Slava Ukraini

For a month, longer, I’ve been wanting to write about my own experience in Ukraine, and my family’s history there. I keep holding off, waiting for the right time. Now isn’t that time.

There isn’t any right time for war, though there may be a “right time” to write about it, but it’s too painful now, too awful.

The last scene I wrote in my novel-in-progress took place in 2014, in Kyiv, during the Euromaidan protests. I was in the midst of writing of the violence and loss of human lives there when the invasion of Ukraine began. I haven’t been able to write since.

Maybe, I’ll be able to write again about Ukraine — and Ukrainian women immigrating to Canada at different points of history — but now isn’t that time for me.

It’s time to do what we can — to donate time or financial resources to humanitarian aid, or space in residential homes for refugees. It’s time to hope and pray that this war ends soon. It’s been far too long, already.

Here are a couple of ways you can help:

The Canada Ukraine Foundation Humanitarian Appeal: https://www.cufoundation.ca

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has updates on sponsoring refugees from Ukraine: https://www.ucc.ca

#StandWithUkraine

#SlavaUkraini