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Transcript/ScriptUKRAINIAN - GUATEMALA
HEAD: In Guatemala, One Woman’s Fight for Ukrainian Refugees has Global Reach
TEASER: Spanish language Facebook group launched to fight disinformation becomes portal for connecting lost family members, rideboard for aid, refugees in transit
PUBLISHED AT: 03/30/2022 at 11am
BYLINE: Eugenia Sagastume
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Guatemala City, Guatemala
VIDEOGRAPHER: Eugenia Sagastume
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS: (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st); cobus
TRT: 2:20
VID APPROVED BY: KE
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
[[As millions of Ukrainians flee their homes and many are caught in the crossfire of an unprovoked war, there has been an outpouring of support from people around the world. One Ukrainian woman in Guatemala has mobilized the online community to help Ukrainians. For VOA News Eugenia Sagastume has the story.]]
((NARRATOR))
Originally from Ukraine, Viktoriya Yanytska moved to Guatemala with her family as a teenager. Fourteen years later, the 28-year-old architect has made a new life here for herself and her young son. But she has relatives in Ukraine and is worried.
((Viktoriya Yanytska, Ukrainian living in Guatemala)) ((IN SPANISH))
“The first few days I cried, we all cried, but I can't cry anymore. I feel this is not the time to say, ‘someone else can do something.’ God willing, if I can do something, I feel that that’s what counts right now.”
((NARRATOR))
Thousands of miles from the bombs and bullets, Viktoriya decided to take up another type of fight: one against disinformation.
((Viktoriya Yanytska, Ukrainian living in Guatemala)) ((IN SPANISH))
“The first action I took the night the war started was to create the Facebook group ‘We are all Ukrainians’ to share information for the Spanish-speaking population.”
((NARRATOR))
She was surprised by the overwhelming response.
((Viktoriya Yanytska, Ukrainian living in Guatemala)) ((IN SPANISH))
“At first the idea was just sharing information. But then, people who needed help started writing to me. Others offered me homes where people could stay in Spain. I don't know how my messages reached Spain. Perhaps because it was a Spanish- language group or maybe because I sent links to all the groups I had access to. They have written to me from Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia.”
((NARRATOR))
Viktoriya has become a connector for a growing online community that is trying to help people who are looking for relatives in Ukraine.
((Viktoriya Yanytska, Ukrainian living in Guatemala)) ((IN SPANISH))
"The purpose of this is to support each other. But we also share information from other pages, and we try to unify all the information we have, so it can be more useful."
((NARRATOR)) ((Video courtesy: Viktoriya Yanytska))
After coordinating support from afar, Viktoriya is traveling to Poland to help refugees. She also went to Ukraine to arrange transportation to where her brother and father currently live to arrange transportation for women and children seeking to leave the country.
((Viktoriya Yanytska, Ukrainian living in Guatemala)) ((IN SPANISH)) ((Video courtesy: Viktoriya Yanytska))
“Greetings from Ukraine.... We were able to rescue a sick child and his mother from Kyiv and we took him to Lviv. We managed to load the ambulance with humanitarian aid and medicine. We are going to take it to the most affected areas. We keep working, we keep fighting. I want to thank everyone for continuing to support us, for praying for us. It's very important.”
((For Eugenia Sagastume in Guatemala City, Veronica Villafañe VOA News.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Guatemala City, Guatemala
Embargo DateMarch 30, 2022 20:36 EDT
BylineEugenia Sagastume in Guatemala City, Veronica Villafañe VOA News.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
