Support elders & families under threat in Ukraine

Yusim & Sophia Sobko

**UPDATE: Thank you for helping us more than double our initial goal of $5,000. Half of any proceeds above $10,380 will be directed to relief efforts in Ukraine. In solidarity with others who are in immediate crisis due to war, we will direct the remaining 50% of any funds raised above $10,380 to specified organizations providing war relief in the Global South (Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania). We will send more information when we select these organizations. Thank you!**

More than three decades ago our families fled the former Soviet Union, leaving behind their friends, relatives, and communities. They did this because the possibility of raising us, their children and grandchildren, under the constant threat of war, political instability, and antisemitism was too great to bear. While we honor their sacrifices, our hearts break for our friends, loved ones, and others who are now living amidst the realities of Russian aggression, yet another instance of global colonial and imperial violence.

 

We are in deep anguish at what we are witnessing from afar. We cry for the family members who are now suffering war, again, in their old age. In their lifetimes they have already endured Soviet state violence, including censorship, surveillance, famine, and ethnic oppression. They also lived through the second World War, which resulted in displacement and the murder of family members, including many at mass murder sites such as the one at Babi Yar. Our family members are buried at mass graves like this throughout the country.

 

Our remaining elders now subsist on meager pensions that barely cover medical and living expenses. Even before this week’s invasion, they relied on support from abroad for their survival. Now living under military attack, the economic and health realities are, and will continue to be, disastrous. Though some are starting to evacuate, many who are older, sick, disabled, and poor do not have this option. Aside from the threat of being bombed, we worry about how those who are isolated will access medicine, food, and other basic needs.

 

The two of us belong to Kolektiv Goluboy Vagon, a large network of queer and gender- marginalized post-Soviet Jews from across North America, with meaningful connections to individuals, families, and social service organizations on the ground. The group is dedicated to collective liberation from regimes of domination, including both the U.S. and Russia. 

 

Amidst our powerlessness and deep grief we know that one thing we can do is mobilize our communities to financially support those in need. We realize that raising money is never neutral, and we know many people around the world are suffering under imperialism and colonialism.  At the same time, today we ask for your help in raising funds that we will redistribute directly to vetted individuals, organizations, and projects on the ground in Ukraine. We are currently determining the specific organizations, individuals, and families that will receive these funds. We will proceed with great care and will post updates as soon as we can provide more details.

 

С любовью и благодарности (with love and gratitude),

Luba and Sophia (Sonya)