukrainian officials accused the Russian government of forcibly moving civilians, including children, into Russia. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk suggested the ICRC’s office “legitimized” the deportations. The ICRC President Peter Maurer has also been criticized for taking a photograph with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavro following a recent meeting.
The ICRC has said the claims were unfounded, and the organization wouldn’t evacuate Ukrainians against their wishes.
Syvytska said there will be another rally next week.
“Right now it is important to gather as much as possible … we're just trying to activate students to act more,” she said.