With the Welsh Government having organised an event in Cardiff to mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine - the man-made Soviet famine which caused millions to die, North Wales MS and Shadow Social Justice Minister Mark Isherwood has highlighted the need for such events in the future to also be organised for North Wales and other Welsh regions.
The event in Cardiff will take place next Saturday, but Mr Isherwood is disappointed that only people in South Wales will have the opportunity to attend such a commemoration event.
Raising the matter when responding to the Social Justice Minister’s ‘Update on Ukraine’ Statement in today’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, he said:
“You rightly state that ‘Putin’s current atrocities in Ukraine are part of a long-term pattern of aggression against the people of Ukraine stretching back many decades’ and ‘this November marks the start of the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine’ - the man-made Soviet famine which caused millions to die. Although we welcome your organisation of a Holodomor commemoration event in Cardiff next Saturday, we also recognize the need for similar commemorations elsewhere in Wales. What consideration will you therefore give to organising such events in the future, in North Wales and other Welsh regions?”
Having previously highlighted in the Senedd the humanitarian efforts to help Ukrainian refugees by the Polish Integration Support Centre (PISC) in Wrexham and asked the Minister what engagement the Welsh Government has had with the Centre over their proposals for consolidated and sustainable support for Ukrainian people, Mr Isherwood called on the Minister to meet with the Centre in the New Year.
He also called for support for the Centre’s ‘Christmas Bridge’ Project, which is helping those in need in Ukraine.
He said:
“Yesterday, I again attended a meeting with PISC, Local Government and business representatives, other agencies and volunteers to discuss continuation of the humanitarian corridor organized by PISC to get vital supplies to specific charities supporting people in Ukraine, and in particular their “Christmas Bridge” Project, collecting shoebox donations for delivery to ‘someone in need in Ukraine this Christmas’, particularly 3,000 orphans living in basements due to air raids, but also older people, from the disabled people and soldiers in the trenches.
“They told me that they had not been contacted by you or your officials and asked me to ask you both whether you can use your position to help with their Christmas Bridge project and whether you will meet them in the New Year to discuss their continuing projects? I would therefore be grateful if you could also respond to these questions.”
Mr Isherwood also called on the Minister “to keep us updated on progress regarding a possible uplift to the monthly £350 payment to people hosting Ukrainians in their own homes”, and asked her to address the statement made by a Local Authority Housing Representative at this month’s meeting of the Cross-Party Group for North Wales “that there is incredible additional pressure because of homelessness” and having “also welcomed refugees from Ukraine”- and that “if refugees from Ukraine are housed by Housing Associations, this can create a perception to others that certain groups are being housed ahead of them”?