As beneficiaries of living in a 250-year-old democracy, we have a unique responsibility to stand for freedom and democracy whenever we can.
On July 6 at the State Capitol, we can attend an event meant to raise awareness about the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
There will be a display that has only been shown in DC and Los Angeles. We are fortunate to have this event right here in Sacramento. It is a 230-foot-long display of 20,000 teddy bears meant to stand for the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. In March of 2023, Russia claimed to have “rescued” 700,000 children. The real number of abducted children by now would be an installation that would stretch many, many times as long as the main span of the Golden Gate Bridge.
In addition to these abducted children, there are 1.6 million children living under Russian rule in occupied territories. The abducted children are robbed of their identities, suffer war crimes and crimes against humanity, and are forced to fight alongside Russians against their motherland, Ukraine.
This installation is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The official program begins at 5:00 p.m. Remarks from elected officials and a press conference will begin at 6:00 p.m. The program concludes at 7:30 p.m.
The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated. The sanctions against Russia have been partially lifted until August 26, to deal with the oil shortage. Two large Russian oil refineries, Gazprom and Rosneft, were found by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab to be responsible for abducting, housing and re-programming 2,158 children. CHILDREN CANNOT BE TOOLS OF WAR. Your presence at this event is a great way to raise your voice for freedom, democracy, and the non-negotiable rights of children.
By Nancy Fischer, Woodland