Mother's Day: Mothers rally for Ukraine at State Capitol
AUSTIN, Texas - The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for more than two years now.
With Mother's Day on Sunday, women from Austin's Ukrainian community held a rally to let their sisters living in Ukraine know that they're thinking about them.
"We came to ask Americans to keep standing with us, to keep calling representatives and senators, asking to support Ukraine, to support Ukrainian people who want to flee the war," said Kate Voinova, co-organiser of Ukrainian rallies in Austin.
Most of the women who attended Saturday's rally are mothers themselves.
"My mom stayed in Ukraine. But I'm a mom too. I have three children. Yes. And my one, my older daughter, stayed in Poland, and the other two children are here with me," said Marina Koval, a Ukrainian mother.
Katarina Voinova has Ukrainian ancestry. She recently gave birth to a baby girl three months ago, but after seeing the conflict overseas, she fears her newborn will not recognize the country she's familiar with.
"She is American, you know, but my biggest wish to bring her to peaceful and beautiful Ukraine and to show her the beauty of the mountains, you know, the beauty of our architecture," Voinova said.
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People in Ukraine don't typically observe Mother's Day, but seeing the ongoing issue of young children being separated from their parents, the Austin Texas Ukrainian women's group wanted to use the occasion to shine a light on what's happening.
"They're having a very hard time coping and adjusting to living under war conditions where their life is in danger at any moment. So it's really wonderful to have this kind of support from the community here where they want to help," Stephanie Dowbsz, another Ukrainian mother, said.
The main message these women want Ukrainian mothers to know is they support them, not just on Mother's Day, but every day as the war continues.