His name is Peace and he is heading for war.
Robert Peace of Rolling Pictures from The Sault goes to Romania, Poland and probably Ukraine on a charity mission to do what he can to help those fleeing the massacre in Ukraine.
“I may not be able to carry someone on my back, but I can still lend a hand. However, I can help prepare food, set up a tent, banish the family from evil, and help someone who can’t walk well get to the bathroom, “Pease said.
He will work with a non-governmental organization based in Spain that has strong ties to Romania. He is currently helping refugees entering Romania and Moldova from Ukraine.
Peace will spend the Easter weekend with his family in Brantford.
On Easter Monday (April 18th), he will fly to Warsaw and then to Bucharest, from where he will be sent where he is most needed.
This will probably be close to Odessa, which is close to the Romanian-Ukrainian border and could become a major hot spot.
“The important port city of Odessa is Russian-speaking and can provide links to the Russian-occupied Transnistrian region of Moldova,” a recent news article in Air Force Magazine said.
“Everything is very smooth,” said Pease, who will spend five weeks on the mission. “Things are changing in an instant.”
Why is Peace taking this big step in a difficult and probably dangerous situation?
“I’m 59. I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but if I have the opportunity and find a group that does practical things on the spot, that’s something I want to do.”
Not everyone has the opportunity to help in such a practical way, but Peace has it and his workplace is very kind.
Peace wants everything back to normal in Ukraine, but he said that given the current situation and the devastation, it could take a generation or more to repair the damage.
“Russia has realized that it will not occupy, so it will simply destroy,” he said.
Although his main goal is to help, as a director, Peace will document the journey.
One of the things that is really important to me is to report to the community, “he said.
“There are huge challenges when you live in a country that has just found itself with one, two or three million more people overnight,” he wrote of these nations, which have taken over most of the refugee wave. “We don’t see very far beyond the border crossings on television, but a much bigger story is unfolding,” Peace added on its Gofundme page.
He turned to MP Terry Sheehan and the city to discuss providing assistance to people who want to come to Canada.
It is possible that some Ukrainian refugees will choose Canada as their permanent place of residence.
“This shift is huge,” Pease said.
Anyone interested in supporting Peace’s efforts can visit the Gofundme website
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