‘They are calling it a revolution’
Waterloo Region Record
WATERLOO — Walt Semeniuk wanted to see the turmoil with his own eyes.
So the Waterloo man got on a plane last Thursday night and by Friday night he was in the middle of Kyiv, Ukraine, where thousands gather each day in protest of President Viktor Yanukovych and his government.
He was there on Sunday when 20,000 people stood in Kyiv’s Independence Square.
“I felt in my heart that I had to go and see it for myself,” said Semeniuk, 59, who was born in Canada but is of Ukrainian heritage. He returned home Monday.
The square, in the middle of the city, is now a sea of tents with protesters occupying the area. The city is a maze of barricades with riot police watching over the protesters.
“People are camped out and they are not leaving until the president steps down,” said the father of three adult children. His son, John, who teaches in Kyiv, lives there with his wife who is expecting their first baby in May.
Yanukovych is facing calls to step down in protests that have spread from the capital to other cities since his rejection of a European Union association pact in November.
Yanukovych was to sign the long-awaited trade deal with the European Union, but instead chose stronger ties with Russia.
At least eight people have been killed during protests and a number of government buildings across the country have been occupied.
Semeniuk said he walked around the square and spoke to many who have left their homes to live in tents.
“They say, ‘We are here for the future, for the freedom of our children’ ” he said. “They are committed to fight. They are calling it a revolution.”
Semeniuk said the people are united and some will stay until their demands are met.
Each day, a group of women known as the Mothers of the Revolution stand before the riot police holding signs that say, ‘Don’t kill our children.’
“It’s like a war zone,” Semeniuk said.
Semeniuk said he hopes to return to Ukraine in April. He believes change is inevitable.
“This is history. It’s truly going to change the country,” said Semeniuk, who has grown to love his homeland after more than 50 visits there.
“I want them to see and realize what true democracy is, and the youth to realize their potential,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.”
When Semeniuk returns to Ukraine, he will be going with others to finish renovations in a hospital lab.
He’s active with the Loads of Love Humanitarian Aid and Mission Society and has collected money for orphanages, hospitals and youth camps in Ukraine.
At his church, he collected $20,000 during a Sunday service from members.
Last March, he was in Gaza and raised money to buy fridges for Muslim families who couldn’t afford the appliances. He’s also been to Thailand and Vietnam and plans to go to Syria in April and Malawi, Africa, in the summer.
“I have a desire to help others anyway I can,” he said.
Twitter: @MonteiroRecord