JACKSON, Wyo. — As the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war unfolds before the eyes of the world, a large crowd gathered on Jackson’s Town Square yesterday in a show of support for Ukraine.
Jackson resident Alina DiDonato, who fled Kyiv, Ukraine in 1979 to escape the U.S.S.R., organized the rally.
“This is a pro-democracy, anti-totalitarianism rally,” said DiDonato.
At the peaceful demonstration, there were several Ukrainians in attendance, one of whom Oksana Onysko, is the owner of a local daycare in town.
Onysko has lived in Jackson for seven years and first landed in the United States as an exchange student pursuing her graduate degree from a university in Ukraine. As her relatives, classmates and professors brace for a violent war against Russian military forces, Onysko explained why she felt the need to be at the demonstration yesterday evening.
“As a Ukrainian and an immigrant we are here today as voices for those who are currently hiding in bomb shelters,” said Onysko. “All of us wanted to come out and say to everyone please reach out to your [electeds] and make a big deal out of this so the world reacts.”
“Ukraine is a democracy. People need to understand that it affects every democratic society. If we don’t stop them, they will go further and it will become a global [catasrophe].”
Onysko hopes to see “the most excruciating sanctions for Russia,” and clarified what aid and support for her country actually mean.
“I’ve heard a lot of people saying ‘we don’t want to get involved in another war’ but Ukrainians aren’t asking for the military they are asking for equipment, military help. Our people are going to fight until the end. But we need help.”
In the front of the crowd stood Teton Village resident Dina Gundzya and her mother Irina, who owns the largest Christian private school in Ukraine.
“My parents were visiting and got stuck here,” said Dina Gundzya who was born in Ukraine and later moved to the U.S. “They came for the birth of my son in December and they left all of their things behind and now they probably can’t go back.”
Gundzya pointed to images on her phone of her mother’s school. At first glance, it’s a normal grey school building, with colored windows and an entryway. But at second glance the image also depicts a Russian launched missile digging into the ground in front of the school building. This is the reality of life in Ukraine today, explained her mother.
“Everything is closed and all people are hiding in the shelters, children are in bunkers, they cannot go to school,” said Irina Gundzya.
Close to fifty people attended yesterday’s demonstration, many of whom shared their stories as immigrants and a shared obligation they feel they have to support the people of Ukraine.
Photos: Nick Sulzer // Buckrail
