Ask HN: How should I Help Ukraine?

10 points by userland_tech 4 years ago | 2 comments

I am the primary developer of some open source Android applications. The most popular is UserLAnd, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tech.ula . I am personally upset by the further invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. I am trying to think of what ways I should respond to it. I am genuinely seeking advice. My current thoughts are to: 1) Modify applications to have a political statement, like "Ukraine is not Russia" or "No war please" in Russian for Russian users. 2) Give financial aid to the Ukrainian defenders. 3) Pull my apps from Russia. (I like this the least) I have a small audience and limited resources, but I am determined to do something. What are your thoughts about how I should go about this?

LinuxBender 4 years ago |

I personally would not want to get too deep into the fray as there may be future blow-back or accidental misdirection that leads to friendly fire or unintended escalation.

That said I could see some benefit in researching organizations that help rescue refugees from war torn countries such as IRC [1] and contribute a sensible amount. Disclaimer: I had some past indirect associations with IRC. There are many other organizations that also help refugees.

[1] - https://www.rescue.org/

userland_tech 4 years ago | |

Thank you. I had thought of helping refugees and let that thought slip away in my frustration. I think that is a great idea.

About blow-back, I have thought about that, but I am not worried. I am a bit of a nobody, especially in this. There are people doing much braver things than anything I will do. If some Russian bots or fanatics want to down vote my apps or whatever, so be it.