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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to his social media channels to commemorate 18 May as a day of remembrance for Crimean Tatar people forcibly moved by Soviet authorities, as well as Vyshyvanka day, when Ukraine celebrates the history of its traditional embroidered clothes. He said:
This year, the two meanings are united by one date, 18 May. 79 years ago on this day, the Soviet authorities began deporting the Crimean Tatar people. A people they wanted to erase. Deprive of their homes, deprive of the right to life. But the people survived. And they will live freely.
Today, I am wearing a special vyshyvanka with ornaments that symbolise the unity of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples. Symbols of our strength and our desire to live in our home.
Let this year’s Vyshyvanka Day in Ukraine be a reminder of what our people have been through and how strong our culture is. Eternal memory…
This article was written by Martin Belam (now) and Helen Sullivan (earlier) and originally published on www.theguardian.com