Kingston's Ukrainian community opens doors to Kosovar refugees (07/04/99)

Kingston's Ukrainian community opens doors to Kosovar refugees

by Roberta Rodgers

KINGSTON, Ontario - Every year for the past 30 years, Kingston's Ukrainian community has sponsored the Lviv-Ukraine pavilion at the Folklore Festival held during the second weekend of June. This year was very special, however, as the Ukrainian community of Kingston, one of the founding groups of the Kingston and District Folk Arts Council, was marking the 30th anniversary of its commitment to sharing Ukrainian culture with the public.

At the same time, Ukrainian community members opened their doors to some truly unexpected guests. For at this year's festival, traditional Ukrainian hospitality was extended not just to the almost standing-room-only crowds of Kingstonians, but also to hundreds of the Kosovar refugees who are currently living at the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston.

I was there when the first busloads of the Kosovars arrived for the opening ceremonies at the pavilion on Friday night, June 11. I paid particular attention to their facial expressions, as I wanted to get some idea of what they were feeling.

Upon entering Regiopolis Notre Dame High School, where the Lviv pavilion has been held for several years, the refugees appeared to be filled with curiosity, but also somewhat bewildered, even anxious. Those emotions soon faded, however, replaced by what I could see was eager anticipation. I took photographs of a few of them and almost all of them were soon smiling. Many seemed eager to talk with me. I soon learned to say "hello" in Albanian and that really brought smiles to their faces. Hearty laughs greeted my attempts to learn and say a few more words in Albanian, like "thank you." They were starting to enjoy themselves, not at my expense, but through our mutual efforts to understand each other despite the barriers of different cultures, languages and experiences. It was fun.

As soon as the Ukrainian folk dancers began their performance, the Kosovars really opened up. The expressions of joy on their faces were truly moving. Their fascination was obvious as they watched the swirling and leaping Ukrainian Kozaks and the beautifully embroidered Ukrainian women folk dancers of the Maky Dance Ensemble perform the traditional Hopak. I especially observed one young Kosovar, a girl who appeared to be about 7 or 8 years old; she had an almost ethereal expression on her face, especially as she watched Ukrainian Canadian dancers of her own age performing before her.

Considering what she and her fellow refugees had only recently gone through, I wished I'd had a video camera handy to capture her pleasure. As I watched her I could not help but think how fortunate she and the others were to have been given sanctuary in Canada. I am sure they are all truly grateful; but just being safe is not enough. What these refugees need to do is to get their lives back on track, and what I got to see over this weekend was the beginning of that process. That little girl was showing me that she and many of these refugees are already beginning to recover happiness in their lives. It was simply wonderful to witness this transformation.

For three decades the Lviv Pavilion and its organizers have provided the public with an absolutely overwhelmingly positive experience, a great introduction to the culture, history and heritage of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Many of the Lviv pavilion's organizers were once themselves refugees, fleeing Soviet tyranny. They well understand how tragic and hopeless the plight of these Kosovars might appear to be to the public and to many of these displaced persons themselves.

So, in welcoming the Kosovars to Kingston, the Ukrainians spoke of their own experience of exile, of preserving their heritage in the freedom of Canada and of finally being able to see the re-emergence of a free Ukraine. They gave the Kosovars reasons for hope by saying, in effect: "You, too, someday will be able to return to your homes and to your lives in Kosovo. Just never give up believing that." I think that message got through.

Later, when the Kosovars spontaneously sang one of their own folk songs, harking back to the homeland they had been driven from, there was scarcely a dry eye in. Those genuine emotions, if nothing else, helped these refugees appreciate that they are truly welcome in Kingston. The Ukrainian Canadian community, whose members did all they could all weekend long to make and remake that point, and all of their own supporters, who provided transportation and treats for the Kosovars while they watched the folk dance shows, really brought out a truth about our country: Canada is a safe haven for real refugees.

As a Kingstonian and a frequent visitor to the Lviv Pavilion over the years, I have come to think of many of its organizers as friends. So, I say this to all of the good folk who were involved in hosting the Lviv-Ukraine Pavilion at the Folklore Festival this year:

Thanks for the excellent shows, thanks for so warmly welcoming me and my friends back again this year. But, especially, thanks for being so hospitable to the Kosovar refugees. I saw how you put a bit of sparkle and hope in their eyes. That's the true spirit of Folklore.

Community activist comments on invitation

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