Although they live each day with a deep wound in their hearts, Ukrainian refugees in Mijas refuse to normalise the war their country is suffering. That is why, on Sunday 22nd, the Ukrainian-Spanish association Espacio Cultural organised an event in memory of the victims in the Virgen de la Peña Square, marking the fourth anniversary of the conflict with Russia.

"Unfortunately, we have been at war for four years now, although for us it has been 12 years because Russia started the war in 2012", commented the president of Espacio Cultural, Galyna Lisnycha. "In a way, we have become accustomed to carrying this pain within us, in our hearts, in our souls, because we have to live, we have no other choice but to live, fight, and stand together, which is precisely what we are doing here today in Mijas", she added.

 

Mijas, with Ukraine

During the gathering held in Mijas Pueblo, an exhibition of photographs from the conflict was displayed, the victims and the missing were remembered, the flags of Ukraine and Spain waved in unison, and words of encouragement were offered to the refugees in our municipality. The councillor Mario Bravo (PP) attended the event and stated: "We wanted to stand with the Ukrainian people today. There are several million refugees across various European countries, many women and children who have fled the war while their husbands and fathers have stayed behind. In Mijas, we have taken in several hundred, and the local population has been especially affectionate and welcoming, reminiscent of 1992 when we did the same for those fleeing Yugoslavia. Many of them are still here among us. We thought that would never happen again, but it has".

 

No to violence

"Therefore, once again, what we are calling for is an end to the violence, for a ceasefire to be declared, and for whatever needs to be resolved to be settled in offices, not on the battlefield. We do not want violence, especially senseless violence with no clear objective", said Bravo.

"Unfortunately, we have many fatalities, we are bombed practically every day, and there was a major attack at the end of last year on a city where, sadly, almost 40 people died, including eight children. All these images we are showing today are in memory of the children who died in the war, the adults, the families... We also remember how the military experiences the war, how they defend and fight for our land", added Lisnycha emotionally.

 

The disappeared

The gathering also showcased Ukrainian culture, with several women dressed in traditional costumes singing songs from their homeland. "Our intention is to denounce Russian aggression, express the difficult situation our country is currently enduring and raise awareness of the reality of the war among both the Spanish people and all the residents of the town", according to the association.

 

"Tuesday 24th will mark four years since something we in Europe thought unthinkable: Russia invading a country and the rest of the world simply watching and condemning it with words but few deeds. Four years have passed, there are thousands of deaths on both sides, and what Ukrainians feel most deeply is not only the loss of life, but the vast number of children who have disappeared and been taken to Russia. They are asking by all possible means for at least those children to be released and returned to their families", Bravo concluded.

 

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