Cardinal Huzar: “Help Donbas refugees, and they will become apostles of Ukraine unity”

Many Ukrainians were brought up to dislike Ukraine. Their opinion can be changed only by doing good things to them and raising life standards, Cardinal Liubomyr Huzar, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, told Radio Svoboda, ZIK informs.

Treating Donbas refugees well will turn them into patriots, the cardinal said.

He reminded that over half a million people have fled the war-torn areas of Donbas and resettled to other oblasts of Ukraine.

“One may say that giving them food and work will be hard on Ukraine. It is hard, true. I was a fugitive myself after the WWII, and I am still thankful to the people who did me well. They were Austrians, not Ukrainians, and I remember all the good things they did to me,” the cardinal said.

“The fugitives whom we will accept wholeheartedly will become the apostles of Ukraine unity when they get back to Donbas. They will tell everyone there they found good people in Central and Western Ukraine. They will tell their children how Ukrainians had helped them,” Cardinal Huzar said.

“It is not enough merely to tell the truth to the fugitives from Crimea and Donbas. They will not believe our words. We have to do good things to them. Only given this they will realize they were cheated [by Putin’s propaganda – Ed.]

 “We have to prove by deeds, not words, that we wish them well. Only then they will believe us”.