In Chicago, one of the most populated areas of Ukrainian descent in the United States, unusual protests were held to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and appeal for support for Ukraine.
According to the Chicago media on the 8th, on the afternoon of the previous day, hundreds of women in pure white dresses gathered at Michigan Avenue, the busiest downtown area of Chicago, and held a silent protest, attracting the attention of shoppers and tourists.
The protesters, made up of Ukrainian women and supporters, demanded that Russia be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, wearing inappropriate white dresses and chanting slogans with tapes over their mouths, hanging large cardboards with various protest slogans around their necks.
Protesters lined up in front of the tourist attraction ‘Water Tower’ on Michigan Avenue, Chicago’s busiest street, and joined hands to form a ‘human chain’ to express solidarity with their home country, and marched around the Chicago River to Millennium Park, an urban park.
They also performed a performance symbolizing the victims of Ukrainian civilians at Millennium Park.
The Chicago Tribune said the protesters did not speak, but the message was clear.
Lilia Popovich, one of the protesters, said: “I’m here to demand that American citizens and the US government designate Russia as a ‘state of terror’. It’s not war, it’s terrorism.”
He said, “It has been 11 years since I immigrated to the United States from Ukraine. I have family and friends there,” he said.
Protester Tetania Baidin drew attention by hanging a large cardboard around her neck with the words “I want to say more about Russian terrorism, but ‘sensitive content’ on social media (I can’t continue)”.
The Chicago Sun Times explained that it was a criticism of the Russian government’s tightening of control over content related to the invasion of Ukraine.
“Some of the events held in Ukraine are blocked from viewing by the public,” the organizers said. “I was inspired to plan the silent protest.”
“We live our lives believing that the world is safe, but in reality, it is not. If terrorism does not stop in Ukraine, we never know who the next victim will be,” they said.
The demonstrators removed the large tape covering their mouths when they dispersed, sang the American national anthem and then the Ukrainian national anthem in turn before dispersing.
The organizing committee predicted that “another demonstration will continue to condemn Russia and raise awareness.”
According to the U.S. federal census data, there are about 1,110,000 Ukrainians in the U.S., accounting for 0.3% of the total population. About 350,000 U.S. immigrants were born in Ukraine.