Close to 250 people from Livingston and nearby towns attended a rally at the Oval on Saturday afternoon in support of Ukraine.Many in the crowd called out “Slava Ukraini,” meaning “Glory to Ukraine,” and hummed along with a recording of the Ukrainian anthem.The rally had been organized in three days by Ruslan Karpenko and other members of the Livingston Ukranian community, along with Max Ryvkin from Westfield.“We are constantly looking for support, and to raise awareness and information,” said Karpenko. Community leaders attending theCommunity leaders attending the rally included Deputy Mayor Michael Vieira, Council members Shawn Klein, Al Anthony, and Rudy Fernandez, Essex County commissioner Pat Sebold, Board of Education member Samantha Messer, and assemblyman John McKeon. Mayor Ed Meinhardt was out of town.“Our community is a mix of nationalities, cultures, races, religions… whenever somebody attacks one part of the community, we come together,” Vieira said. “Today, there’s an attack on our Ukrainian friends.”On Monday, the Township Council passed a resolution “condemning the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and supporting its citizens in pursuing democracy and independence.”The speakers told the audience not to blame the people of Russia, but to blame its president.“People in Russia have no idea what is happening,” noted Karpenko, since its government blocked social media and shut down independent mass media.Anna Tomko of Millburn is a member of the Board of the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey (UACCNJ) in Whippany. Her parents came to the U.S. in 1949 as small children, and she described this fourth wave of immigrants coming to the U.S. from Ukraine.“It’s not just the Ukrainian Catholics from the West,” Tomko said. “We have Russians, we have people of Jewish descent, we have Muslims.”When Governor Phil Murphy, Senator Robert Menendez, and Senator Cory Booker visited the cultural center Saturday at noon, Tomko said, they spoke with the students and parents at the school.“We were moved not simply by their words… but what actions they are planning on taking,” she said, and related a comment from a five year old boy in the school: “It’s not Russians, it’s Putin.”Drives for medical and other necessities are taking place at the UACCNJ. Trucks are filling up with humanitarian supplies; financial donations are also needed.“We appreciate all the work being done by our local community leaders with these rallies,” said Tomko. “The more support we can gain… to understand the atrocity that’s happening there…”Echoing the ...
