At the start of the Second World War as the Germans were invading Poland to the west the Russians invaded Poland to the East. This annexation of land came with force and the people living there, including my grandparents and two young uncles, were put into trucks and shipped to the Gulags in Siberia. My two uncles, a baby and a toddler, both died on the journey. My grandparents were separated and both independently escaped and made their way back over two thousand miles walking to Palestine, where they met up through the Red Cross lists of refugees. My mother was born in Palestine as a refugee. As soon as they could my grandfather and grandmother volunteered to fight with the Polish army back in Europe. My grandfather fought with the Allies in the liberation of Italy. The area my grandparents were from was called Tornopol (now Ternopil) to the east of Lviv. After the war this area stayed with the Russians and is today in the west of Ukraine on the Polish border. 

The peoples of this area of western Ukraine are close to the Poles, in the east of Ukraine they are close to the Russians. Many Ukrainians speak many local languages reflecting their rich history in central Europe. 

My grandparents and mother were refugees after the war and were welcomed by the British making a good life here and setting up a path of success that has led to many things including my entrepreneurial journey. 

I share this story because it shows that aggression in the name of Russia has happened before, that the families affected are changed for generations, and the people in these regions are resilient, kind and brave. They do not give up. The Ukrainian people will not give up. We must not give up. We must help.

The war in Ukraine is happening now. Poles are taking in thousands of refugees from Ukraine now. All across Europe we will need to do our part and welcome displaced people, as my grandparents and mother were welcomed 70 years ago. 

We must support the Ukrainian war effort because is it Europe, it is rich with many different peoples, and reflects the history of our continent. It is not remote from us, it is all of us. All of us are connected to this war directly. Maybe through colleagues, friends, neighbours or by reading stories like this one and the thousands of others who are, and have been affected by war both now and in the past. 

People are dying again due to aggression from a dictator in the name of the Russian people. We must share what is going on with the world, we must implore the Russian people to rise up, as they are doing, against an aggressive dictator.

For my part, I am doing the following: 

• I have donated £2500 to the Ukrainian war effort through the National Bank fund details here

• https://kyivindependent.com/opinion/victor-tregubov-are-you-a-foreigner-who-wants-to-help-ukraine-heres-how/

• I have donated £2500 to help refugees in the area through the International Red Cross Ukraine appeal

• https://www.icrc.org/en/humanitarian-crisis-ukraine

• I have donated £2500 to the English language newspaper Kyiv Independent through their GoFundMe page

• https://www.gofundme.com/f/kyivindependent-launch

• ClearScore is donating £5000 to the International Red Cross Ukraine appeal and supporting our Ukrainian colleagues.

• I have written to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and my local MP imploring them to support the Ukrainian cause.

Do not sit by you can do something now. Please take action now.