When Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley’s grandfather turned 13, he came to the United States from Ukraine.
It was not out of choice, but a desperate attempt to flee from Russians who were invading Kyiv, the capital city.
Her great-grandmother put the 13-year-old Poppy Murray Lax on a boat and sent him to the U.S., without a penny in his pocket and without him speaking a word of English.
Her grandfather learned to sew and helped push a vendor cart to make money and survive in the U.S.
Dudley remembers hearing her grandfather tell the story, thinking a war like that was historic, and would not repeat itself.
“It’s happening again,” Dudley said Monday. “Russians are going into Ukraine and killing Ukrainian people, women and children.”
As she fought back tears, Dudley spoke into the bullhorn, “I am so sorry, Poppy, I am so sorry.”
Dudley was among some 350 people who gathered at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse on Monday to bring attention to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She spoke from the heart about the Russian attack on the country.
Dozens of people carried signs and shouted disparaging comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin. The World Dance For Humanity participated and led the crowd in a dance to support the Ukrainian people.
Among those who spoke was Tatyana Taruta, who has immediate family that lives in the Ukraine.
Her parents, sister, nephews, and friends are in the Ukraine.
“They are now hiding in bomb shelters,” Taruta said.
She said her friends used guns and went into the streets to fight the Russian professional army.
“They are so brave,” Taruta said. “The bravery and courage of our Ukrainian soldiers, or our Ukrainian people, is so inspiring to me, to the whole world.”
She said the situation in the Ukraine is very serious, and that “every hour the Russian Army is bombing civilians.”
Several elected officials and activists attended the event, including First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams, and Santa Barbara City Council members Oscar Gutierrez and Meagan Harmon.
Williams said America is a great country, but one of its flaws is that people don’t remember the past.
“We need to remember that it is not just Ukraine that is under assault,” Williams said. “It is our system of government. It is democracy that is under assault.”
He said democracy is being attacked “here and abroad,” and that Ukraine is fighting “our fight, over our way of life.”
Williams called Putin “an evil dude,” and said the American people stand with Ukraine.
Former California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson roused up the crowd with a fiery speech. She said she has family from Russia and Ukraine who came to the U.S. 100 years ago.
“We are all part of this human family,” Jackson said. “We are all Ukrainian at this moment.”
Jackson turned to Williams and said, “You call Putin, evil, he’s a thug. Let’s face it, the man is a thug.”
She said if Putin had his way, he’d be controlling all of Eastern Europe and even the world.
“I stand here as a proud member of the Santa Barbara community, in support of our brothers and sisters who are living in fear of their lives, as a result of this unconscionable act by a dictator,” Jackson said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
