1998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Ukrainians in U.S.: looking to the future

Will there be a North American Ukrainian Diaspora in the year 2020, and does it matter? That was the principal theme and just one of the questions posed on October 10-11 at The Year 2020 Conference sponsored by the Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Association of New York and New Jersey.

The conference was opened by Bohdan Vitvitsky, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Frauds Division, District of New Jersey, who is a founder of the UAPBA and its current president. Dr. Vitvitsky, who guided the conference from its germination as an idea to its conclusion, set the stage for the four panel presentations that were to follow. He offered that "there are three views of our community": the first says "don't worry, we're on automatic pilot"; the second that "only Ukraine matters"; and the third, which he referred to as "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" view, is that "we as a diaspora are doomed to near immediate extinction."

"I and some of my colleagues do not subscribe to any of these views. And, it is in part our disagreement with all of these views that has prompted us to organize this conference," he explained. "I believe that there are still far too many of us who care about what we have inherited to allow our community to disappear," he stated. "It does matter a great deal whether there is a diaspora in the year 2020, and the reasons it does are numerous."

Among the reasons Dr. Vitvitsky cited were: "the diaspora is a transmission belt for a rich and distinctive cultural, religious and intellectual heritage created over centuries on two continents"; the diaspora serves as a "counterweight to the vulgarity and moral imbecility of so much that passes for popular culture in North America today"; the Ukrainian ethos is "an endangered species"; Ukraine still needs our help; and, finally, "we owe it to ... the millions upon millions of Ukrainians ... who fought and died to preserve that which was handed down to us - to stay the course and keep our blood- and tear-soaked heritage and traditions alive both for our children and grandchildren."

Dr. Vitvitsky exhorted his listeners: "we must collectively commit ourselves to the community's continuity" and that requires an "investment of time, imagination and money."

It was a topic that concerns - or should concern - all segments of our Ukrainian American community. And that is why this newspaper devoted ample space and serious coverage of the conference panels. As well, The Weekly published the full text of Dr. Vitvitsky's seminal address.

Questions addressed at the conference included whether an independent Ukraine helps or hinders the diaspora; what institutional infrastructure it needs to survive; and what is necessary for the diaspora's retention of language and culture, as well as its religious, educational, cultural and financial institutions.

Additional panels were devoted to the younger generation's views and perspectives on the future, developments in Canada and the relationship between the American and Canadian diasporas, and the role of the recent "Fourth Wave" of immigrants to North America.

Conference speakers included Weekly columnist Dr. Myron Kuropas, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute Director Prof. Roman Szporluk and Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Yuri Shcherbak.

Prof. Szporluk provided a world historical perspective on the times in which the diaspora came into being and is likely to continue to flourish, while Dr. Shcherbak, soon to conclude his term as ambassador to the U.S., outlined future areas of cooperation between Ukraine and the diaspora that would ensure their common welfare. The ambassador also read out a "thank you list" for diaspora efforts in support of Ukraine (including a mention of the UNA's Ulana Diachuk, Eugene Iwanciw and The Weekly's Editor-in-Chief Roma Hadzewycz "for publishing a thoroughly modern newspaper that prints interesting materials about the life of Ukraine and the diaspora"). Dr. Kuropas provided a context in terms of continental immigration history and offered a summary of the conference's conclusions.

Our community's future was also a focus of the fourth convention of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council as it met in Warren, Mich., on November 21-22. A special panel discussed "The Ukrainian Diaspora in the 21st Century" and how it relates to independent Ukraine.

But perhaps the most significant theme at the UACC convention was change: in the community and its leadership, and in Ukraine. The Ukrainian umbrella organization - one of two in the U.S. - elected a new president, Ihor Gawdiak, to a four-year term. Ulana Diachuk, who held the office for two terms, did not seek a third term as UACC chief.

In his first interview after the convention, Mr. Gawdiak, who previously served as chairman of the UACC's National Council and director of the organization's Washington office, pledged to engage the "new generation" of Ukrainian Americans to build a new civil society in Ukraine. As well he expressed his satisfaction that the convention had approved his proposal to name R.L. Chomiak as the UACC's Washington bureau head and to move that office to Washington, thus adding another voice in support of Ukraine.

A word is in order here about the other Ukrainian American umbrella organization, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, headed by Askold Lozynskyj. The UCCA continued its work during the year on all its usual projects, like the annual celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day held in Washington. This year's event was organized jointly with the UACC and the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.

The UCCA also ran a program aimed at encouraging the youth of Ukraine to vote in the March elections to the Verkhovna Rada. In mid-January the UCCA announced that it had been awarded a $175,461 grant by the United States Agency for International Development through the Eurasia Foundation for a civic education project called "Focus Ukraine," whose goal also was to increase the participation of Ukraine's youth in the parliamentary elections. Later that project received an additional $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for Democracy. "Focus Ukraine" employed what it called "town hall" meetings in central, eastern and southern Ukraine, television programs, public service announcements, public polling and informational brochures.

Another get-the-vote-out program was implemented by the Coordinating Committee to Aid Ukraine (CCAU), which said in February it was dedicating $100,000 to a public awareness campaign. According to the UACC President Wolodymyr Wolowodiuk, the program did not take any political position to avoid any suggestion that the organization is involved in the internal political affairs of a foreign country. One part of the campaign targeted youth, who tend to be most apolitical in Ukraine. Wolowodiuk said that part of the funding went for a series of ads to be placed in local newspapers throughout Ukraine calling on Ukrainians to simply vote.

During Christmastime, the CCAU announced another program to aid Ukraine: a fund to help the country's needy intellectuals - writers, artists, scholars and others, who in today's harsh economic times find it difficult to survive. The CCAU called on Ukrainians to support these members of the intelligentsia by becoming supporters of stipends for these individuals. The organization plans to coordinate a program of 200 stipends for 1999.

Of late, negotiations between the UCCA and UACC about reuniting into one Ukrainian American central organization have not been taking place, as first the UCCA (in 1997) and then the UACC prepared to hold their respective conventions. However, the UACC says it still is ready to talk about unity if there is parity among member-organizations of the UCCA, the UACC and non-aligned organizations. Thus, the split that occurred at the 1980 convention of the UCCA continues into its 19th year.

In other community news, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund completed its 20th airlift in November. The shipment arrived at Boryspil Airport on November 11, and volunteers and staff worked into the night in a driving snowstorm on November 12 to unload more than 70 tons of medical cargo designated for 20 hospitals in nine cities of Ukraine. The airlift delivered more than $3.4 million of humanitarian aid that included antibiotics, analgesics, surgical supplies, diagnostic equipment, children's multivitamins and neonatal technology.

Eleven containers holding more than $400,000 worth of medical supplies were especially set aside for clinics and hospitals in the Transcarpathian regions that had been devastated by massive flooding a week earlier.

In addition to the relief shipment for flood regions, the CCRF assigned large amounts of aid to hospitals in Vinnytsia, Svitlovodsk, Lutsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and a small amount for Lviv. Since 1990 CCRF has delivered more than 1,200 tons of aid valued at more than $40 million to Ukraine.

1998 was also the year that a major institution in our community, the Ukrainian Institute of America, celebrated its 50th anniversary. More than 325 people gathered at a luncheon on May 31 in the elegant grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel to celebrate that anniversary and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landmark building that is the UIA's home. President Walter Nazarewicz, speaking about the future of the UIA and the diaspora, explained how the board of directors, in order to ensure the future success of the UIA, was actively seeking the involvement of younger members of the Ukrainian American community to pass along the heritage and responsibilities of the institute.

Founded in 1948 by engineer and renowned inventor William Dzus, an immigrant from Ukraine, to promote Ukrainian heritage and culture, the institute was originally located in the Parkwood Mansion in West Islip, Long Island, near the Dzus family home. In 1955, the Fletcher Mansion, located on Museum Mile on Manhattan's Upper East Side, was acquired by the UIA. Commissioned by banker Issac D. Fletcher - and immediately prior to its purchase by the UIA, owned by the descendants of New York's Gov. Peter Stuyvesant - the French Gothic limestone mansion was designed by architect Charles H. Gilbert and completed in 1898.

In honor of its dual jubilee the UIA established the Crown Jewel Fund to raise a $5 million endowment fund during the next five years for the restoration of the landmark mansion.

The saga of "The Ugly Face"

A major news development in 1998 was the Ukrainian community's victory in the latest round of its battle with the CBS network over "The Ugly Face of Freedom" segment on the popular newsmagazine "60 Minutes."

The United States Appeals Court for the Circuit of the District of Columbia heard oral arguments in the case of Serafyn v. FCC on January 23 - three years and three months after that segment was broadcast.

A three-judge panel, having reviewed legal briefs from attorneys representing appellant Alexander Serafyn of Detroit, appellee the Federal Communications Commission and intervenors (legalese for a non-party interested in the outcome of litigation) CBS, Infinity Broadcasting Corp., Westinghouse Electric Corp. and WPGR Inc., heard arguments from Mr. Serafyn's and the FCC's attorneys. At issue was the propriety of the FCC's decision not to grant Mr. Serafyn a factual hearing on the question of whether the controversial segment constituted an intentional distortion of news and a violation of the federal requirement that broadcasters serve the public interest.

[A number of actions originally were brought against CBS, its affiliates, and, later, Westinghouse Electric, by various plaintiffs, among them Mr. Serafyn, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and Oleg Nikolyszyn of Providence, R.I. All these cases were later combined into one action, insofar as they all stemmed from the same event, broadcasts of "The Ugly Face of Freedom," and the relief sought by the various plaintiffs was closely related.]

According to Mr. Serafyn's attorney, Arthur Belendiuk of the Washington-based firm Smithwick and Belendiuk, all three justices subjected FCC attorney Barry Posh to considerable pressure relating to the FCC's position denying that the appellant had "failed to present extrinsic evidence of intentional news distortion so as to raise a substantial and material question of fact sufficient to require the FCC to designate a hearing on the issue."

The judges were especially troubled by the FCC's rejection of what the appellant argues are "CBS's egregious linguistic mistranslations"; CBS's portrayal of Ukrainian boy scouts as an anti-Semitic organization; and alleged CBS misuse of a German wartime propaganda film to impute Ukrainian, as opposed to German, responsibility for the rounding up and destruction of thousands of Jews in western Ukraine.

The August 11 ruling was a significant victory for the Ukrainian community. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found that there are serious questions about whether CBS intentionally distorted information in that news report aired on October 23, 1994, and it ordered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revisit the case. Thus, it appeared that the network's journalistic integrity was on the line - along with its broadcast licenses.

The federal appeals court ruled that the FCC "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in denying a petition for a hearing on the issue of whether CBS engaged in news distortion when it broadcast the segment, which purported to uncover rampant anti-Semitism in Ukraine. The FCC made its decision "without analyzing more precisely the evidence" presented, therefore, the court decided to vacate the FCC's decision and ordered that federal agency to review the matter.

Significantly, the appellants, Serafyn et al, showed that CBS did not have a policy against news distortion. As noted in the appeals court's decision, "Serafyn also submitted evidence that '60 Minutes' had no policy against news distortion and indeed that management considered some distortion acceptable."

Proof that the network considered some degree of distortion admissible consisted of articles published in the press in which both longtime "60 Minutes" reporter Mike Wallace and the program's executive producer, Don Hewitt, reflected on deception as a tool used by "60 Minutes." The court found that the FCC "failed to discuss or even to mention this evidence," and that this "failure to discuss Serafyn's allegation relating to CBS's policy on veracity is therefore troubling."

The court also referred in its decision to CBS's misrepresentation of the views of Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, chief rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, "when it broadcast his statements without making clear the context in which they were spoken and without including the qualifications and positive statements that accompanied them"; as well as to the broadcaster's misrepresentation to interview subjects of the segment's intent, as "for example, Cardinal [Myroslav Ivan] Lubachivsky [primate of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church] charged that the producers misled him as to the nature of the show."

It referred also to the mistranslation of the word "Zhyd" (Jew) as "kike," noting: "when the word chosen by the translator is an inflammatory term such as 'kike,' the licensee could be expected to assure itself of the accuracy of the translation; if it does not do so, the commission may appropriately consider that fact in reaching a conclusion about the broadcaster's intent to distort the news."

"The inaccuracy of a broadcast can sometimes be indicative of the broadcaster's intent," the court pointed out.

"Since the FCC's decision was vacated, we're now back to square one," said Mr. Belendiuk. "They [CBS] have never lost a case like this - image is everything to them - so it's got to sting." Furthermore, he said; "the appeals court had some pretty harsh words for the FCC, they said their reasoning was muddled, that they did not take the steps required in handling this petition."

Asked for his reaction to this legal victory, Mr. Belendiuk said, "This is the best we could get out of the court. The court overturned the FCC's decisions and said it was improper, not based on the evidence or the facts; it said you [the FCC] have to look at this petition more seriously." What the Ukrainian community got out of the case was "a full voicing of our concerns that this report ['The Ugly Face of Freedom'] looks like distortion."

The FCC now has three options, according to Mr. Belendiuk: rework its decision, call for more evidence, or call a full-scale hearing on the matter.

Mr. Belendiuk concluded: "It's not easy to get a decision of this type. This is the first time that CBS has lost a case like this; this is the first news distortion case ever overturned on appeal - a milestone case."

"The court's decision has put it out for all to see: CBS seems to find some level of distortion acceptable," Mr. Belendiuk underlined in an interview with The Weekly published on August 16.

A Ukrainian Pavilion for EPCOT?

There was news regarding Ukrainians at another major corporation also during 1998. In January correspondent Natalia (Dmytrijuk) Warren reported that Taras (Jason) Harper, president of the Ukrainian Project Fund and an employee of Walt Disney World, had been given the green light by EPCOT Vice-President George Kalogridis to spearhead the EPCOT Millennium Celebration - Ukraine Initiative. The only problem appeared to be a February 1 Disney-imposed deadline for a letter of intent and a security deposit from all corporations that will be sponsoring pavilions. The early deadline was to enable Disney's producers, engineers and architects to partner with the various sponsors in designing the pavilions.

Readers will recall that Mr. Harper and his colleagues are pushing for a Ukrainian pavilion to be constructed at the EPCOT theme park, part of the 44-square-mile Walt Disney World complex. From October 1999 until January 2001, EPCOT will host an enormous Millennium Celebration with the educational entertainment ("edu-tainment") theme of "Hope for a Better World." Joining the current display of countries in EPCOT will be dozens of new pavilions that will showcase the many different aspects of each nation in support of the overall theme. The pavilions, which will average approximately 3,000 square feet and will include food, entertainment, artisans, and audio-visual, architectural and interactive displays, are estimated to cost between $800,000 and $2 million each.

"Ukraine is the only former Soviet bloc country that has been approached to participate in EPCOT's millennium celebration," noted Mr. Harper. "Our dancing surpasses that of virtually every other ethnic group. We have beautiful folk art and a distinctive cuisine. Our homeland and our culture would be interesting to people everywhere, and this is a wonderful opportunity for the Ukrainian people to put on a display for the entire world," he added. An estimated 400 to 500 million people will be exposed to the pavilion structures.

In February, it was reported that the deadline has been extended until the end of the month. There was also news that at least three Ukrainian architects had come forth as willing participants in the pavilion project, and that contacts with corporate sponsors were beginning to look promising.

In March, upon receiving a $10,000 deposit, George Kalogridis, vice-president of EPCOT, granted Mr. Harper a 60-day extension to find sponsorship for the EPCOT Millennium Celebration - Ukraine Initiative. The $10,000 was delivered to Mr. Harper from the offices of a prominent Ukrainian American businessman who had been considering partial sponsorship of the Ukrainian pavilion since he was contacted about the project in January. At the time, the businessman wished to remain unidentified.

And, Mr. Harper noted, more individuals and organizations had become involved in finding major sponsors. Among the people who had expressed interest in helping was Mr. Lozynskyj of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, who met with Robin Chapman, director of creative development at EPCOT, to discuss the possibility of Ukraine's participation in Disney's Millennium Celebration. "This is an absolutely tremendous opportunity to showcase Ukraine, its culture and it's people," explained Mr. Lozynskyj after the meeting. "I think the companies that are working in Ukraine, and the community in general, are going to get very excited about this project," he added.

In order to facilitate the dissemination of information about the EPCOT Millennium Celebration and the Ukraine Initiative, Mr. Harper worked closely with The Buffalo Group, the professionals' and businesspersons' association in western New York State, which recently set up a Ukrainian Pavilion website (http://www.cerg.com/upf/pavilion/index.htm). "We decided to put together a website because we thought a place where people could find additional information about the EPCOT pavilion would really help get the word out and answer some questions in more detail," noted George Hajduczok, an assistant professor of physiology at the University of Buffalo who is president of The Buffalo Group.

In April there was more good news. After three days of meetings with EPCOT executives, both the Chopivsky Family Foundation, represented by George Chopivsky Jr., and American Friends for Ukraine, represented by Vira Goldmann, agreed in principle to support the construction of a Ukrainian pavilion at EPCOT.

Even the scholarly world became excited about the Ukrainian pavilion's potential. The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute came forward with a considerable show of support for the Ukrainian pavilion project, as Executive Director Dr. James Clem offered the HURI's in-kind services as a research consultant. With endowed chairs in Ukraine history, literature and language at Harvard, the HURI has on its staff some of the leading experts in these fields. "This is a chance to tell millions of people about Ukraine, and we want to help make sure that the message we convey is right," noted Dr. Clem. Mr. Harper, who wholeheartedly welcomed Dr. Clem's offer, explained that "having an educational institution like Harvard on board as a research consultant will give the Ukrainian pavilion tremendous credibility."

But the major funding remained elusive ...

At year's end, it was learned that Mrs. Goldmann had inexplicably pulled out her support. But, there still was hope as a Disney spokesperson revealed that sponsorship was being discussed in December with a major corporation from Ukraine.

Perhaps the potential of the Ukrainian pavilion was best summarized by Mr. Kalogridis himself in an interview with Ms. Warren: "I think we are going to have an opportunity for 15 months to do something that is going to connect very much on an emotional scale with our audience. ... We will make sure that when a guest leaves EPCOT at the end of the day during this 15-month period that they are going to feel good about where we, as a world, are going and that there are in fact great things happening out there. Hopefully Ukraine will be one of these things. A guest will walk out of here and know something about Ukraine, and before they came they probably didn't even know where it was, much less anything about it. And they didn't know why it's important and why an emerging democracy is important to maintaining a free world in the future. And how important that is."

Ukraine's diplomats are bid farewell

During 1998, it should be noted, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Yuri Shcherbak continued his practice of hosting meetings with leaders of the Ukrainian community. He also met separately with the leaderships of both the UCCA and the UACC.

Ambassador Shcherbak's principal message to the Ukrainian American community was that he and the government of Ukraine understand and appreciate the work that the Ukrainian American community carries out on behalf of Ukraine. He called on the Ukrainian diaspora to continue to inform Congress and the American public at large of the critical importance of Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity, its efforts to be integrated into the European community and its commitment to maintaining a strategic partnership with the United States.

During his four-year tenure, Ambassador Shcherbak had cultivated strong contacts with the Ukrainian American community. Therefore, when it came time for Dr. Shcherbak to move on to his next assignment in Kyiv as foreign affairs adviser to President Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian communities in various metropolitan areas, including Washington (October 25) and New York (November 3), bid him a fond farewell.

Another Ukrainian diplomat who had forged strong contacts with our community was Hennadii Udovenko, a man who began serving in 1959 in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Ukrainian SSR and ended his diplomatic career on September 8, with what he termed "my final diplomatic address" as president of the United Nations General Assembly. Walter Baranetsky, former president of the UIA, reminded guests at a farewell reception at the institute of Mr. Udovenko's quiet patriotism on behalf of Ukraine at the U.N., even during the Soviet era. In turn, he pointed out to the Udovenkos that the Ukrainian community will always remember them with great fondness.

At year's end, leaders of the top Ukrainian American community organizations and institutions traveled on December 18 to Washington - this time for a special meeting convened by Ukraine's new ambassador to the United States, Anton Buteiko.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 27, 1998, No. 52, Vol. LXVI

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