PANJIM: Tourists from Ukraine and the United States gathered near the Panjim Church on Friday to protest against the war waged by Russia against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian citizens in Goa are hopeful that the Indian government will intervene to stop the bloodshed being caused by the war.
The tourists sent a strong message to the Russian government, “Hands off Ukraine”, as they gathered to protest.
Eugeniia, a Russian speaking citizen from city of Kharkiv in Ukraine, asserted that she belonged to Ukraine and did not want her country to merge with Russia. “The Russian and Ukrainians in Goa live in peace and joy as one big community and there is no fight between the two. The Russian government seems to be unable to understand the value of peace and love,” she added.
“A silent war has been going on between Russia and Ukraine from last eight years and Russia always looked to invade Ukraine. We are born as independent Ukrainians and want to live as independent citizens. We don’t want to be the part of Russia,” she added.
Yuliia, from Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine said, “India is the country known for peace and love. We truly believe that India has the massive influence all over the world and it can definitely help us to speak to the Russian government for bringing peace to Ukraine. Russia has started the war against democracy.”
Explaining the situation faced by her family residing in Ukraine, she said,
“Currently, my family is hiding in an underground shelter to escape from the war”.
Mariia, citizen from Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, said that India is very powerful and should stand with Ukraine.
“It is true that the Indian government is helping in all the possible ways by extending the Visa. We expect the Indian government to put more efforts to help Ukraine stay in peace. We are expecting the Indian government to extend visas to those who want to come back and give refuge to those who have lost their home due to the tragedy,” she said.
Adding further she said, “We are a sovereign country and we want to remain independent like how we are. We won’t allow Russia to overthrow our government. We will fight till our last breath.”
