Over 50 people, mostly in swimsuits and barefoot, gathered on the sands near the Leeway Sailing Center in Long Beach on Sunday, April 24 for a “Paddle for Peace” event in support of Ukraine.
“I ask all of you to keep Ukraine in your hearts until this is over no matter how long it takes because those people need you,” said Yevgeniya Pokhylko, a Ukrainian immigrant and Long Beach resident. “My family needs you, my friends need you, we all need you and we’re so thankful you’re supporting us.”
After speeches by the Ukrainian attendees and comments from the public, people moved their paddleboards into the water to begin the “Paddle for Peace.”
As the paddleboards entered the water, the coastal breeze fluttered the small Ukrainian flags standing at the end of each one.
“I want to emphasize how important events like this are, because war wants us devastated, war wants us to suffer, war doesn’t want us to enjoy life,” Prokopenko said to the crowd. “[…] We have to show war that we won’t suffer, we deserve happiness and we will take it.”
Russian military forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, aiming to overthrow Ukraine’s democratically elected government.
Between Feb. 24 and March 31, around 10.5 million people were displaced and 13 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance due to the invasion, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Now as Ukrainians we are very scared this war is going to become a habit,” Pokhylko said. “People are going to start to forget about it, start to move on with their lives because we can only take so much bad news. But every time I want you to think that people there don’t have that choice. They don’t have the opportunity to forget about war, to move on, to live their lives.”
Ivan Prokopenko, a Ukrainian student studying at CSULB, told the crowd that he recently learned a former classmate of his had died in the war.
“It’s a really strange feeling because you know this person for years, […] you go to camps, you do activities with him and now he’s gone,” Prokopenko said.
According to the United Nations, as of April 21, a recorded 2,345 civilians have been killed and 2,919 have been injured since the invasion began.
“Just seeing all the things happening right now to my country, to my family, to my friends is devastating,” said Andrii Avdieichyk, a Ukrainian immigrant and Long Beach resident.
