Ball State undergraduate Andriy Kurasov and graduate student Svitlana Kominko regret not being able to stand on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine, with fellow citizens who are protesting the declared presidential election of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
But they are glad they can still show their support for the protest while on the Ball State campus.
Kurasov, who is from Berdyansk in eastern Ukraine, and Kominko, who is from Ternopil in western Ukraine, will run a donation booth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday in the Atrium to assist the protesters. The table will be covered by an orange cloth, representing the color of opposition toward Yanukovych.
"Many of my friends went to the capital (to protest). I really wanted to be there for them," Kurasov said. "This is something we can do to help these people even if we are not home with them."
Kurasov, an education major, said he and Kominko, who is working toward her master's degree in public relations, won scholarships from the Department of State, and Ball State selected them to study at the university. While they are from different parts of Ukraine, they share one common goal, Kurasov said.
"We both want the Democratic way of life," he said. "This is like a fight between past and future."
The massive street protests began when Yanukovych, who has an Authoritarian leadership style, was declared the winner of Ukraine's presidential election Nov. 24. Yushchenko, who has more of a Democratic leadership style, said massive vote fraud had taken place and claimed the election was rigged, according to CNN. The election commission said Yanukovych won the election with 49.46 percent of the vote to Yushchenko's 46.61 percent.
Kurasov said Ukraine's current administration even posed obstacles to Ukrainian citizens who wanted to vote absentee. For example, Kurasov and Kominko voted at a Ukrainian consulate in Chicago, one of the few places in the United States where Ukrainian citizens could vote. Kominko said Ukrainian citizens who live in Florida or areas in the South had to travel a distance to vote, which inconvenienced them. Because the majority of Ukrainian voters outside of the Ukraine would have voted for Yushchenko, such obstacles worked in Yanukovych's favor, Kominko said.
In Ukraine Friday, Yushchenko's supporters crowded outside key Ukraine government buildings, linking arms and standing in the cold as they encircled the Cabinet building in the center of Kiev, according to the Associated Press. According to CNN, protesters also used buses and vans, decorated in the orange color of Yushchenko's campaign, to block surrounding streets.
Kurasov said the number of protesters rose to at least half a million. Ukraine's population numbers about 47 million.
"All the central streets in Kiev are full of people," Kominko said. "This is the first time Ukraine got media attention all over the world."
Kominko said the protest was vital to keep Yanukovych away from the president's seat.
"Ukraine is in real danger," she said. "This is our last chance to get something new and to build our country."
While factories, businesses and citizens throughout Ukraine have helped donate food, clothes and medicine to protesters, Kurasov said he was glad donations collected at Ball State this week will also be transferred to Ukraine to assist protesters, particularly students. Kominko said most of the student protesters were from the Ukraine, though many students from surrounding areas are also gathering on the streets of Kiev.
"The students are living in tents," Kominko said. "No one could imagine the protest would last this long. It was spontaneous. Protesters brought resources to last two to three days. "
Kominko said she encouraged Ball State students to assist by giving donations this week to provide protesters with much needed resources and said she was glad she was helping to make a difference.
"It's hard to be away from home and just watch the news, and that's why we decided to do something," she said. "Ukraine needs our help."
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