New Zealand needs to take in Ukrainian Refugees!
New Zealand needs to take in Ukrainian Refugees!
The issue
The Russian government has unleashed an open war of aggression against the people of Ukraine. Putin’s armies have displaced thousands externally and hundreds of thousands more internally, and the situation threatens to devolve into a refugee crisis on the scale of the Syrian war. Russian forces are flagrantly violating the Geneva Convention by indiscriminately shelling roadways, apartment blocks and hospitals, and shooting civilians as they try to escape. This unprovoked attack has caused untold suffering within Ukraine and has profoundly affected the Ukrainian community here in New Zealand. As a nation, we have a responsibility to help our minority communities and, to this end, we are calling for the New Zealand government to take in any refugee fleeing from this war, with priority given to those who have family in New Zealand.
My grandmother (73), aunty (43), and younger cousins (11) and (21) who I grew up with are trying desperately to escape from Kharkiv. I am only a 22 year old university student and feel powerless on my own. I believe that if we work together, we can bring this to the attention of those in power. Together we can make a change not just for my struggling friends and family in Ukraine, but all those with family in New Zealand. My family are terrified as they are being constantly bombed, and it’s been over three days since my aunty and grandmother have gotten any sleep. Whenever I call my family, I can hear the rumbling in the background from the bombing, and it has taken a heavy mental toll on them. In the many calls that I’ve had with my little cousin, who is 11 years old, she keeps saying how badly she wants to leave and come see me. I have cried so many times over the realisation that sometimes there is so little that can be done from so far away. So here I am begging for everyone to work together and help save lives whilst they still can. My family is everything to me and all of them are in Ukraine.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE! Please share this petition as widely as you can, support any Ukrainians you know and be kind to Russians. This is a decision made by their government and not by them.
WE WANT PEACE NOT WAR!
Written by: Inga Tokarenko with help from Michael Freeman and Toby Wakelin
4,036
The issue
The Russian government has unleashed an open war of aggression against the people of Ukraine. Putin’s armies have displaced thousands externally and hundreds of thousands more internally, and the situation threatens to devolve into a refugee crisis on the scale of the Syrian war. Russian forces are flagrantly violating the Geneva Convention by indiscriminately shelling roadways, apartment blocks and hospitals, and shooting civilians as they try to escape. This unprovoked attack has caused untold suffering within Ukraine and has profoundly affected the Ukrainian community here in New Zealand. As a nation, we have a responsibility to help our minority communities and, to this end, we are calling for the New Zealand government to take in any refugee fleeing from this war, with priority given to those who have family in New Zealand.
My grandmother (73), aunty (43), and younger cousins (11) and (21) who I grew up with are trying desperately to escape from Kharkiv. I am only a 22 year old university student and feel powerless on my own. I believe that if we work together, we can bring this to the attention of those in power. Together we can make a change not just for my struggling friends and family in Ukraine, but all those with family in New Zealand. My family are terrified as they are being constantly bombed, and it’s been over three days since my aunty and grandmother have gotten any sleep. Whenever I call my family, I can hear the rumbling in the background from the bombing, and it has taken a heavy mental toll on them. In the many calls that I’ve had with my little cousin, who is 11 years old, she keeps saying how badly she wants to leave and come see me. I have cried so many times over the realisation that sometimes there is so little that can be done from so far away. So here I am begging for everyone to work together and help save lives whilst they still can. My family is everything to me and all of them are in Ukraine.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE! Please share this petition as widely as you can, support any Ukrainians you know and be kind to Russians. This is a decision made by their government and not by them.
WE WANT PEACE NOT WAR!
Written by: Inga Tokarenko with help from Michael Freeman and Toby Wakelin
4,036
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Petition created on 26 February 2022