Claire St. Amant: Former Peace Corps volunteer explains why it’s important to speak out now
Ukrainian protester gestures during a peaceful protest at Hrushevskoho Street
Ukrainians are no strangers to suffering in silence. When I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Ukraine, I rarely heard my friends complain about issues that would send Americans right over the edge, like not getting a paycheck or having the gas shut off during the middle of winter. But the latest actions of the Ukrainian government crossed a line that the people cannot — and should not — overlook. A decade after the Orange Revolution saw democracy take a stronghold in the former Soviet republic, Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych is leading the country back to Russia and away from the European Union.