DISCUSSION PAPER: The Ukrainian Canadian community on the eve of the new millennium (CONCLUSION) (08/02/98)

DISCUSSION PAPER

The Ukrainian Canadian community on the eve of the new millennium

by John Boyd

CONCLUSION

The organization's objectives

What could the objectives of this new organization be? Four basic ones come to mind:

To encourage the study of the Ukrainian language, literature and history.

Even though the language the members of such an organization will be using is English, an important - one could even say an essential - prerequisite for any fundamental study of Ukrainian culture and history is a knowledge of the Ukrainian language.

Without the ability to understand, speak and read Ukrainian how can one get to know the richness of the works of Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko and other Ukrainian writers? How can one get to know the extraordinary and unique beauty of the Ukrainian language, the content of thousands of Ukrainian songs, the countless Ukrainian folk tales and folk sayings?

Yes, one can get some idea of the content of these from translations, which regrettably are very limited in number, but even the best translations cannot convey the full beauty and impact of the originals, even as the best translations of Shakespeare's works in any language cannot convey their uniqueness.

What future is there for choirs singing Ukrainian songs in Canada if their members do not know how to pronounce the words or what they mean?

Actually, with the right approach, learning the language can be a challenge and fun. The organization could establish Ukrainian language classes, prepare correspondence courses, audio casettes and CD-ROMs to help those who want to study the language, publish and promote textbooks on Ukrainian grammar and conversational Ukrainian, initiate special studies of Shevchenko and other poets, etc.

There always have been and will be young Canadians of Ukrainian origin who are interested in learning the Ukrainian language. With some it may be that they were inspired by their parents or grandparents or by some experience in their lives. Some, as they grow up and begin thinking of a career, may be interested in doing business with enterprises in Ukraine, or establishing ties with its scientific, technological, cultural or government institutions. Either would require at least some knowledge of the language.
To study the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people, especially their music, songs and folk dances.

In many localities, orchestras, choirs and folk dance groups already exist but the creation of more of them should be encouraged. Wherever possible, however, members of these groups, especially of choirs, should be encouraged to study Ukrainian, either within their own groups or by joining existing Ukrainian language study groups. A better knowledge of the Ukrainian language, culture and history would give more meaning to and greatly enhance the quality of their performances.
To study the contribution the Ukrainian Canadian community has made to Canada, especially to Canadian culture during the more than 100 years since the first Ukrainian immigrants came to this country.

Ukrainians in Canada have a rich history. Their trials and sacrifices, their activities and achievements, both in their organizations and individually, should not be lost forever in the archives. Their story should be passed on fully and objectively to the coming generations. But this won't be done unless there is an organization that will undertake to do it.
To maintain ties with Ukraine, especially its cultural institutions.

This is important because one cannot really preserve and nurture Ukrainian culture without being in constant touch with its source.

Relatively few Ukrainian Canadians today, are interested in what is going on in Ukraine, and even these are largely among the more recent immigrants. Regrettably, most of the younger people, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are interested only peripherally, if at all. For them, Ukraine is just another foreign country or, at best, a distant land from which their ancestors came. Those few young people who have learned the language, however, are more likely to be interested, to a greater or lesser degree, in what is happening in Ukraine.

Maintaining contact with Ukraine will depend a great deal also on what the government of Ukraine and its various institutions do to make this possible. To date, preoccupied as they are with establishing a stable economy and a viable new independent state, Ukraine's leaders have not been able to give as much attention to Ukrainians living abroad as they might. We can only hope this situation will improve.

In this respect, it would be interesting to know: What will be the policy of the Ukrainian government in the coming century towards those young Canadians whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents came from Ukraine 30, 50 and 100 years ago? To what extent will it assist them in learning about and preserving their Ukrainian heritage; in publishing textbooks, dictionaries and other media that will enable them to study the Ukrainian language; in providing scholarships to those who want to study the language, literature and history of their ancestors; in enabling potential composers, musicians, choreographers or writers to study the culture of Ukraine; in encouraging student exchange programs? The answers to these questions will have much to do with how successful Ukrainians in Canada will be in their efforts to preserve their heritage for the future generations.

Whatever form such an organization would eventually take, its creation will have to be the result of a consensus reached by the leaders of all the existing organizations.

This in turn, depends on how the leaders of the existing Ukrainian organizations in Canada (both left and right) see the future of their organizations. Will they hang on, keeping them as they are to the very end, even when there are only a few members left in each? One hopes they will be far-sighted, realistic and objective enough to recognize that changes - radical changes - have to be made, that the old forms, concepts and policies of their organizations are of little or no interest to today's younger generations.

It is important to emphasize that the young people themselves, those in their 20s and 30s, should be consulted and actively involved in this process, rather than leaving it solely to the present leaders, most of whom are in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

It is worth noting that those who founded the organizations back in the early decades of this century were nearly all in their 20s and 30s when they did so.

All objective and forward-looking members of existing Ukrainian organizations in Canada ought to give serious thought to this problem. It will be solved only if the leaders of all the present organizations work together selflessly to that end. And they should do so without much delay. If they do not, their organizations face the prospect of a continuing erosion of their membership to the point of their complete withering away and eventual demise.

Even the organizations that still have a substantial and viable number of more recent immigrants in their ranks have to ask themselves: What about their children and grandchildren? What are the prospects for getting them interested in preserving and nurturing their Ukrainian heritage? Who will provide these incentives? And where and how will that be done?

It most certainly won't come about spontaneously. Part of the process of working toward one common organization might mean retaining the present organizations for their existing members (largely older immigrants and earlier generations of the Canadian-born), while at the same time helping to lay the basis for the young people to belong to one organization.

The assimilation of ethnic groups in Canada, as in most countries, is an objective historical process that will continue, very likely at an increased tempo, through the coming years. One cannot predict what effect this process, as well as future technological, social and political developments, will have on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Ukrainian Canadians 40, 50 or 100 years from now. What will the Ukrainian Canadian community be like in the years 2010 and 2020? Will there even be a Ukrainian Canadian community? We do not know just what the future holds for all Canadians. There is no reason, however, why young Canadians of different ethnic, national and racial origins should not be able to preserve and nurture their cultural heritage for the next few decades at least.

The thoughts, ideas and suggestions in this paper are entirely my own and have not been discussed beforehand with any organization or any group of individuals. Since I have not belonged to any Ukrainian organization for more than two decades, and mostly because I am now in my 85th year, I do not intend to become involved in any subsequent discussion or consideration of the ideas I have presented here. I firmly believe it should be the prerogative of the younger members of the community, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, to chart the path by which they can preserve their cultural heritage. My hope is that this paper will generate frank discussion and, subsequently, new ideas and solutions.

John Boyd, formerly Boychuk, is a resident of Toronto. In his earlier years, he was a Communist and an active member in Ukrainian pro-Communist organizations - most of those years as an editor.

He left the Communist Party in 1968, immediately after the Soviet armed forces invaded Czecho-Slovakia, where he lived briefly at the time as a correspondent. A few years later, in the early 1970s, he became persona non grata with the leaders of left-wing Ukrainian organizations for critical remarks he made about them.

Now, at age 85, he is very concerned that young people of Ukrainian origin are losing touch with their cultural heritage. That prompted him to produce this paper, in the hope that it will stimulate discussion.

PART I

PART II

CONCLUSION