Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas was the scene of a peaceful protest from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. as a small group convened a rally on January 30.
People were present voicing their opinions on a potential war between Russia and Ukraine – and the likely intercession of the United States.
According to the CODEPINK website, the rally was hosted by CODEPINK Greater Dallas, Dallas Anti-War Committee, DSA North Texas Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Global Climate Strike Dallas, Party for Socialism and Liberation DFW, Pax Christi Dallas, and other organizations.
A couple of the signs that the protesters held expressed these positions: “We Say No War with Russia” and “Negotiate Ukraine Don’t Escalate.”
The rally supported peace; its objective was to advocate for the avoidance of the considerable destruction that could occur in a conflict between two nuclear-weapon-possessing countries.
Currently, President Joe Biden has 8,500 U.S. Troops on standby for possible deployment, and nearly 100,000 Russian troops are reportedly close to the border of Ukraine.
Some of the protesters present were members of the Ukrainian American Society of Texas (UAST), a North Texas non-profit established in 1983 that focuses on preserving and celebrating the food, music, history, traditions, language, and overall culture of Ukraine.
One such member was Chrystya Geremesz, a first-generation American among her family, which originates from Ukraine.
Geremesz told Fox 4 News, “This is about democracy versus dictatorship. This is about a peace-loving country [not] wanting to be taken over by an aggressor state – a dictatorship. What happens in Ukraine will eventually happen in other countries because there clearly are other dictatorships around the world that are watching to see if Putin will get away with this.”
Geremesz further discussed the geopolitical significance of Ukraine and how she feels Russia is on the verge of attempting to reverse history.
“This constant negative stimulation from Russia is there. Why? Because they can’t let Ukraine go. Ukraine is a very strategic place in Europe for Russia, and without that, I don’t think they can attain the superpower position they would like.”
