A special charitable action took place in Kyiv on Dec. 11 to raise money and awareness of the youngest victims of Russia’s mounting repression in occupied Crimea. There are at present at least 70 children whose fathers are imprisoned on politically motivated charges in Crimea or Russia. Their families need financial, as well as moral support, and there is also urgent need for publicity for such cases. Russia is increasingly using repressive measures it has applied with near impunity in its own country, and it is imperative that Ukrainians help ensure that it does not get away with similar behaviour in Crimea.
The action ‘Helping Hand’ was organized by the Mejlis, or representative assembly of the Crimean Tatar People, the Islamic Public Cultural Centre and other bodies. Handicrafts were on sale, with some made by well-known artists, while others were the work of Crimean children who are living, together with their families, in exile in Kyiv.
