The protest, which filled Brno’s centre, was organized by the Ukrainian Initiative of South Moravia and was attended by Masaryk University leaders.
The first to speak was Iryna Zabiiaka from the Ukrainian Initiative of South Moravia, who also led the entire protest. She thanked everyone for their support and welcomed on the stage Mayor Markéta Vaňková, Deputy Mayor Petr Hladík, and Rector Martin Bareš from MU.
In a highly emotional speech, the mayor described what city hall was doing. “We have allocated 10 million crowns from the municipal budget for financial support,” she said, before describing other forms of assistance for Ukraine that Brno is currently planning. “The Czech Republic, Brno, you, and I – we all know very well what we never want to lose. Freedom,” added the mayor.
MU Rector Martin Bareš shared his opinion and that of the university on the war in Ukraine, outlining the assistance that MU is planning or already offering through MUNI HELPS. He also described the financial aid programmes for educational and humanitarian programmes that MU has established.
“Of course, the university has collected less money than the Czech humanitarian NGO People in Need, but every crown counts, and Masaryk University will donate this money wherever it is most needed. To our friends in beleaguered Ukraine, part of which belonged to the Czechoslovak Republic before 1945. What is happening today will have long-term consequences. And I believe that in the end truth and love will prevail over lies and hatred. Glory to Ukraine!”
Martin Bareš was accompanied to the demonstration by MU Vice-rector for Student and Alumni Affair Simona Koryčánková.
MU graduate from Ukraine: I am grateful you have stood up for Ukraine
Mariya Wazi, the cofounder of the Ukrainian Initiative of South Moravia and alumnus of MU’s Faculty of Social Studies, also addressed the crowd. “As I stand here, my friends from kindergarten, my friends from high school in Kherson, are right now making Molotov cocktails that they are hiding in basements with their young children, who are the same age as mine. But they are hanging in. Just like how my grandmother and grandfather, who don’t go down into the basement from the fifth storey of their block of flats in Kherson, but sit at home in their flat, drinking beer and eating Ukrainian fish, saying, ‘Putin won’t get us!’ And I believe it. I received a degree in social policy and social work from Masaryk University. It was an honour for me to do my PhD there and help all kinds of people, both abroad and here in the Czech Republic. I have to say that my home is both Ukraine and the Czech Republic. I have lots of friends here. I have a good life here. And today, especially today, I am very grateful that you have stood up for Ukraine Thank you all.”
Translator and teacher Anna Agapová took to the stage and spoke about how Russian citizens living in Brno view the situation. “Many Russians who are standing here, who live here, are against this war. This war is a tragedy we share. With pain and shame, we are becoming witnesses of how the Russian regime suppresses democracy. How it threatens democratic Ukraine, how it threatens democratic Europe, the entire world,” she said.
Also addressing the demonstrators were the Ukrainian consul in Brno, Anna Proshko; theatre director Břetislav Rychlík, who in the past staged a play by Václav Havel in Ukraine; Lucie Řehoříková, who worked at the Czech Centre in Kiev; Barbora Antonová, who taught in Ukraine; David Butula from the Memory of Nations organization in South Moravia; Robert Vlček from the Nesehnutí organization; and Siarhei Smatrychenka from the Belarussian community.
At the end of the protest, Sergei Derda from the choir of the National Theatre Brno sang the Ukrainian national anthem.
MUNI HELPS UKRAINE. You can help Ukrainian students and academics by donating money to support educational and humanitarian efforts. You can make a donation through the MU Shopping Center. You can find out how much money has been collected so far on the MUNI HELPS website.