Elenore Sturko knew from the tone of the man鈥檚 voice that his statement regarding her heritage wasn鈥檛 one of admiration.

鈥淪turko 鈥� that鈥檚 a Ukrainian name,鈥� he said.

On duty near the Pacific Highway border at the time, in her role as a sergeant with the Surrey RCMP, Sturko automatically deferred to de-escalation tactics, telling the man she was born in Canada, rather than letting him bait her into a confrontation.

鈥淚 knew they were trying to cause trouble with me,鈥� Sturko said Monday, as she explained a tweet she made the night before (Feb. 27) regarding a protester who 鈥渟tarted trying to shame me for my heritage.鈥�

2 weeks ago on duty by the border a protester saw my last name is Ukrainian and started to try to shame me for my heritage. I was proud of who I am 2 weeks ago - witnessing the courage of the Ukrainian people, I am even more fiercely proud of my heritage today.

鈥� Elenore Sturko (@elenoresturko)

The protester went on to call her a Nazi, and ask her 鈥渨hat kind of Ukrainian are you 鈥� a good one or a bad one?鈥� before disappearing to fetch a giant poster depicting a firing-squad image from the Holocaust. The man then stood some 20 feet away and yelled at her for an hour in Polish, 鈥渃alling me out basically about my Ukrainian heritage.鈥�

鈥淎s much as we鈥� want to be professional, sometimes, stuff like that, it does plant a seed of sadness within you,鈥� Sturko said.

鈥淚 was upset by that.鈥�

The incident happened on Feb. 19, as the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine was increasing in intensity.

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As upsetting as it was, Sturko, who is a South Surrey resident, said it didn鈥檛 have the effect that the protester was clearly aiming for, that of diminishing her pride in her roots, and shaming her. In fact, it did quite the opposite.

鈥淭o see how much love and respect there is for people who belong to my ethnic heritage is just incredibly important,鈥� Sturko said, referring to the outpouring of support that continues for Ukraine and its people during the ongoing invasion.

鈥淥ne out of hundreds of thousands of people said something that was very insulting, but there鈥檚 millions and millions of people right now showing their love and support and admiration for those in the Ukraine dealing with this terrible situation.

鈥淚 was at the protest, it was ugly, but there鈥檚 so much more beauty in what we鈥檙e seeing being demonstrated.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for us all to reflect on things that unite us.鈥�

Sturko is a second-generation Canadian. Her grandparents came to Canada from Ukraine more than a century ago 鈥� in 1908 and 1918 鈥� to escape 鈥渢errible鈥� conditions, including oppression and starvation.

While her grandparents quickly assimilated into Western culture 鈥� and didn鈥檛 speak much about the painful side of their history in the years that followed 鈥� her family did hold onto various traditions over the years, at Christmas and other occasions. Making Ukrainian Easter eggs and perogies are among the activities Sturko does with her own kids.

She said while she doesn鈥檛 know any family in Ukraine now, seeing the conflict and the war 鈥渋n an odd way鈥� has reconnected me with my cultural heritage.鈥�

鈥淓ven seeing the resolve now of Ukrainian people fighting and battling for their country, it inspires me, I want to know more.

鈥淜nowing this is the home of my grandparents, it has a special significance for me, but I don鈥檛 think you need to have Ukrainian heritage鈥� to see the human side of war.鈥�