Tributes to Emma and Tonko, two dedicated volunteers killed in a Russian attack near Chasiv Yar

Emma Igual and Anthony ‘Tonko’ Ihnat were killed in a Russian attack while on their way to do a needs assessment of civilians in Ivanivske, Donetsk Oblast. Emma, who was just 32, was Spanish and the director of Road to Relief, an NGO operating out of Sloviansk. Tonko, who was 58, was a Canadian volunteer who had also worked with the NGO Brave to Rebuild before joining Road to Relief. Both were loved and valued members of the volunteer community in Ukraine, and amongst the wave of media coverage on the details of how they were killed, this article remembers them for how they lived. The following tributes are from friends and colleagues of Emma and Tonko.

Swedish volunteer Johan Thyr, who was seriously injured in the attack that killed Emma and Tonko: "Emma was well known for being loud and commanding, but it was these sides of her that got her to where she was and made it possible for her to help as many people as she helped. And there was no doubt she lived to help as many people in need as she could. She was in the humanitarian sphere for 15 years, her whole working life, and she still started crying when she heard about the people that we had helped that day, she never got ‘used to the situation’. She was very concerned with making the house we all shared a good environment. She cracked down on any sign of discrimination or sexism swiftly and would not allow any of it.

In private she was always very kind and loving. It made her sad that people thought of her as mean and bossy. But she said that if she was not that way things would never work, and I believe that to be true.

She was always very excited to plan celebrations and parties. When I was pretty new at Road to Relief and said that I would like to celebrate Swedish midsommar she lit up with enthusiasm. The whole crew went out to pick flowers and prepare. We made flower crowns and danced around the maypole.

When someone had a birthday, she always knew and had at least something small planned. And she encouraged people to start games nights or to celebrate the traditions of their cultures.

When we were in the car together, we had so many songs we used to play to tease each other with. She loved playing the songs from the musical Les Miserables for me because I got so passionate and gasped at the same places as the cast did. She used to laugh so much, and she would do a little twitch with her nose.

Emma was, like the rest of us, not perfect. But she never did anything for selfish reasons. She worked from morning until night and adamantly refused to receive any kind of compensation. She ate the same food and slept in the same beds as the rest of us.

I love and respect you Emma so much and I wish so much to get to talk to you again. I hope you are at peace."

 A friend of Emma: "I spent some time working with Road to Relief between periods in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Emma liked to host people, and always had a room ready when I needed it. Being at her place, the Road to Relief volunteer house, allowed me to decompress mentally.

It feels unreal that she’s gone. She was one of the bravest people I knew, on par with the 9/11 firefighters in her willingness to go to places other people wouldn’t in order to help people. She knew the areas she worked in were dangerous, but she was in Ukraine for the right reasons, and she went above and beyond for others.

Emma wouldn’t leave stray animals she found behind, so the Road to Relief house was full of cats, and there was always one to cuddle. She had a pure heart and would take care of everybody and anything. She was a loving, caring person, and did so much to reduce suffering."

Ren: "I often collaborated with Road to Relief and visited them just to say hello, and Emma was a great colleague, a passionate humanitarian, and an even better friend. I can't come up with a specific moment in time, but rather a series of simply sitting together and talking about everything and nothing. They were just moments in time where she effortlessly made me forget about the sleepless, missile-filled nights and continuous stress. I will miss these moments with her.

Tonko was the type of guy who would instantly brighten up any room he walked into. At first, I kept mistakenly calling him "Tonka" because of tonka beans. Eventually I stopped correcting myself because the man was just as sweet as those tonka beans."

Will:"As a Canadian, it is always a pleasure meeting fellow Canucks in such unusual places. There may not be many of us out here, but our contributions are always invaluable. Tonko’s candid and contagious laughter is what I will miss most of him. His easy-going attitude and approachability sparked countless friendships. He always made a volunteer project site fun, making it feel less of a chore and more of an occasion. If such a formula existed to calculate the dollar value of his efforts, I assume it would be unimaginably high. His life was cut short, but his contributions to this world far surpass most."

Oscar: "At the peak of the war last year I met Emma. We soon discovered we had a common language of passion for helping, a passion for love and for family. For a long time, our roads interceded. Many memories were made. At the peak of her work, she gave everything. She made the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice of love. We will remember. Thank you, Emma, for everything."

Road to Relief is conducting a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of repatriation of Emma and Tonko’s remains, and to continue the organisation’s work in Ukraine.

Rest in peace Emma and Tonko. Thank you for everything you did to help Ukraine. 

By Bea Barnes
Editing: Teresa Pearce