For the past two years, a small but dedicated group stand in solidarity with Ukraine outside Kamloops City Hall for one hour every week. We wave flags and wear yellow and blue to voice our ongoing solidarity with Ukrainian people facing invasion and war.
Lately, we’ve noticed a worrying shift while the number of people attending the gathering is increasing however it is not the case of visible support. Where once a majority of passing cars honked or gestured thanks and support, now only about a third demonstrate solidarity, and few just pass by. Thank you to Don and Alana, who collected this observational data. Further, a small but vocal minority has taken to yelling for us to focus on “local” concerns or “go back where we came from” (90% of people who stand with Ukraine in Kamloops are Canadian citizens as for people of Ukraine hearing those words and seeing fingers towards their flag can be extremely traumatic as they try to find refuge in the community).
This declining public backing for Ukraine, even in our small Canadian town, is a sobering trend. It likely indicates war fatigue, or that people have simply forgotten about the ongoing struggles happening a world away. However, we cannot afford to ignore or forget Ukraine. The illegal war and humanitarian crisis rages on, with casualties mounting by the day. Canada has the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world and many Canadians stand daily with Ukraine. As such, we are boosting our outreach to regain focus on the Ukrainian cause. Here is what you can do to renew support and engagement in our community:
Share our social media posts, photos of our weekly stands online. Thank you Juliana, for taking the photo below. Use the hashtag #KamloopsStandWithUkraine to spread the message.
Lets create flyers around town to raise awareness about key issues and facts and remind people of Kamloops that the war is ongoing. Hand them out to friends and family members too. Let me know if you want to join the flyer creators team
Volunteer to hold flags with us for one hour/week outside city hall or let us know where you can do it in your local neighbourhood so we can promote your initiative. Swell our numbers with fresh faces and solidarity.
Create new signs to share the impacts of russian aggression on people of Ukraine and global communities worldwide. Global and local interconnectedness education is important. If anyone has artistic talent let me know.
Write a letter to local media outlets suggesting they interview volunteers or do a story about our two years of consecutive solidarity stands. When the media stops writing about Ukraine, we notice the decline in solidarity.
Every small act of support or education around the ongoing invasion of Ukraine is so valuable – it creates awareness at the grassroots level to influence our leadership’s decisions on the global stage.
We know two years is too long for any country to endure siege and destruction. We will stand until russian invaders “will go back where they came from”. By renewing attention and engagement, our community can play a small role in standing strong with the people of Ukraine until peace prevails. Thank you to all who take valuable time from your busy schedule and come to city hall every Saturday to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Please use this visually appealing post to share on your social media:
Kamloops Stands with Ukraine 🇺🇦 For 719 days and counting, we’ve stood in solidarity
📍 For the past two years, a small but dedicated group stands in solidarity with Ukraine outside Kamloops City Hall for one hour every week.
🌻 We wave flags and wear yellow and blue to voice our ongoing solidarity with Ukrainian people facing invasion and war.
🚩 Lately, we’ve noticed a worrying shift – while more people attend, visible support declines. Where once most cars honked thanks, now only about a third demonstrate solidarity.
☮️ A small but vocal minority yells for us to focus on “local” concerns and even to “go back where we came from” – extremely hurtful words.
📉 This declining public backing for Ukraine likely indicates war fatigue. However, we cannot afford to ignore or forget Ukraine.
🇨🇦 As Canada has the world’s largest Ukrainian diaspora, we must renew our outreach and support.
Here’s what YOU can do:
🔁 Share our social media posts using #KamloopsStandWithUkraine
📰 Help create flyers to raise awareness about key issues and facts
🙌 Volunteer to hold flags with us for one hour per week
🖌 Create new signs about the impacts of russia’s aggression
✍️ Write letters suggesting media interview volunteers or do a story
Every small act of solidarity creates awareness and influences decisions. We will stand until russia leaves Ukraine. Thank you to all who stand with us each week – let’s renew attention on this illegal war!
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