Exhibit highlights tragic loss of young Ukrainian lives

“Don’t let the world forget about us.”

Those are the words Marta Krueger thinks about when she looks at the faces of 36 young Ukrainians killed since Feb. 24 of 2022.

The photos and stories are part of an exhibit being shown at the STM Gallery and sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students’ Association (USUSA) and the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage (PCUH).

Titled Unissued Diplomas, the exhibit is being installed at universities across Canada in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the most recent attack on Ukraine by Russia.

“This exhibit is in memory of 36 Ukrainian students whose lives were brutally taken by Russian aggression before they were able to receive their educational diplomas and degrees,” Krueger said. “These students are the same ages as many of the students here at STM College. So it’s important for us to bring the realization that this is happening to real people.”

Krueger, who is the co-president of USUSA, said working hard to get an education is something she and her peers are all familiar with, so having it taken away from you so quickly and easily is horrifying.

Ivanna Obadzinka was a 19-year-old mother of twins balancing her studies at Polissia National University with raising a family when when two Russian bombs killed her and her two young children.

Hennadiy Havrashenko was 18 when Russian soldiers shot up the car in which he was riding. He loved fishing and wanted to become a mechanic, like his father.

“Reading each of these stories about where they were, what they were interested in and what happened when they were killed, brings a moment of intense sadness,” said Krueger.

“One of the biggest things that our friends and family in Ukraine routinely tell us when we ask what we can do to help, is ‘Don’t let the world forget about us.’ So, it’s important for us to continue being a voice for them so that we can continue to find ways to help support and motivate our government to support Ukraine. Because without this external help it’s never going to end.”

“And without the reoccurring reminders through social media, through exhibits like this, people will forget and then that’s when we lose. And quite honestly, we can’t afford to lose, because it affects too many innocent lives.”

Dr. Nadya Foty-Oneschuk, professor of Ukrainian Studies and Interim Director of PCUH, said the exhibit is a way to make the war in Ukraine feel real for those of us living half a world away.

She said with the inevitable fatigue that comes with seeing similar headlines day after day, this is one way to keep awareness of the suffering at the forefront.

“I think seeing these faces and reading a little bit about how they lived their lives, and then how their lives were taken, is a very powerful thing.”

PCUH is also co-sponsoring another moving exhibit that brings the war in Ukraine home to Saskatoon.

Doors: Through the Horrors of War is an installation by Toronto artist Ruslan Kurt that brings eight doors – some damaged and burned – from Ukrainian homes, theatres, hospitals and schools.

“These doors tell the story of Russian aggression in a very visceral, tactile way,” said Foty-Oneschuk. “Some of them were burned, some of them are bullet-ridden, some of them are completely shattered.”

“You can actually smell them. That was probably the most jarring part, when I first saw them, I didn’t expect that sensory thing. It brings it to life an entirely different way.”

Doors: Through the Horrors of War is at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada at 910 Spadina Crescent East until April 29.

Krueger said for people interested, one of the best ways to ensure your donation is going to help Ukraine is to go through the Ukrainian Canadian Congress website. There are a wide range of certified organizations that are raising money for everything from providing humanitarian relief to military support. (visit: ucc.ca)

Unissued Diplomas is on display at the STM Gallery until Sunday, April 2, and will also be available on the St. Thomas More College website as a slideshow for those who can’t attend in person.

Krueger said its important to honour the memories of the thousands of Ukrainian victims of war represented by the 36 students featured in the exhibit. And to realize more names are still being added to the list of dead.

“People are still losing their lives, every single day.”

 

 

View the slideshow:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/188936721@N05/albums/72177720307084964/with/52777389491/

 

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2657389

https://globalnews.ca/news/9578901/unissued-diploma-exhibit-university-of-saskatchewan/