PLEASE FIND THE MOST RECENT PROJECT PAGE HERE: https://solidarityapothecary.org/ukraine-herbal-solidarity/
What is happening?
This page has been created six days into the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military. Over a million people have now been displaced with an estimated 4 million needing to evacuate the country in the coming days. Most people have fled to neighbouring countries of Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania, with many continuing their journeys onwards across Europe and beyond.
People leaving face long border queues in freezing conditions. Not everyone has been able to leave safely – people of colour and non-Ukranian nationals face racism, discrimination and violence from border police. Learn more about the situation of BIPoC at the borders here. Likewise LGBTQ+ communities face additional challenges in Poland where anti-LGBTQ+, homophobic and transphobic violence is a reality. See a list of ways to support Black and LGBTQ+ refugees here. Many people in Ukraine also simply do not have the resources to leave.
Meanwhile, ordinary people have taken up arms to resist the invasion. Anarchists and anti-fascists have organised their own international detachment within the framework of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine. Operation Solidarity is an anarchist-led effort to establish networks of mutual aid within Ukraine.
Anarchists organising resistance and mutual aid in Ukraine have said they “Hope to confront Russian military aggression while promoting anarchist perspectives both within Ukrainian society and throughout the world—to show that anarchists are involved in this struggle, that they have taken sides in it—not with the state, but with the people who are impacted by the invasion, with the society of the people who live in Ukraine. Against all borders, against all empires, against all wars!”
About Ukraine Herbal Solidarity
Ukraine Herbal Solidarity is a grassroots response to the invasion of Ukraine. It is still in its formative stages. We are organising with No Borders Warsaw, Operation Solidarity and others on the ground across Europe. This is what we feel is the most effective form of herbal solidarity we can organise at this moment in time.
Herbal medicine is part of an integrative medicine approach – it is not a stop-gap in place of more appropriate medical resources and we always work as part of an ecology of provision with other medical services. Herbal medicines are powerful tools in terms of health resilience, preventative medicine, self-care support and first aid. They offer stress, nervous system and immune support in unique ways.
The project’s aspirational aims are:
- To support frontline organisers responding to the invasion – to help them sustain their work and avoid burnout.
- To organise a mobile herbal clinic on the Ukrainian border.
- To provide herbal first aid tools to anarchist and anti-fascist fighting units in Ukraine (such as wound spray, bruise ointment etc).
- To connect evacuated refugees with a network of herbalists that can offer support where they are.
All of these aims are only achievable with grassroots support from the herbalist community.
What you can do
- Donate funds – find our crowdfunder here.
- Donate medicine making supplies – Please see what we need here & then complete this form here.
- Volunteer – organise with us online, make medicine etc – contact us!
- Volunteer on the border – see sign up form here
- Share this project on your networks!
Request Herbal Support
- If you are an individual, family or group needing herbal support, please complete this form here: https://solidarityapothecary.org/herbal-solidarity/
Contact
Contact us at ukraineherbalsolidarity@protonmail.com