The war for Ukrainian freedom grinds on. One of its ugliest chapters is the mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Thousands have been stolen from their homes and taken to Russia, where they are “adopted” by Russian families.
A new art exhibit in New York City is a stark reminder of their plight:
On a quiet block in Manhattan’s Little Ukraine in the East Village, passers-by are confronted with haunting reminders of war. A 100-foot-long mural shows children’s beds lined with stuffed animals and toys, but no children, symbolizing the thousands of Ukrainian children who were separated or taken from their families since Russia invaded their country in 2022.
The piece, titled “Empty Beds, is an eight-foot-tall photographic installation by the artist Phil Buehler. It was officially introduced on Saturday, when children tugged their parents closer to look at the cuddly toys, while other visitors sat on yellow folding chairs nearby to reflect.
The mural, on display until Nov. 30 at 44 Second Avenue (at East Second Street), uses the visual language of absence to signify the continuing war in Ukraine.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The United States under Trump created its own “empty beds” in the last Trump-Miller immigrant roundup. Biden created a task force to reunite children with families and did mange to find and relocate about six hundred of them. As of 2023 more than a thousand children have not been reunited with their families. Some of them have been adopted; others remain in foster homes while some older children are now working adults. These young people remain the forgotten collateral damage of Trump’s last reign of terror. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/close-1000-migrant-children-separated-by-trump-yet-be-reunited-with-parents-2023-02-02/
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RT,
Separating families makes Stephen Miller happy. He’s “owning the libs.”
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The clue that Miller is dead inside is he has three children of his own.
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My heart bleeds for the people of Ukraine that have valiantly fought against all odds. Trump has vowed to “end the war,” which we know, is by caving to Putin’s demands. The US will lose its standing as a world power, and we will lose the trust of our allies.
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Trump is determined to shatter the western alliance. That benefits only one country. Not ours.
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Imagine the plight of President Zelenskyy yesterday on a call with Trump and Elon Musk.
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Trump and Elon are deciding how much of Ukraine to give to Putin.
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Due to Putin’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine, which Trump called genius, for some Ukrainian children, their situations may be a lot worse.
“Millions of Ukrainian children have fled their homeland as a result of Russia’s war of aggression, with many of them being hosted in Council of Europe member states. Armed conflicts create particular vulnerabilities for children leading to increased risks of abuse at many levels, including trafficking in human beings. In this context, new challenges in preventing and combating human trafficking affecting children have emerged.”
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/trafficking-of-ukrainian-children-including-for-sexual-and-labour%C2%A0exploitation-risks-in-spotlight
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GAME CHANGER
Now that communist North Korea has sent combat troops into battle against the republic of Ukraine, President Biden must unshackle Ukraine and allow that brave nation to use to full effect the weapons that we provided to defend against the communist aggressors. It makes no sense and is a betrayal of Ukraine’s brave soldiers and suffering civilians for President Biden to continue to prevent Ukraine from doing all that it can to fight against the invasion by communist Russia and communist North Korea.
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Let’s remember to applaud Poland for taking so many Ukrainian families into their homes!
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Indeed, Frances. Sadly, Poland might be Putin’s next target.
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