Sault’s Robert Peace of Rolling Pictures travels to Romania, Poland and possibly Ukraine on a mission of mercy to do all it can to help those fleeing the massacre in Ukraine. “I may not be able to carry anyone on my back, but I can still put a hand. “I can also help make a meal, set up a tent, drive a family away from evil and help someone who can’t walk well get to a bathroom,” Irene said. It will work with an NGO based outside Spain with strong links to Romania. It is currently assisting refugees entering Romania and Moldova from Ukraine. Peace will spend the Easter weekend with his family in Brantford. On Easter Monday (April 18th) he flies to Warsaw and then to Bucharest from where he will be sent where he needs it most. This will most likely be close to Odessa, which is close to the Romanian-Ukrainian border, and could become a major hotspot. “The vital port city of Odessa is Russian-speaking and could provide a connection to the Russian-occupied Transnistrian region of Moldova,” a recent news article in Air Force Magazine said. “Everything is very fluid,” said Pitch, who will spend five weeks on the mission. “Things change in an instant.” Why is Irene taking this big step in a difficult and potentially dangerous situation? “I’m 59. I’ve done a lot of things in life, but if I get the chance and find a team that does practical things on the ground, then it’s something I want to do.” Not everyone has the opportunity to provide assistance in such a practical way, but Peace has and his workplace has been very helpful. Peace hopes that everything will return to normal in Ukraine, but said that given the current situation and the disaster, it may take a generation or more to repair the damage. “Russia has realized that it is not going to occupy, so it will just destroy,” he said. Although his main purpose is to help, as a director, Peace will record the journey. “One of the things that really matters to me is reporting 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 those nations that shoulder most of the refugee wave. “We do not see much across the border on television, but a much bigger story is unfolding,” Peace added on his Gofundme page. He has contacted 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 destination. “This displacement is huge,” Peace said. Anyone interested in supporting Peace’s efforts can visit the Gofundme Page
