#ukraine refugees

[colleendoran]

My friend Claudia standing by her little booth at our Ukraine refugee support fundraiser. We had Comics for Ukraine there, and sold every copy.

I've whited out location identifying info, because I am afraid of crazy people on the internet.

#ukraine refugees #ukraine #comics for ukraine

[nando161mando]

Rosyjski neonazista "Uragan" zginął w Ukrainie.

Rosyjski neonazista z Woroneża i były członek ultraprawicowego gangu Format 18 Artem "Uragan" Krasnolucki , który walczył po stronie Ukrainy, został zabity w trakcie działań bojowych. 20 kweitnia poinformowały o tym źródła rosyjskie, a informacja ta została później potwierdzona przez skrajnie prawicowego blogera Vladislava Pozdnyakova. Kanał Uragana nie był aktualizowany od 11 marca.

Artem Krasnolutsky to znany neonazista z gangu Maksima "Tesaka" Martsinkiewicza, wcześniej członek NSO-Triglav Woroneż, który był dwukrotnie sądzony w Rosji. W 2011 roku został skazany na sześć miesięcy kolonii karnej za kilkukrotne pchnięcie nożem w dyskotece w Kałaczu. W 2015 r. porwał mężczyznę i postrzelił go w nogi. W tej sprawie w 2018 r. został skazany na 8 lat kolonii o zaostrzonym rygorze, ale "Uragan" uciekł z sądu i trafił do Grupy "Wagner". Pierwszym, który tam trafił, był jego brat Władysław, który wyjechał do Syrii i zginął tam rok wcześniej. Na krótko przed rosyjską inwazją na Ukrainę Kransolucki uciekł z Rosji. Podobno inny znany rosyjski neonazista, Siergiej "Botsman" Korotkicz pomógł mu przenieść się do Ukrainy. Jednak po rozpoczęciu wojny stosunki między Uraganem i Botsmanem zepsuły się do tego stopnia, że Uragan zagroził zabiciem swojego byłego towarzysza broni. Po rozpoczęćiu wojny "Uragan" został prawdopodobnie zwerbowany przez SBU.

Russian neo-Nazi "Uragan" was killed in Ukraine.

Russian neo-Nazi from Voronezh and former member of the ultra-right Format 18 gang, Artem "Uragan" Krasnolucki, who fought on the side of Ukraine, was killed during combat operations. Russian sources reported this on April 20, and this information was later confirmed by far-right blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov. Uragan's channel has not been updated since March 11.

Artem Krasnolutsky is a known neo-Nazi from the gang of Maksim "Tesak" Martsinkevich, previously a member of NSO-Triglav Voronezh, who was tried twice in Russia. In 2011, he was sentenced to six months in a penal colony for stabbing him several times in a disco in Kalach. In 2015, he kidnapped a man and shot him in the legs. In this case, in 2018, he was sentenced to 8 years in a high-security colony, but "Uragan" escaped from the court and ended up in the "Wagner" Group. The first to get there was his brother Władysław, who went to Syria and died there a year earlier. Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kransolyotsky fled Russia. Another famous Russian neo-Nazi, Sergei "Botsman" Korotkich, reportedly helped him move to Ukraine. However, once the war began, relations between Uragan and Botsman soured to the point that Uragan threatened to kill his former comrade in arms. After the war began, "Uragan" was probably recruited by the SBU.

#russian #russia #ukraine #neonazis #neonazi #nazisploitation #nazis #restinpiss #rot in piss #nazigate #nazi #russia ukraine war #russia ukraine crisis #russia ukraine conflict #russia ukraine today #russia ukraine invasion #ukraine russia conflict #ukraine russia news #ukraine russia war #ukraine refugees #class war #antinazi #antiauthoritarian #anti colonialism #anti colonization #azov battalion #azov special operations detachment #wariscapitalism #waristerror #war is real

[mysharona1987]

#Ukraine #ukraine refugees #politics #boris

[alteregoauthentica]

A certain type of human strength is required in order to be a warrior in life. This strength is built from the ground up.

It demonstrates bravery.

It employs honour.

It conquers suffering.

It defines the value of adversity.

It’s an inner gift that keeps giving in the form of a power.

It enables a fight deep inside you and that fight fucking THRIVES - boldly, even in the darkest corners of the world.

It creates a strength so fucking solid its unbreakable.

This is a rare gift to have.

and Ukrainians,

… we have it.

#ukraine #ukraine support #support ukraine #pray for ukraine #ukrainian #ukrainian leaders #ukrainian langblr #ukrainian language #ukrainians #ukraineblog #ukraine russia war #ukrainerussiaconflict #ukrainerussianews #ukraine refugees #ukraine russia crisis #express yourself

[ivo3d]

O. V.'s war game continues, imagine what the two Ukrainian refugees had to feel in the train finally in Hungary, I would like to use proper words to describe, but I could not find any how evil it was.

#hungarian #ukraine refugees #Russian helicopter #war games #artists on tumblr #ivo3d #media artist #videoart

[lewis-faith]

Trip 4, final days.  On Tuesday I spent some time planning my trip to Rzeszow that would happen on Wednesday. The first time I went to Poland back in March I spent quite a bit of time in Rzeszow, as that was the closest visa centre to the Ukrainian border. When I returned I learned from my aunt that I had Jewish ancestors that used to live in this region of Poland. My grandfather’s father left in the early 1900’s with a group that mostly went on to Canada and America, many of the family stayed but were unfortunately victims of the hollocaust. My aunt sent me a letter by a Canadian relative who had been to the area in 2005, he mentioned the village where they used to live and the town where they would visit a synagogue. These places were not far from Rzeszow so I decided to go back and take a look. I was able to include driving some refugees from Rzeszow to Warsaw on my way back.

Tuesday would be my last full day so I tied up some loose ends and generally made sure everything was going smoothly for my departure. Thankfully everything seemed fine and after what had been a pretty busy and intense week things were a bit calmer, my illness seemed to be going away so that was a relief, looking back I’m pretty sure I had covid.  

On Wednesday morning myself and James tackled updating the website, which uses Squarespace as the content management system. As a programmer I never get to use these website builder programs, I was shocked at how limited it was compared to the freedom I usually have. Everything had to be pieced together in big Lego style blocks row by row. Getting each row to play nice with the previous row was more a case of making hundreds of random adjustments than following any sensible logic. Eventually we got the design working and it looked pretty good but it took a lot longer than it should have.

James dropped me off at the airport to pick up my rental car and Leonid and Galina were along with us. I said my goodbyes and Galina insisted on getting out of the car for a proper hug and goodbye - she was so thankful for my help and there was no mistaking it. We are hopefully counting the days before her and Leonid can be in the UK and reunited with their daughter and granddaughter. 

Before heading off to Rzeszow I had a bite to eat and got my haircut, when I went back to the car I found a parking ticket on the windscreen -  no getting out of this one. I had parked in Biedronka supermarket but they usually have free parking, some do have parking meters and I just didn’t see these ones. It was only a £16 fine so not worth fighting over,, I had a good 1.5 hours of parking and decently cheap haircut so overall not that bad.

The drive to Rzeszow took about 3 hours. I think it must be a new road because there is only one service station and that is not that far from Warsaw. I spent 2 hours searching for somewhere to stop and all that was on offer was a car park and toilet stop. I checked into my hotel and got some dinner whilst studying Google maps for the next day.

Thursday was my day for having a look round the ancestors' old stomping grounds before returning on Friday. I started by going to the village where they apparently ran a small hotel and shop. It must have been a small hotel because the village is pretty tiny and very spread out. It is also very out of the way and seemed like an odd place to have a hotel. It may have been for farm workers rather than anything recreational. 

The village these days has a small shop, a library bolted onto a fire station, a school and a church. Most of the buildings are modern as  the Nazi’s destroyed the village in 1941 and used the area as a training ground for the Lufftwaffe. Apparently my relatives had missed all this by moving to Rudnik in 1935, not that that helped them as they were moved to ghettos then to concentration camps, some survived by escaping to Russia others did not survive. Wikipedia tells me that Rzeszow was home to Jewish people from the 1400’s and before WW2 about 14,000 lived there, more than a third of the population. Only 100 survived the war in Rzeszow. There were 10 labour camps in Rzeszow and it is estimated around 20,000 were killed at these camps.

I didn’t know all these details until after I had left, they are obviously shocking and it is difficult to imagine this happening in what is such a remote and peaceful place. I had a good walk around the village and surrounding area, I wasn’t thinking of any of the negativity whilst there, more of the simple daily life that went on before things went bad. I visited the library and asked if they had any local history books. They had a few with a little bit of detail about when the village began and how many people used to live there but there wasn’t that much information available. I took photos of what was available nevertheless.

I drove from the village to the nearby town where the synagogue was, this journey I assume would have been done by horse and cart and would have taken well over an hour. With the village being so isolated I imagine a weekly visit was likely to keep in touch with the wider world. Probably quite pleasant in the summer but those winter days must have been a bit more gruelling. The town was small and not very well serviced, no cafes or restaurants. It did have an ice cream parlour but I was really after a coffee. I took the short walk from the main square / park to the synagogue which was pretty big for the size of the town, it was clearly being actively used. There were some cemeteries on the map nearby but these seemed to have been built on by residences. With not much else to do in the town I headed back to Rzeszow. Although there wasn’t an awful lot to see on this trip it was worthwhile experience retracing some steps and having a bit more understanding about this part of the family’s background. I’m assuming Rzeszow was their first port of call when they first moved to Poland and they may have been there for a few generations, some more work may reveal those answers.

Friday was a long day. I picked up a family of 3 from a small humanitarian centre in Rzeszow and drove them to Heavenly Hostel. They had been stuck in Rzeszow for 2 months waiting for their visas to be approved and were very happy to be leaving. We managed to stop off at the single service station on the way back and pick up some food. Some generous Poles were still offering free cooked food to Ukrainians in the car park so they picked up some pizza. After making a quick appearance at Heavenly Hostel to drop off the family I had to head to the airport to drop off the rental car, I was only a couple of minutes late which was pretty good going and didn’t get me any late fees. I asked them how I should pay the parking fine from Wednesday as it wasn’t obvious from the ticket, they said by bank transfer which seemed a bit of a hassle, or at a post office. It just so happened there was a post office in the airport two shops away so I got the ticket paid off.

Due to these back to back trips mentally and physically exhausting me, I'm planning to take the rest of the summer off. I also have some regular day job work to be getting on with. I hope beyond hope there is no work for me to do in the autumn but I am prepared to help out again. I’ll still be working on visa issues over here and hopefully keeping in touch with the people we’ve helped bring over.

#ukraine refugees #ukraine evacuation

[romanationmovement]

#roma #ukraine #ukraine refugees #romani #romarefugees #war #humanity #politics #europeanunion #Europe #hypocracy

[head-post]

Demographic situation in Ukraine

Ukraine has been leading the world’s depopulation rate for decades, and now the military conflict has plunged the country into a demographic catastrophe, Polityka reported.

In 1991, when Ukraine gained its independence, it was the 22nd most populous country in the world, with a population of almost 52 million. However, in a worst-case scenario, the country’s population could halve over the next decade to 24 million.

Ella Libanova, head of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, expects the population to shrink to 32 million, which still threatens the country’s post-war reconstruction plans.

Military casualties are concealed, but they are likely to be tens of thousands of young men. Over 6 million war refugees scattered across Europe must be added to this. Furthermore, as Kyiv claims, almost 3 million Ukrainians have moved to Russia. Even so, however, the picture of Ukraine’s demographic crisis remains incomplete.

The problem is that even if Russia loses on the front, a devastated and depopulated Ukraine will not be able to cope with the consequences of the war for many years to come.

Learn more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #europe #european news #ukrainian #ukraine news #ukraine war #ukraine conflict #ukraine russia news #ukraine russia conflict #ukraine #ukraine russia war #ukraine russia today #ukraine refugees #russia ukraine war #russia ukraine conflict #russia ukraine today #russia ukraine crisis #ukranian #demographics

[garudabluffs]

The author's family poses in their Siberian exile settlement, circa 1956. Alongside a great-grandmother and grandparents are two aunts, seen here as children. The author's mother is in the arms of the author's grandmother in the back row.

In Russia’s assault on Ukraine, an echo of my grandparents’ ordeal at Stalin’s hands

Their exile to the gulag foreshadowed the deportations of more than a million people taken by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.

February 16, 2023

12 Comments "Timothy Snyder’s book Bloodlands is a fantastic resource to learn and understand the history of modern Ukraine, its relationship with its neighbors and the terrible price Ukraine and Poland paid for being “squeezed” between Germany and Russia.

Ukrainian nationalists were so desperate to break away from Russia’s yoke that some of them collaborated with the Nazis during the WWII. They hoped that Germany would help them to become a free nation. Desperate people resort to desperate means in desperate times."

READ MORE https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/16/opinion/russias-assault-ukraine-an-echo-my-grandparents-ordeal-stalins-hands/?et_rid=1768069659&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter#bgmp-comments

?It is June 1941. The Rudomin family has been arrested by the Russians. They are "capitalists' enemies of the people." Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia. For five years, Esther and her family live in exile, weeding potato fields and working in the mines, struggling for enough food and clothing to stay alive. Only the strength of family sustains them and gives them hope for the future."

#Ukraine refugees

[colleendoran]

At the VOICE OF AMERICA, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds is featured in a video segment. With work from more than 15 comics creators (including me, my short story is highlighted at the 47 second mark) all creators volunteered their services with all proceeds donated to Ukraine refugee relief via Operation USA.

With more than $100,000 raised prior to release and another $100,000 expected to be raised before the end of this year, editor Scott Dunbier received the 2023 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his work on this project.

You may order it HERE.

It was an honor to contribute to this project.

#ukraine refugees #ukraine #Voice of America #Scott Dunbier #operation usa #comics

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Given the outrageous cost of rent, real estate, groceries, and every other aspect of life in and around Toronto, it's understandable why so many people have chosen to leave Ontario for other places where pastures are greener — that is, cheaper.

But as hard as it is to get by here, is the city unaffordable enough to push you to relocate to an actual warzone just because existence there is far less costly? Some people are saying yes, it is.

More than 160,000 Ukrainian refugees have landed in Canada since their nation's war with Russia began in 2022, but even with the ongoing invasion, many are choosing to go back to their homeland after finding cities like Toronto too expensive to survive in.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #ontario #toronto #cost of living #ukraine #refugees #immigration

[mysharona1987]

#Cartoons #tucker carlson #liberals #blm #refugees #ukraine refugees #democrats #politics #republicans #woc #books #donald trump #poc #news

[reasonsforhope]

“America likes to tell a certain story about itself: It’s a safe haven, a place of refuge for the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. It’s a story that history shows hasn’t always been true. But thankfully, it just got easier for Americans to take matters into their own hands and turn that aspiration into a reality.

The Biden administration on January 19 launched the Welcome Corps, a new program that will allow groups of Americans to directly sponsor refugees to resettle in their communities.

Whereas recent programs have focused on bringing over people from specific places — Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela — this program makes it possible for private citizens to resettle people from any place in the world, so long as they are refugees as defined by the US Refugee Act.

Under the Welcome Corps program, you and a few of your friends can pool together funds to provide an immigration pathway that allows vulnerable people who may not otherwise be able to immigrate the ability to rebuild their lives in the US. Forming a private sponsor group involves bringing together at least five adults in your area and collectively raising $2,275 for each person you want to resettle in your community. With that money, sponsors commit to helping them through the first three months there, which can include securing and furnishing housing, stocking the pantry with food, supporting job hunts, and registering kids for school.

It’s a powerful way to improve life for the newcomers, granting them protection from persecution or violence in their country of origin, plus the chance to access health care, education, and socioeconomic opportunities. It can also improve life for everyone who’ll be in the newcomers’ orbit, including you and your neighbors. Research suggests welcoming refugees will likely benefit your community as a whole, for example by opening new businesses that revitalize neighborhoods. In Canada, a similar private sponsorship program has proven immensely popular and successful over the past decade.

But you might be thinking: Why should it fall to private citizens to fork over the cash, time, and energy to resettle refugees? Shouldn’t that be the government’s job?

...It’s a fair point: This is the government’s job. That’s why the advocacy groups that pushed for the Welcome Corps program insisted that any refugees who come to the US via private sponsorship should be in addition to the number of traditional, government-assisted resettlement cases.

The State Department has signaled that it agrees. This means that by sponsoring a refugee, you can play a role in allowing the US to take in more refugees overall. It really is additive.

And unlike prior programs for Afghans or Ukrainians, which were temporary, ad hoc responses to crises, the Welcome Corps is intended to be a permanent fixture. The hope is that it’ll complement the traditional resettlement process, which has been struggling for years.”

-via Vox, 1/27/23

#refugees #asylum #us politics #immigration #migration is a human right #refugee #afghanistan #ukraine #welcome corps #refugee sponsorship #united states #human rights #immigration reform #immigrant rights #good news #hope #this has SO MUCH potential to make a difference #to let us help people rather than just watch the government be awful and racist #it's huge

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

Hey, y'all remember when Ukrainian refugees didn't want to be housed in black or browm neighborhoods?

#talkin #tik tok #sri lanka #russia #ukraine #refugees

[lewis-faith]

Trip 3, day 11. The day started with Tanya and her family leaving. Out new volunteer Paul drove them to Krakow. They will be staying in Bury which apparently has a well established Ukrainian community (that was present before the war). Tanya has been very useful as an interpetur so she will be missed.

I had a potentially complex day ahead, with the possibility of multiple trips to the visa centre ahead. We would again be checking for Julia's daughter, I also needed to check if the new family were ok to travel with an aunt listed as the kids dependent instead of their mother. A family of 6 would also be arriving in Warsaw by train, they needed to get to the visa center and then back to Heavenly Hostel.

I called up a UK helpline to find out about the rules regarding visas with dependents. The operator confirmed my viewpoint that so long as the person listed on the visa is travelling with them, then they would be fine. However the operator sounded like they were not all that confident in what they were saying so I would double check at the visa office and if necessary come back and get the family to hand in the voided visas.

Certain food items seem to be disappearing very quickly from the communal kitchen so another food shop was required, at least a lot of fruit is being consumed so people are keeping healthy. I added a few boxes of ice creams as the weather was heating up and these seem to go down well the day before.

I took Julia and her daughter to the visa office in the minibus. This was crunch time, if no visa was there or a misprint happened we would have to contact the media. I've been very cordial with the people working at the visa office this week. That can be very difficult under the pressure of disappointment, frustration and anxiety. It is hard to strike the right balance of attacking the problems without upsetting the people working there, but I am improving my skills in a diplomacy.

The news was seemingly good and we got a number for Julia's daughter. I had to leave them to wait as I went off to pick up the family of 6. Before I left it was confirmed that the auntie of the new family can be the dependent for the kids, so that was some good news in the bag and the family are now ready to travel to the UK.

The traffic in Warsaw was very busy and it was a hot day, however I had plenty of time to meet the family of 6. I parked up near the pickup location and found a coffee shop that did a perfect decaf cappuccino from freshly ground beans, very tasty.

Not long after the pickup time passed I received a message that the family was in a different location, in fact the dreaded Warsaw Central train station that has almost no parking whenever I go there. As I approached I was scouring the streets for parking opportunities, assuming they could walk 5 minutes and meet me. There was thankfully some parking available a couple of minutes walk from the stationso I shared my location on WhatsApp and they appeared fairly quickly. During all this I learned that Julia's daughter had received her visa - amazing news and a massive relief. That was an 11 week wait in total.

From what I could gather the family of 6 had left the Kiev region two days ago and spent a couple of nights in humanitarian centres in Lviv then Przemysl, so were pretty exhausted. It was 3 kids who spoke pretty good English, their parents and a grandmother. It turned out they all had visas except the grandmother. She had been notified 4 days ago to visit Warsaw to pick up her visa.

When we got to the visa office I was a bit confused that the grandmother had a biometric passport, this wouldn't usually mean having to come to the visa office. Like the rest of her family I would assume she would get a permission to travel letter.

The immigration officer went upstairs to check for her visa but before they could make it out the room the official was stopped in their tracks by one of the three people who run the computer checks. Apparently the visa was not here at all. A maelstrom of confusing information was mumbled at me by the person checking the computer systems.

Apparently the grandmother had just had her old non-biometric passport renewed and this was done since her application was started. The change in passport numbers had upset the visa system yet again and caused a security check to delay things. But I asked "why wasn't she being sent a permission to travel letter?".

I was told that when someone was processing her application they decided that because she had her biometrics done recently that meant it would be very inconvenient and unnecessary for her to have biometrics done again in the UK. I didn't know exactly why she wouldn't have to do that when the rest of the family do, they all have biometric passports as well. Anyway, they decided it would be better for this group of 6 to travel all the way from Ukraine to Warsaw to get a visa there instead of the grandmother doing biometrics with the rest of the family in the UK (it takes 30 minutes). I honestly can't believe how hopeless Britain has become, please engage the brain instead of randomly pushing buttons.

So I now had to try explain to this poor family why they had been told to travel so far for no reason. The dad had limited English and the kid trying to interpret was understandly completely confused. I asked the officer if the grandmother could be sent a permission to travel letter a.s.a.p instead of waiting for this visa to turn up, he said he would try but it would be Monday before anything could happen.

The family was not really understanding what was going on as we went over things again and again. I also lost the thread and had to ask the computer bloke what the original problem was. All while Julia wss waiting to get home. I eventually got it sorted but it was such a pain. This group was supposed to be here for a few days and now it might be a week. Yet again the government is responsible for wasting our resources, donations are given to help as many refugees as possible, not to plug holes in a failed visa system.

So with the day taking a turn for the worse we headed back to Heavenly Hostel. We only had a 4 bed room empty and 3 beds in a 5 room. The family didn't want to be split up so we had move a bed upstairs and reconfigure things. Then I had to call the families hosts and explain the visa problem. With that done I hid in my room and took a 30 minute timeout.

Once relaxed I played a bit of football with one of the parents, Vlad and another boy. Vlad took to kicking the ball as high as possible, it was a matter of when not if it would go over the 20 foot fir trees and into the neighbours garden. Surprisingly we got a good half hour, I at least got to meet our neighbour, he says it happens all the time. As I was retrieving the football Paul returned from Krakow, apparently the drive back was not so great and added an hour onto the  journey but Tanya and her family were safe in Bury, so that was good.

As myself and Paul decompressed in the kitchen the 3 kids I had picked up earlier appeared and were keen to practice their English. We had a long interesting conversation and eventually it transpired they were all musicians. The next thing we know they are singing traditional Ukrainian songs as a 3 piece choir, with harmonies and plenty of theatrical performance. They youngest, an 11 old girl sang like a professional adult - it was gobsmacking. Myself and Paul were blown away. Other people in the hostel came down as they could hear it upstairs. It was the kind of performance people would pay to see and with the patriotic songs being sung with such passion it was a moving and magical end to the day.

#ukraine refugees #ukraine evacuation

[romanationmovement]

#roma #Refugees #ukraine refugees #Europe #Czechia #Moldova #Romania #racism #eu