Walk for Peace in Mitchelstown as war approaches 100th day
This Thursday marks 92 days since war broke out in Ukraine. Every Sunday since the war broke out, a peace walk has taken place in Mitchelstown by Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Irish and others who are showing support for the people of Ukraine and their fight.
Last Sunday saw yet another walk for peace, and also marked an important cultural day for Ukrainians, as the walk also celebrated Vyshyvanka (Embroidery) Day.
Vyshyvanka Day is celebrated in Ukraine on the third Thursday in May and celebrates the tradition of vyshyvanka (embroidery), one of Ukraine’s most visible cultural symbols.
It is not a state or religious holiday, but one that demonstrates the heritage of Ukraine through beautiful embroidered shirts or blouses. Traditionally, the embroidery is done by the women in the family and the tradition and skills of the craft are passed down through generations. Last Sunday people wore embroidered shirts and invited Irish people to wear their county or team colours on the peace walk. Zivile Zeniauskaite, a Lithuanian national and one of the organisers of the Sunday peace walks, spoke to TheAvondhu about why showing solidarity with those displaced by the war is so important.
“As we celebrated International Vyshyvanka Day last Sunday with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, Lithuanians remembered the deportations that had happened 70 years ago and were perpetrated by Soviets in the name of Vesna (Spring).
“On May 22nd to 23rd in 1948, forty thousand Lithuanians were deported to Siberia, of whom the biggest part of deportees were women and children. History repeats itself, when good people remain silent and do nothing.”
Between 1941 and 1951, at least 130,000 people were deported to Siberia by the Soviet government under Stalin to forced settlements and labour camps. 70% of these were reportedly women and children. This does not include the 150,000 political prisoners and others who were transported to Gulags in Siberia.
Ms Zeniauskaite continued, to call on people in the locality to come join them.
“So, when today we say that Ukrainians are fighting for our freedom it is not just words, but it is the painful reality, that so many people in the West do not want to acknowledge. Every day that war continues and more and more innocent people are killed, more Ukrainian cities and villages destroyed, you should ask yourself ‘what can I do personally to help Ukraine in their fight with the Russian aggressor?’”
“We have started our walk for peace in Mitchelstown every Sunday at 12pm when the war broke out and we hope to continue until the ultimate Ukrainian victory.
Show your support and show that you are not getting war fatigue. Remember: Ukrainian people are being killed every day.
“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!,” she said.
Since the outbreak of the war, the UN reports that as of midnight on 22nd May, that a total of 3,930 civilians have been killed.
Of these, 69 were children. Furthermore, it is believed that the actual figures are considerably higher, owing to the difficulties in getting accurate figures from isolated areas and areas that are experiencing intense hostilities, including Mariupol, Izium and Popasna.