No.125 Ukraine humanitarian aid donation

On February 24th, contrary to expectations, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. After learning that many people, mainly women and children, had begun to evacuate abroad, we felt the need for support and decided to start collecting funds on March 1st.

Initially, the deadline was March 31st for the funds to be transferred to the embassy's designated account, but some people suggested that donations be made at the cherry blossom and pear blossom festival venues, so the deadline was postponed until April 3rd. Did.

Afterwards, young people from the Inagi Junior Chamber held a fundraiser at the train station, and various civic groups including the Inagi Peace Concert Executive Committee, Inagi City Flower Arranging Association, and the Hirao Housing Neighborhood Association also held their own fundraising activities. They went and participated in the city's fundraising efforts.

We decided to use the money we had collected so far to send the money, and since this was a great opportunity, we considered visiting the Ukrainian embassy and handing it over directly. However, I couldn't get through to the embassy by phone, so I was trying to figure out which connections I could make.

By the way, since the year before last, Inagi City has been holding a rice-growing event with the aim of passing down rice farming, a traditional Japanese culture, to future generations. Last year, a large number of Ukrainian embassy staff came to help with rice planting and harvesting. In particular, during the autumn rice harvesting, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sergiy Korsunsky himself visited the rice fields and had the privilege of harvesting the rice with me.

In fact, because of this fortuitous connection, we started collecting funds immediately after the invasion of Ukraine.We consulted with the executive committee of "Everyone's Fujisan Earth Festa WA," which is in charge of this rice-growing event, and visited the Ukrainian embassy. I received a promise.

On April 19th, we visited the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan in Nishi-Azabu, met with His Excellency Sergiy Korsunsky, and presented him with an inventory of the donations he received from the humanitarian aid fundraiser in Inagi City.

No matter how safe Japan is, my home country is at war, so I was hesitant about what kind of expression I should make when meeting the ambassador. However, even though I was wearing a mask, they remembered my face and greeted me with a smile as soon as I entered the room.

In my opinion, this invasion by Russia is an unforgivable outrage and should be condemned internationally. Even if Russia had a point in the long historical relationship between the two countries, in the modern society of the 21st century, I have stated that military invasions of independent and sovereign states should never be allowed, and even more so, that the massacre of non-combatants is absolutely unacceptable.

The Ambassador replied that he hopes there will be a ceasefire soon and that he will be able to go back to Inagi City to plant rice.

We feel the same way. Although there is only so much the city can do, we will continue our fundraising efforts and hope for a ceasefire as soon as possible.