LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (02/21/99)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Stereotypes: no-win situation

Dear Editor:

Reading Andrew Fedynsky's piece "How many ways can you spell slave?" (January 17), conjured up a few particularly unpleasant memories associated with an excursion I made last August to Ukraine.

When seven of my traveling partners and I were to leave Yalta and head for Odesa, we decided, as we traveled about the country, to proudly prop up against our motorcoach windows our blue-and-yellow flags that we picked up during Kyiv's Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations. At one point, as we stood around waiting to board our motorcoach, conversing in Ukrainian, an "obviously local" middle-aged couple strolled on the walkway past us. The lady glanced at the flags displayed in the bus windows, glared at us and jabbed her partner in the ribs with her elbow and angrily remarked in Russian, "Nu, vot, raby!" (So, look, there are the slaves!)

Apparently, old attitudes die hard. Unlike during other uncomfortable social/political interactions with "locals," this time I ignored the comment.

Another incident that fixed in my memory involved a young teller at a Money Exchange Bank in Odesa who refused to exchange my American dollars into hryvni, or "rubli" as many still refer to Ukrainian currency. The teller summoned the bank security guard who came running to "the scene" to "make peace" by ushering me out of the bank. Once outside, he apologized and explained to me that the teller didn't want to help me because I was speaking to her in Ukrainian. No doubt about it. She was offended because I addressed her in the language of the "slaves."

Having completed several trips to Ukraine, I have realized that taking issue with such stereotypical attitudes becomes a no-win situation.

Nancy Melnyk
Rochester, N.Y.

The UWC: it can indeed be relevant

Dear Editor:

In his letter to the editor, "Is the UWC still relevant?" (January 24), George Primak subjects the Ukrainian World Congress and its new president, Askold Lozynskyj, to some rather blistering criticism, most of which misses its mark. It would be wonderful if Mr. Primak's criticism was well within the realm of the constructive, but sadly, it underscores how we Ukrainians are quick to attack those institutions and individuals that seek, God forbid, to unite our global (yes, Mr. Primak, Ukrainians went global centuries ago!) Ukrainian village.

Mr. Primak contends that Mr. Lozynskyj's call for a Ukrainian diaspora "world government" is "preposterous." Why? Ukraine's government not only is too weak, at present, to defend the common interests of all Ukrainians throughout the world, it is still composed of people who, for the most part, do not have the spine to stand up and show the world that Ukraine and Ukrainians worldwide share common interests, and are ready, willing and able to defend and even promote these interests.

If the post-Soviet Ukrainian government nomenklatura is not ready to take up the task of consolidating and expanding Ukrainian influence worldwide, someone else must at least try to do this. Since when have the sons and daughters of Kyivan Rus', the Zaporizhian Sich and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) been relieved of this great responsibility and the attendant opportunities?

Mr. Primak contends that the UWC budget is minuscule in proportion to the mission that Mr. Lozynskyj has placed before it. That is true, but that contention misses the mark. Nothing stands in the way of reviving fund-raising and development activities by the UWC. If that organization, under Mr. Lozynskyj's leadership, crafts and implements a competent and serious development strategy, available financial and material (in-kind) resources will increase dramatically. Of course, UWC development will depend, to a considerable extent, on whether those various leaders within the Ukrainian diaspora who have, on past occasions, disagreed with Mr. Lozynskyj's political views and leadership style will be willing to truly "bury the hatchet" and realize that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Mr. Primak's comparison of the UWC budget to the amount of Pavlo Lazarenko's bail, Ukraine's budget, and the Super Bowl are irrelevant to the size and scope of UWC financing. Had he compared the annual budget of such organizations as the World Jewish Congress to that of the UWC, perhaps Mr. Primak would have done readers a service by shaming us into quickly cutting checks and sending large sums to the UWC. And the fact that Ukraine's budget is considerably larger than the UWC's means nothing because Ukraine's 1999 budget falls painfully short of meeting the minimal needs of the Ukrainian state and citizenry. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is far from fully financed and as such its ability to lobby Ukrainian interests worldwide is circumscribed. Quite apart from this, Mr. Primak should keep in mind that huge budgets are not necessarily indicative of an organization's future prospects.

Mr. Primak goes on to discuss the efforts of the WJC in extracting large reparations payments from Swiss banks for Holocaust victims and their descendants, and mentions unsubstantiated remarks by WJC president Edgar Bronfman about his influence with the U.S. president. On top of that, Mr. Primak expresses the view that Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's ability to arrange similar telephone calls is probably on the same level as Mr. Bronfman's.

Let's work to improve the Ukrainian diaspora's record on arranging telephone calls to heads of state! Better still, let's develop and implement strategies to successfully lobby the individuals and institutions that formulate and influence government policies and societal attitudes towards Ukraine and Ukrainians worldwide.

One can go on and challenge Mr. Primak's allegation that 20 million is an inflated figure for Ukrainian diaspora populations, or that the name Ukrainian World Congress is "very pompous," or that it is time for our diaspora to "become like the diasporas of other normal nations, such as the Irish, the Italians..." However, I must confess to a certain admiration for all those normal Irish Americans who have consistently and lovingly supported their compatriots in Northern Ireland over the years.

I would underscore that I believe that Mr. Lozynskyj has a proven record of leadership within the North American Ukrainian community and that he and his new team deserve a chance to develop and present a coherent vision and strategy for the UWC and the Ukrainian diaspora. Imagine if the UWC, with the diaspora's active involvement, were to become a powerful defender and promoter of Ukrainian interests worldwide. That would be just terrible, wouldn't it?

Yarema Bachynsky
Kyiv

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