As a result of “Charity auction of dates”, students of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy collected UAH 10,000 to support the families of political prisoners in Crimea. This was stated by Eskender Bariev, member of Mejlis, Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, at a briefing held at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “The principal message of the campaign is that Ukrainian students and young people are aware that children whose parents are in prison need help. But the main thing is support. Children who do not see their parents should know that they are supported by common Ukrainian students. This tells the world that we are united and work together. […] Above all, this is done by the new Ukrainian generation that builds its future. And it has the future as long as it has such young people,” believes Eskender Bariev.
“Charity auction of dates” aimed to draw public attention to the plight of political prisoners who are on the peninsula or were transferred to Russia. “Our people forget about Crimea. The more activities we do, the more people begin to talk and remember that this is our Ukrainian land,” said Valentyn Havryshchuk, representative of the NGO “Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine”. The auction of dates’ format is popular with young people, and this explains the choice. “Students were not always able to participate in actions organized by the state, so we chose our format. It is popular with young people,” said Bohdana Ostapyk, representative of the NGO “Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine”.
The auction was held in the framework of the project “Captives”, which aims to draw attention to political prisoners in Crimea. “Since last December we have held lectures with Gennady Afanasyev, organized an auction, participated in the solidarity march in February on the Day of Resistance,” said Artur Kharytonov, president of the NGO “Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine”.