LOCAL NEWS
Community’s war pain
Broken hearts, prayers for peace in NYC’s Little Ukraine
BY DEAN MOSES
Little Ukraine in the East
Village is so named because
it boasts the biggest
population of Ukrainian New
Yorkers — all proud of their
heritage, but now experiencing
the heartbreak of war.
Storefronts and apartments
in the district have been draping
their businesses and homes with
Ukrainian blue-and-gold fl ags
as the Russian invasion intensifi
es. On Feb. 24, the area exuded
both a sense of unity and
eerie sorrow as many Ukrainian
natives are consumed with anxiety
over their loved ones who remain
in imminent danger.
A sign reading “Pray for
Ukraine” can be found hanging
on the entranceway of St.
George Ukrainian Catholic
Church on East 7th Street. Candles
fl ickered beneath the makeshift
shrine, encompassing the
hopes of locals that somehow,
someway the confl ict will reach
a peaceful solution.
Oksana Ivafi d is a Ukrainian
native who has lived in New
York City for 26 years. The war
became a harsh reality for her
and her family when she heard
Rajani Tewairi has lived in Little Ukraine for 30 years.
the United States embassy in
Kyiv was closing. Since Feb. 12
there has been “Do Not Travel”
notifi cations displayed, and
then the order to immediately
evacuate government workers
in the Ukraine.
“I feel literally scared about
it. My family all live on the West
Side closer to Europe,” Ivafi d
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
shared, stating that she worries
for all of the innocent people in
the Ukraine and Russia who are
being put at risk for this war.
“There are so many mothers,
fathers, who are going to be sad
like I am. I want everybody to
live in peace.”
Ivafi d says that Putin doesn’t
care about anyone, not Russians
and certainly not the Ukrainian
people. She prays for peace because
she knows that this war
will affect the world.
“My family are sad and
upset,” Ivafi d said.
Businesses like the East Village
Meat Market and adjacent
restaurant Veselka have
hungthe Ukrainian fl ag in
their windows in a show of
solidarity. They are not the only
ones though.
Residents who do not have
connections to Ukraine but
have long since called the
area home are also showing
their support.
Rajani Tewairi has lived in
Little Ukraine for 30 years and
left her home wearing a blue
hat and yellow bag. She is not
only worried for her friends
but also the future as a whole.
“I think it’s really dangerous
and I think it’s like a tinderbox
like what Austria, Hungry
was like all those years ago. I
really think that this can turn
into something much, much
bigger,” Tewairi said, listing
the immediate impact this the
attacks have had on the stock
market, gas prices, and more.
“It breaks my heart,” Tewairi
added. “You can’t ignore that
there are people here that have
family there. This is very real,
and it brings it home.”
New Yorkers rally for Ukraine
BY DEAN MOSES
As Ukraine is being assaulted
on all fronts by
the Russian military, New
Yorkers marched from every
side of the city on Feb. 27 to
denounce Vladimir Putin and
his invasion of the sovereign,
eastern European country.
Gigantic protests have been
surging throughout the Big
Apple as citizens both with and
without ties to the embattled
country look to show solidarity
with the incomprehensible
human suffering.
On Feb. 27, New Yorkers
came from Uptown and Downtown
to show their support. Beginning
in Washington Square
Park with an NYU Russian Culture
Club fundraiser and rally,
hundreds descended on the
Greenwich Village commons.
Among them stood 41-yearold
Sarah Bachinger, whose
grandparents immigrated from
Ukraine. Recently she had been
reconnecting with her heritage
and family, yet what initially began
as a journey of self-discovery
soon descended into a heart
wrenching horror story which
forced her watch citizens handed
rifl es to defend their homes.
“It’s really hard watching everything
that’s going on and I’m
trying to do what I can being
here in the United States,” Bachinger
said, sharing that she traveled
from Albany to New York
City to join the support efforts.
While there have been prayer
services and community gatherings
upstate, Bachinger said she
wanted to do more and felt that
New York City was the place to
spread awareness.
A Russian-born protester,
who did not want to be identifi
ed, shared that he is a member
of an NYU Russian club and
yearned to showcase his support
for Ukraine while decrying the
atrocities being committed at
Putin’s direction.
“Russians these days feel like
Germans in 1939, and we feel
like we have to do something
to raise funds for the effort,” he
said, adding that he is Ukrainian,
but was born and raised
in Moscow. “It’s a mass suicide,
the guy Putin decided that he’s
like 70 years old it’s time to do
something to get into the history
books as a tyrant.”
Liza Pitts was born in the
United States but spent her
childhood in Russia where
many of her family members
A woman joins the protest with the Ukrainian colors painted
on her cheeks.
still reside.
“Not a single one of my family
members supports this war. You
would have to be crazy. You’d
have to be insane to support it.
Putin is not my president; he is
a dictator,” Pitts said. “He does
not have the interests of Russian
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
people in mind whatsoever. He’s
doing it for himself.”
In the late afternoon, hundreds
of protesters traveled
from Washington Square Park
to the Consulate General of
the Russian Federation on East
91st Street.
6 March 3, 2022 Schneps Media