Dearest Nadiya!
The World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations appeals to you to please end your hunger strike.
Our WFUWO member organizations around the world participated in the social media action #FreeSavchenko to bring awareness to your case. Furthermore, the WFUWO, in response to a direct request from your attorneys, wrote to the President of the International Red Cross asking that the ICRC review your matter and, in keeping with the Articles of the Third Geneva Convention, grant you the status of prisoner of war.
Even after you received international diplomatic immunity as a delegate to the PACE, the Russian Federation refused to act on demands to release you.
We turn to you at the beginning of this month of February, a month dedicated to the Ukrainian Heroine. This month was so designated in the Ukrainian Diaspora in the 1950s, after the entire world was stunned by news of uprisings by political prisoners in Soviet forced labor camps such as those in Norilsk, Vorkuta, and particularly in Kingir, where hundreds of defenseless Ukrainian women died, crushed by the steel tracks of Soviet army tanks. These women, to protect their fellow male prisoners against reprisals, stood on the entrance roads into the camp in an attempt to stop the heavy tanks deployed by the Soviet regime to suppress the rebellion.
You are a modern example of the heroism of Ukrainian women. For Ukrainians worldwide, you embody dedication, deep patriotism, and courage, and the invincibility of the Ukrainian spirit. We ask you to please hear our plea to end your hunger strike. Only by being healthy can you continue to do good for Ukraine.
Remember, there are millions of us and we are all with You!
Glory to Ukraine!
With deep respect,
Orysia Sushko
President WFUWO
Alexandra Faryma
Secretary WFUWO