LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Russian videos at Boryspil airport
Dear Editor:
Despite the fact that there are excellent videos available about Ukraine and Kyiv, to my horror I discovered that the video and cassette kiosk at Ukraine's main airport, Boryspil, stocked no such videos for sale. They did have some poor videos of Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg on their shelves.
This is a shame, and I would suggest that travelers to Kyiv should complain to the kiosk manager and demand that Ukrainian videos be stocked.
O. Varshytska
Vancouver, B.C.
Kuropas' reflections a valuable service
Dear Editor:
Myron B. Kuropas in his "Faces and Places" on "Reflections on Ukraine's civil society" (January 18) is worth his weight in gold.
If only we, the people, clergy and laity, can pick up on his dissertation and carry on from where he left off both in the U.S. and Ukraine, we would be doing a service to our nations.
There is so much work to be done in preserving the values we should believe in and uphold.
Joseph Jackson
New Providence, N.J.
Dear Editor:
For those still living in the excitement and euphoria of Col. Leonid Kadenyuk's flight on the space shuttle Columbia, there are two sources of official souvenirs.
NASA Mail Order at 1-800-621-9826 carries merchandise based on the official emblem of flight STS-87 (T-shirts, caps, decals, pins, key chains). Very prominent is the Ukrainian flag, Col. Kadenyuk's name and Columbia striped blue/gold.
Souvenirs specific to the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment are available from IDENTI-T at 1-800-727-9295 (T-shirt, polo shirt and emblem). I recommend the T-shirt with bold colors and graphics; on the back are the U.S. and Ukraine flags from which emerges a plant-bearing rocket.
Olena C. Boyko
Urbanna, Va.
Reflections on Kuropas' reflections
Dear Editor:
I always enjoy Dr. Myron Kuropas' articles, and usually agree with him, but I have problems with his column, "Reflections on Ukraine's civil society" (January 18).
He asks whether Ukraine "can achieve a moral consensus without some kind of religious grounding?" But is there any doubt that Ukrainians are a religious people? Under Communist occupation, when it was dangerous to practice religion, they would secretly go to churches in the middle of the night to have their marriages confirmed and their children baptized. During the Christmas holidays the word would be passed around: "Don't lock your doors tonight, the carolers are coming."
Again, is there any question of Ukrainian consciousness? Why else did the Communists disperse the people and attempt to Russify them? Why was there such joy when independence was achieved?
Because the development of Ukrainian culture and traditions was hampered by foreign occupation, there is no reason the country could not take the American, or some other country's system as a model. There is no necessity to reinvent the wheel. The people cannot wait generations for the development of some sort of optimum state.
Of course, the citizens of Ukraine don't believe they live in a democracy. What has the government done to address their concerns? A law should be passed that the people be paid ahead of members of the legislative and executive branches. The development of agriculture should be a high priority so that Ukraine can again become the breadbasket of Europe. Foreign investment should be encouraged, as it is obvious that Ukraine does not have the resources to achieve economic growth without such investment.
The professors Dr. Kuropas cites may make some contribution in the future, but there is a greater need now for financiers, agronomists, marketing experts, computer experts, etc.
When I remember with what enthusiasm and hope the Ukrainians greeted independence, I could weep with sorrow and anger. For decades they sang of the day when they would be lords in their own country. Now we see they have been governed so badly that some people long for a return to communism. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Pearl Dent
Danbury, Conn.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 8, 1998, No. 6, Vol. LXVI
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