By Anna Pier
More than 75 people gathered in front of Sonoma City Hall on the cold, rainy evening of February 24 in vigil for Ukraine on the third anniversary of the country’s invasion by Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces. The event to honor and appreciate the courage of the Ukrainian people opened with Taras Lumier singing the Ukrainian national anthem. Many in the crowd held candles which they struggled to keep lit in the blustery winds. The event was sponsored by Sonoma Sister Cities, Kaniv Committee. Kaeti Bailie, from the Sister Cities Board, welcomed people to the vigil.
Tarney Baldinger spoke of her experience visiting friends in Kaniv in November. She related the great challenges of continuing everyday life while under siege, including the shortage of water, food, the blackouts and bomb shelters. She described what teachers are facing, sometimes in improvised schools, even in underground shelters, working with students who are in shock and grief, sleep-deprived, but still eager to learn. She concluded her comments playing a recording of a Requiem which is played at least daily in Kaniv, and heard throughout the country, mourning yet another death.
The vigil closed with the moving song written by Robert Demler, “Sonoma Is Thinking of Kaniv Today.” The song had been played that morning on KSVY, and on radio stations in Kaniv and other cities and towns in Ukraine. Demler is a member of the Kaniv Committee.
Kaeti Bailie, Chair of the Kaniv Committee, told the Sun about the financial, material and moral support that the Sister Cities and the Sonoma community have given Kaniv for the past three years of war. “We have been in regular contact with Kaniv and have seen first-hand the courage, tenacity and grace they have maintained under these extreme circumstances. They have had daily air raids, mourned the loss of their young men to battle and yet have remained optimistic.” Bailie says that one of the reasons for this optimism is that they have had both military and moral support from the U.S. and Europe. She describes the recent confrontation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit at the White House as “intended to humiliate Ukraine, and force them to agree to a better ‘deal’.” Bailie says that instead the ones who were humiliated were our own President and Vice President. “President Zelensky walked away with his dignity intact while the U.S. lost the respect of its old friends and allies,” she said.
Since the invasion on February 24, 2022, Sonoma Sister Cities Kaniv, through fundraising events in the community, has sent more than $160,000 to the war-inflicted town; has shipped 30 large boxes of medical supplies, clothing, children’s soft toys and 4,500 pairs of Bombas socks and underwear; and has sent a retired ambulance, a gift from the City of Sonoma, filled to the top with medical supplies donated by the community. Kaniv is a Russian target because of its hydroelectric plant, so Sister Cities helped the city receive a one-million-dollar grant from USAID for a back-up large natural-gas-powered generator. and the organization worked with Cherkassy Rotary to purchase for $20K six large portable rechargeable batteries for schools and public buildings.
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