A shoe memorial at Holy Eucharist Cathedral is commemorating the lives lost in the bombing of a theatre in Ukraine where women and children were taking refuge.
New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian and Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church hosted a community vigil on Saturday to commemorate the victims of the Mariupol Theatre attack. Community members were encouraged to bring new or gently used children’s or women’s shoes to commemorate the victims.
“This shoe memorial is inspired by a similar memorial set up last week at Budapest, Hungary to commemorate the 300+ victims of the Mariupol Theatre attack two weeks ago,” Julian said in a news release. “We must stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Canadians are watching the invasion of Ukraine by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in horror. Many of us want to help but are unsure how.”
In addition to the shoe memorial, community members were invited to support Ukraine with monetary donations, which will be used to help Ukrainian refugees and to support humanitarian relief.
Rev. Mykhailo Ozorovych of Holy Eucharist Cathedral thanked Julian, the children of Ukrainian Eparchial School Ridne Slovo and the community for their support for the people of Ukraine.
“This shoe memorial is a symbolic way to commemorate all the victims and survivors of this horrific war crime against Ukraine,” he said. “Humanitarian aid is desperately needed.”
Ozorovych said the church is collecting donations to help Ukrainian refugees with visa application forms, plane tickets and insurance, temporary accommodations and community settlement. Donations can be made at https://en.uahelp.ca/.
Human Rights Watch, which investigates and reports on abuses happening around the world, said the Mariupol Theatre that was attacked by Russia on March 16 had been sheltering hundreds of civilians. Human Rights Watch was unable to verify casualty figures, but it said local officials had reported about 300 people died in the attack.
Ozorovych and members of the Holy Eucharist Cathedral congregation, students and parents of Ridne Slovo – Ukrainian School, community members and local politicians, including Julian, New Westminster MLA Jennifer Whiteside and Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, attended the April 2 memorial.
On March 28, city staff updated council on actions being undertaken by the City of New Westminster, the provincial government and the federal government in response to the crisis in the Ukraine. The city will establish a working group that will meet monthly to share information and coordinate response efforts and will assist in raising awareness about the crisis, providing information about resources, and listing reputable sites where people can make a donation or become a host family.
According to the city, Holy Eucharist Cathedral is acting an informal hub for crisis response in New Westminster and beyond and is collaborating with Ukrainian organizations across B.C.
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