Over the last few years, Ukraine has been battling Russia at its borders. Local community members have stood in solidarity with Ukraine since the war started in 2022.
Ukraine recently went on the offensive and attacked Moscow. Russian authorities said they destroyed all of those headed toward the country’s capital. In the past week, Ukraine also struck bridges, airfields and an oil depot.
Hawaiʻi’s Ukrainian community is gathering for a festival to mark Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24.
Lara Palafox from the group Hawaiʻi Stands With Ukraine estimates that at least 200 people have fled the war in Ukraine and come to Hawaiʻi.
"This day is extremely important, given the current circumstances of the invasion of Ukraine, where Russia is trying to take away the independence that Ukraine got back in 1991," Palafox said.
"The event is not just symbolic of this fight, but it's also very important for Ukrainians to come together and support each other, so, emotionally as well, and also as a way to be defiant and to show that our culture lives on, that it will not be destroyed and it will not be taken away."
The festival will include traditional food, dance activities and more on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand.
The group also plans to start a nonprofit Ukrainian Cultural Center for people to gather in the long term.
"This is a great opportunity to really just build a cultural center, a point where we can all sort of rally around and also to share our culture with the community," Palafox said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Aug. 23, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
