Copenhagen Pride sends their support to Ukrainian activists
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves every LGBTI+ person in Ukraine facing a humanitarian crisis on a scale we have not seen for decades. President Putin’s hatred of LGBTI+ people is well known and well evidenced, and we must show now that we stand in solidarity and with love for our LGBTI+ family in Ukraine.
On Saturday February 26, Copenhagen Pride together with European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) stood in vigil outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Copenhagen to show our support, and to call on every nation that values human rights to offer safety and shelter to LGBTI+ people fleeing Ukraine. We also continue to call on the Danish government to ensure that LGBTI+ refugees are welcomed here.
Board member of EPOA Steve Taylor was present at the vigil and said the following:
“LGBTI+ people are at enormous risk if Russia wins this battle. Yesterday, we spoke to colleagues in Kiev and Kharkiv, and this morning, one of them sent me this message: ‘As I am composing this address, I hear shootings, I hear explosions. It’s hard to work, hard even to make even a simple decision. Many people have fled, others have sheltered locally. At the moment, we’re trying to orient ourselves in our conditions and think about ourselves, our family and our community.”
EPOA are collecting donations that will go directly to Kyiv Pride and Kharkiv Pride, both organizations that are supporting the Ukrainian LGBTI+ community with necessities such as psychological support, clothes, and medicine.
At Copenhagen Pride, we also want to show our support, and we have therefore contribution with 50.000 DKK to the collection. We also used our Winter Pride After Party last Saturday to gather donations, which meant that an additional 3.000 DKK came in via MobilePay.
It is still possible to make a donation to EPOA via this link, or you can transfer any amount to Copenhagen Pride via MobilePay: 95514. All funds will go directly to Kyiv Pride and Kharkiv Pride.
“There are people in this world that want to create war instead of peace. We are here today to show them that we who support peace will always be stronger than they are. When they show discord, we call for unity. When they sow hatred, we reach out with compassion. Both in Ukraine and in Russia, there are people who would be stood here today if they had the chance – if people are for peace, you are with us,” said political chair of Copenhagen Pride Lars Henriksen at the vigil.
Many organizations are currently doing all they can do help. You can donate to LGBT+ Denmark’s support for Ukranian LGBTI+ people here and read more about what LGBT Asylum plan on doing to support Ukranian LGBTI+ refugees here. A huge thanks goes to our collaborator SLM Denmark, who have generously donated €1,000 to EPOAs fundraiser.
