1996: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Our U.S. community: activity on the wane? (12/29/96)

1996: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Our U.S. community: activity on the wane?

With all due respect, our community life in the United States seemed to be on the wane in 1996. There seemed to be few things that got the whole community truly involved or excited, and, when there was activity, for the most part it seemed to be more of the same (or should we say less of the same ...) To be sure, there were the solemn 10th anniversary commemorations of the Chornobyl nuclear accident (see section titled "Chornobyl: 10 years after") and there were myriad events marking the joyous fifth anniversary of Ukraine's independence, but, by and large it seemed our community was somewhat disjointed, suffering still from the disunity that has characterized our community life for 16 years now, and the disorientation that came in the wake of Ukraine's independence as our community here seeks to redefine its role.

The major community event marking the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's independence proclamation took place on Capitol Hill on September 18. The luncheon reception, held in the Russell Senate Office Building with more than 250 persons in attendance, was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, and Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), as well as some 30 other members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The keynote speaker was Volodymyr Horbulin, secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, who was then in Washington for four days of talks with Clinton administration officials. Mr. Horbulin expressed his gratitude and that of President Leonid Kuchma to Ukrainian Americans "who never lost the dream of an independent Ukaine" and continued working on its behalf after the advent of independence.

Other speakers included: Sens. Levin, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), as well as Melanne Verveer, deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton and deputy chief of staff to the first lady, who greeted her fellow Ukrainian Americans on behalf of the Clinton administration.`

And, of course, since it was a presidential election year, Ukrainian Americans got involved in the campaign both on the Democratic and the Republican sides (at times, as seen on the pages of this newspaper, the debate between supporters of Bill Clinton on one side and supporters of Bob Dole on the other got quite heated). As Election Day approached, the Ukrainian National Information Service, the Washington Bureau of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, released the presidential campaigns' answers to a questionnaire it had prepared on behalf of the Ukrainian American community. The questionnaire covered five major points of interest: U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine, the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Russian foreign policy and aggression, security guarantees for Ukraine, and consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear accident. The responses were published in the October 13 issue of The Weekly.

Two weeks after that, the paper published a "Congressional Scorecard," a rating of congressional candidates on both sides of the political aisle and where they stood on issues relating to Ukraine and U.S.-Ukrainian relations. The scorecard, compiled by the Washington representatives of the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, listed those among the candidates for 34 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House who were considered supportive of Ukrainian issues as well as those who were deemed unresponsive to the Ukrainian American community's concerns.

The fact that 1996 was an election year was evident also at many community gatherings, including conferences like the annual Leadership Conference organized by The Washington Group (see below) and the Congress of Ukrainians in America, the quadrennial convention of the UCCA, held on October 18-20 in East Hanover, N.J.

The UCCA honored President Clinton with the Shevchenko Freedom Award for his "commitment to pursing steadfast relations with Ukraine and the recognition of Ukraine's vital importance in the continued peace and security of the European continent" and for his "keen understanding and close working relationship with the Ukrainian American community." The award was accepted on President Clinton's behalf by Ambassador Madeleine Albright, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations (who has since been nominated by President Clinton to serve as U.S. secretary of state during his second term). Ambassador Albright spoke of the significance of the growing relationship between the United States and Ukraine, and noted that "The administration envisions an undivided Europe that is increasingly stable, secure, prosperous and democratic ... If this vision of Europe is to become a reality, Ukraine - because of its size, its location, its resources and the abilities of its people - must play an integral role."

Other recipients of the 1996 Shevchenko Freedom Awards were Sen. McConnell, Reps. Gilman, Sander Levin and David Bonior, as well as Hennadii Udovenko, foreign affairs minister of Ukraine and long-time permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations.

The Dole campaign was represented at the UCCA conclave by Edward Derwinski, former congressman and former secretary for veterans' affairs. Mr. Derwinski underscored the importance of familiarizing the Western world with Ukraine.

The UCCA congress also elected new governing bodies, and Askold Lozynskyj was re-elected president for a second term.

The other Ukrainian central organization in the United States, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, whose president is Ulana Diachuk, continued its organizational work in 1996. It had hoped for a congress of reunification to occur in October of this year at the time the UCCA held its regularly scheduled congress, but apparently that was not to be. The UACC's next congress, meanwhile, is slated to take place next year in September - unless, of course, an agreement on forming one central organization is reached before then.

Other major community developments during 1996 included the following.

The Ukrainian Museum in New York City marked the 20th anniversary of its founding (the date was celebrated with an anniversary luncheon on October 20 at the Westbury Hotel). But, perhaps more importantly, it was marked by an intensified fund-raising campaign as this institution builds a new home for itself on East Sixth Street on a site purchased 10 years earlier. The museum is now rebuilding on the site, and architect George Sawicki of Greenfield, Sawicki, Tarella Architects, P.C., has been engaged for the project, which is estimated cost between $3.5 million and $4 million, and is scheduled for completion in 1997. In other news, Ivan Luchechko was elected president of the board of trustees at the museum's annual meeting on June 9.

The Ukrainian Museum, it must be underlined, is succeeding in its goals: to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret objects of artistic and history significance relating to Ukrainian life and culture. It does this through its permanent exhibits and special exhibitions, and via traveling shows that have enabled diverse audiences in diverse locales to appreciate the Ukrainian heritage. In its new building The Ukrainian Museum promises to do even more as it looks to cooperative projects with other institutions, and greater interaction with cultural and artistic communities in this country and beyond, and as it pledges "to preserve the values and traditions of the past" as well as "to identify the accomplishments of the present."
The museum's parent organization, the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, held its 24th convention in Trevose, Pa., on the outskirts of Philadelphia with more than 300 women (and some men) in attendance. For four days beginning on May 24, they reviewed the work of the UNWLA and set a course for the next three years, re-electing Anna Krawczuk to a second three-year term as president.

This year's triennial convention was special because it marked 70 years of the organization's work and was given a serious underpinning because it occurred in the year of the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl explosion. The convention included presentations and panel discussions on current events, organizational matters and plenary sessions. The UNWLA was created in 1925 in New York "to unite women of Ukrainian descent or belonging to the Ukrainian community who live in the United States, in order to preserve Ukrainian ethnic identity and cultural heritage. Functioning in a democratic country, the UNWLA is guided in its activities by the principles of Christian ethics, religious tolerance, political non-partisanship and the support of human rights within the framework of a non-profit charitable, education and cultural organization." That statement of purpose has been transformed in practice into myriad projects, including aid to orphans, widows, the elderly, new immigrants to the U.S., and medical and scholarship aid to various countries, including Chornobyl relief activities.
The Ukrainian American Veterans continued their activity, shipping their 35th and 36th shipments of humanitarian aid to Ukraine through the Adopt-A-Hospital program. Launched in 1993 by the New Jersey State Department of the UAV, by the end of 1995 the program had shipped 322 tons of medical equipment and supplies donated by hospitals in New Jersey and New York to hospitals and medical schools in Zaporizhia, Chortkiv, Ternopil, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk and Krasnohorivka, Ukraine. This year's shipments benefited hospitals in Brody, Ukraine.

The program solicits used hospital equipment, such as respirators, X-ray machines, dental chairs and operating tables, and ships the donated goods to Ukraine through a State Department program that assists the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union.

Speaking at the UAVets 49th annual convention held in Philadelphia on September 20-22, Robert Gulay, the prime mover of the UAV Adopt-a-Hospital program in Ukraine, expounded on the potential avenues of charity that could evolve from this kind of project. He focused on the efforts of New Jersey veterans who have been able to deliver more than $11 million in medical aid in two and a half years. "I strongly urge that all veterans' groups in America take part in this humanitarian project," Mr. Gulay concluded.

At the 49th convention, which brought together Ukrainian American Veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, National Commander Dmytro Bodnarchuk was re-elected to another term. The UAVets' sister organization, the National Ladies Auxiliary, held its deliberations at the same time and elected Rosalie Polche president. The Ukrainian American Veterans will mark the 50th anniversary of their founding next year with a convention at Soyuzivka.
The Ukrainian-American Military Association was established in Chicago during a conference concerning "The Evolving Relationship Between Ukrainian and United States Armed Forces." Held on September 28-29 at the Ss. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church's Cultural Center, the conference was attended by some 35 officers and noncommissioned officers from the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, U.S. Naval Reserve, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, all of Ukrainian descent.

Membership is open to all military personnel, active and reserve, who are of Ukrainian descent. Lt. Col. Oryshkevych of Silver Spring, Md., was elected the UAMA's first president.
Ukraine's accomplishments and shortcomings during the first five years of its independence came under review at the 1996 annual Leadership Conference of The Washington Group, and the many speakers and expert panelists gave the country a mixed report card: high marks in the area of geostrategic relations, domestic politics, democratization and human rights; marked improvement in economic reforms; but lagging far behind in energy and health care.

The conference, held on October 11-13, heard from President Clinton's point man on relations with the new independent states, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott; former U.S. representative to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick, who spoke on behalf of President Clinton's Republican presidential challenger, Mr. Dole; Ukrainian Supreme Court Judge Oleksandr Volkov; and some 20 other experts representing the U.S. and Ukrainian governments, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, academic institutions, think-tanks, corporations and foundations dealing with Ukraine.

About 300 persons from throughout the United States and Canada attended the three-day event, which was co-sponsored by the Embassy of Ukraine, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America. During the conference banquet The Washington Group presented its "Friend of Ukraine" award to Hobart Earle, music director and principal conductor of the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to Ukraine's efforts to take her rightful place in the international cultural community of nations."

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Last year we closed this section wondering: What will 1996 bring for the Ukrainian American community? Will it be a renewed unity, or continued squabbling? Will there be a refocusing on our priorities in this country, or will we continue to set our sights on Ukraine, often to the detriment of our community life here? The same questions could be posed again this year.

But, in all fairness, it should be noted that there is at least a glimmer of hope for unity. Since April, tripartite negotiations have been going on in an effort to reunite the Ukrainian American community into one central organization, and representatives of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Conference of Non-Aligned Organizations are moving toward a resolution of the divisiveness that has existed since 1980. There has been some progress, as well as some setbacks, but in the end it seems the right intentions are there: all three parties want unity and would like to reunite into a new body called the Ukrainian Congress of America. Hopefully, a congress of reunification will take place in 1997.

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