LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (03/07/99)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re: visiting women parliamentarians

Dear Editor:

The article "Delegation of women parliamentarians visits U.S." (February 14) was of great interest as it provided an insight into, dare I say, ideological thinking of "us" and "them."

Although I deeply deplore the fact that many Ukrainian deputies choose to use a foreign language in the Verkhovna Rada, I equally deplore the unfortunate situation encountered by Iryna Belousova, as well as the jeers towards the other members of the delegation at a meeting with the Ukrainian American community.

In this incident I see only a missed opportunity for a good debate, an intelligent and rational exchange of ideas and positions. Though it probably would not have changed much, at least there could have been a dialogue and, at the end of the day, just maybe, all the participants would have learned something positive about each other. A pragmatic approach might have achieved, at best, some civility; emotional outbursts don't build bridges, and there is always the danger of burning those that do exist.

I pray that somebody in the audience asked the women deputies about some of the salient issues, e.g., is there why such a reluctance to form a women's caucus? Why is there such a scant interest in "women's issues"? After all, women in Ukraine make up more than 50 percent of the population. Don't they care about their sisters who, by the thousands, have to seek work in foreign countries in order to feed their families back home? Do they care about the consequences of disrupted family ties? What does it mean that "without a women's caucus each woman deputy was free to pursue her own interests"? Are they not supposed to pursue and defend the interests of their respective constituents?

These are some of the questions I would have liked the parliamentrians to answer. And, of course, I would have wanted to listen to their explanation why smart people like them have such insurmountable difficulty learning Ukrainian.

For sure we did not need to hear their unique spin on the Clinton impeachment - 15 wasted newspaper lines that should have been used for more substantial information about the deputies' sojourn in the U.S., courtesy of our tax monies.

Daria Horodysky
Richfield, Ohio

Thank you for story by Toronto editor

Dear Editor:

I would like to thank your Toronto editor Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj for his courage in taking up the story of Ivan Monczak (January 17), abducted by his mother Miroslava Bartchouk and unlawfully taken to Ukraine.

In Canada, the plight of little Ivan and his father, Dr. Yury Monczak, made prime-time news headlines on both the CTV and CBS national television networks, radio stations, as well as local and national newspapers. It was the story during Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's visit to Kyiv on January 27-28.

However, to my knowledge, not one of the Ukrainian-language periodicals cared to even inquire about the facts of the story. I was bluntly told by one so-called "patriot" that "it undermines Ukraine's reputation in the world."

It is about time that we Ukrainians - both in the mother country and abroad - got our act together and stopped camouflaging the unlawful activities of those who are continuously tarnishing Ukraine's reputation. A democratic society is an open society governed by the rule of law.

Before ending, I would like to clarify just one item in Mr. Wynnyckyj's otherwise excellent article. Ms. Bartchouk, contrary to her wish, was not granted custody of Ivan. She admitted in court that her accusations of being maltreated were false. Therefore, both parents were given custody: Ivan spent one week with his father and one week with his mother, each parent providing for his needs.

Had Ukraine been a signatory of the international "Hague Treaty," Ivan Monczak would have already been returned to his father in Canada.

Bohdanna Hawryluk-Monczak
La Salle, Quebec

About assimilation and our culture

Dear Editor:

My parents, Anna Krusch and Onofry Walyshyshyn, came from Skalat, prior to the first world war. My wife's parents (Gruchowsky) came from Velyka Plovucha around the same time. As first-generation Ukrainian Americans, we experienced difficulties assimilating. We spoke Ukrainian at home. Our parents' hopes were that some day we would marry a Ukrainian. However, there were pressures to excel at school, which meant that English had to be mastered.

I, one of four siblings, was the only one who married a Ukrainian American. My wife, Dorothy, and her sister, Stacy, both married Ukrainian Americans. In the second generation, our daughter Barbara has been married happily for 28 years to Dr. Zachary Wochok; they have four children, all of whom will probably marry out of the Ukrainian loop. Our son has recently celebrated his 25th anniversary happily married to a non-Ukrainian.

Assimilation is not limited to Ukrainians. All immigrant groups share this situation. Assimilation is one of the building blocks that makes this country great. We can only hope that our children and their children will acquire the customs of our culture - and their children will acquire the customs of our culture - and perpetuate them no matter who they marry. The other hope is that they will support Ukrainian organizations in order to perpetuate the customs and folk culture of their parents and grandparents.

John (Wasylyshyn) Wylder
Vacaville, Calif.

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