Cubans of Russian descent oppose their own country’s decision to invade Ukraine, and are caught between their love for their country and the “shame” of the aftermath of the war.
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“It simply came to our notice then that my country of origin was doing this. There is anger, shame, guilt, ”said Marina Monosova. Adopted from Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Wednesday morning, Montreal has trouble sleeping and concentrating on work.
The 51-year-old, who immigrated to Canada in 2002, has always been wary of Vladimir Putin while living in Moscow with her husband. He had decided at the time to leave the country because of the Russian president.
“It’s natural to love your country, its culture and talk about it with pride,” he says, but he believes it will be very difficult to do so anymore.
Russians, but against Putin
While some citizens of Russian descent were not opposed to Putin’s military intervention, the majority did. Newspaper Did not accept this war.
27-year-old Darya Simonova has also been immersed in a sense of “shame” for a few days. “I am just happy to be free.
“I like to hear that the Qupers don’t [la communauté originaire de Russie] Blame their government for helping the Ukrainians, ”said the Siberian-born woman who immigrated to Canada in 2016.
“The big problem is, we’re afraid to stand up,” he said. He highlighted, among other things, the massive arrests made during recent anti-war protests in Russia. It’s not our fault that our government is doing this, it is our responsibility to allow it to happen. “
Vadim, who wanted to hide his family name for fear of retaliation against his family in Russia, is worried about what people will think of him.
“I’m afraid people will suspect me because I’m Russian,” he says.
“My main message is that the people have more sympathy for the Russians and that the Government of Canada accepts Russians against war,” he added. A 40-year-old man from the St. Petersburg area fears he will never see his family back in Russia because he does not want to be part of a possible mobilization in the Russian military.
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