2000: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Ukrainians in the U.S.: milestones, anniversaries

Perhaps the biggest news for Ukrainians in America this year was the recent generous donation to The Ukrainian Museum building project.

When The Ukrainian Museum held its annual meeting on June 11 this year, the main topic of discussion was whether to proceed in constructing the new museum building. Nobody even dreamed that exactly six months after the meeting a $3.5 million donation by Eugene and Daymel Shklar would fund not only the much-needed new building, but also provide state-of-the-art accommodations and equipment for its growing collection of art.

Work on the new building will begin early next year, with completion expected in the spring of 2002. It will be erected at 222 E. Sixth St. on property purchased by the museum in 1985. The gift has been added to the $3 million previously raised by the museum. While $2.5 million has been allocated for the building project, $1 million is designated as a challenge grant that will match, dollar for dollar, any additional gifts or grants received by the museum before January 31, 2002.

In a brief address, Mr. Shklar said the gift is in honor of his parents and that he hopes the gift, also intended to honor the founders, benefactors, trustees and staff of the museum, will also encourage others to step forward with their own contributions of time or capital.

Evidently, The Ukrainian Museum Building Fund is a popular cause to support, as seen in the Stride and Ride to Build - a walk-a-thon, bike-a-thon and family picnic - in which over 100 people took part and raised over $30,000 on September 24.

The event was organized by a group of young women who combined their love of sports and the outdoors with their appreciation of Ukrainian culture. Their and Mr. Shklar's recent efforts on behalf of the museum yielded not only superb financial aid for the building project, but also raised public awareness of the institution as a viable and essential element of the Ukrainian American community.

While The Ukrainian Museum is rejoicing over its good fortune, other Ukrainian American institutions, like the Verkhovyna resort of the Ukrainian Fraternal Association, are fighting for survival. On February 27, 1999, the Ukrainian American Cultural Foundation and the UFA wrote a letter to appeal to the Ukrainian community for financial support for the Verkhovyna resort in Glen Spey, N.Y. They wanted to organize all Ukrainians, especially UFA members, to purchase the resort in order to ensure its continued services for the Ukrainian community.

The UACF, founded by people who were interested in keeping Verkhovyna in Ukrainian hands, started collecting funds for the purchase of the resort. In June, the UFA Supreme Assembly - responding to Pennsylvania insurance authorities' order that the UFA divest itself of Verkhovyna - decided to sell the property to the UACF. News of the action was published in the June 29 issue of Narodna Volya, the official publication of the UFA. However, the deal fell through and there were reports that a new contract was about to be signed with a non-Ukrainian group. As of yet, however, the sale is not final, as the UFA is still in negotiations.

Despite the uncertainty of Verkhovyna's future, this summer marked the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian Youth Festival at the 142-acre resort. Thousands of people arrived at the beautiful UFA grounds to enjoy live entertainment by enthusiastic vocal and dance groups, buy souvenirs and sample Ukrainian foods at what might have been the last such festival at Verkhovyna.

The year 2000 was also the year of the U.S. Census in which Ukrainian Americans were strongly encouraged to participate since its data provided the government (and our community) with perhaps the only information for estimating the number of Ukrainians in the United States.

The same questions about ancestry were asked in 2000 as were in 1980 and 1990, providing an opportunity to analyze trends for the last 20 years in marriage and linguistic assimilation, geographical dispersion, socio-economic status, etc. The 2000 Census also offered a unique opportunity for estimating the numbers and characteristics of new immigrants from Ukraine in the last decade.

Although the concept of Ukrainian ancestry did not indicate a person's involvement (or lack thereof) in Ukrainian activities, it did show a potential maximum of members for different organizations and churches.

In addition to participating in the census, the Ukrainian American community was also urged to vote in this year's elections. Unfortunately, the candidates of both parties made very few efforts to contact Ukrainian Americans.

The few outreach efforts included the September 20 meeting of the Democratic candidate for vice-president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, with Ukrainian Americans and other Ohio ethnic leaders in order to discuss ethnic issues. In chatting with the group of 20 representatives, the senator spoke of the pride he feels as a Jewish American and commended the participants for working so hard to preserve their own respective cultures and for maintaining links with the countries of their origin. Sen. Lieberman also stressed his own European heritage, indicating that he traces his ancestry to Chernivtsi in Ukraine. The Ukrainian representatives encouraged the senator to continue to support a positive U.S. policy toward Ukraine.

On the Republican side, at a tele-conference on October 31, George Shultz, an advisor to Gov. George W. Bush, spoke of the presidential candidate's commitment to NATO expansion.

Mr. Shultz explained that NATO enlargement would allow the United States to be in a position to help economic development in Central and Eastern Europe. He pointed out that "aid, loans and grants are helpful, but that they need to focus on developing strong economic conditions so that the countries can help themselves."

Despite the few contacts and brief meetings, the candidates did not seem to feel the need to pursue the Ukrainian American vote. When the Ukrainian National Information Service prepared a questionnaire for the candidates in order to raise the consciousness of the two presidential campaigns about issues that concern the Ukrainian American community, and to inform the community about the candidates' positions on those issues, both sides did not respond.

That and the rather small amount of political advertisements placed in Ukrainian newspapers could have caused the Ukrainian American community to believe that their votes did not matter. However, with the so-called "battleground states" being Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, etc., Ukrainian communities could have had a large impact on the 2000 elections. May it be a lesson for future candidates.

The new elections were also a setback for the Ukrainian American Veterans, who - ever since Minority Whip Rep. David E. Bonoir (D-Mich.) introduced the bill (HR 3463) last year - hoped that the government would grant them a federal charter that would enable them to broaden their charitable and military activities across America and abroad.

However, in this November's elections, the UAV lost five of its co-sponsors due either to election losses or to a change in the Senate. If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill granting a national charter to the UAV would also have to be passed by the Senate within a two-year period.

During this year's 53rd National UAV Convention, in Warren, Mich., Mr. Bonoir not only pledged full support to the veterans, but also impressed them with his knowledge of current events in Ukraine. The convention also included a gala military banquet in which UAV members honored all of the Ukrainians who served - many of them paying the supreme sacrifice - in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.

Even though, in general, Ukrainian Americans were not active in the election campaigns, groups such as the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America continued to work with candidates and politicians in order to build a strong relationship between Ukraine and the United States.

On April 25, in an effort to encourage open dialogue with the various communities, the director of ethnic outreach for the Democratic National Committee organized an informal meeting between Vice-President Al Gore and 12 U.S. ethnic groups, among them the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

There the UCCA presented to the vice-president a memorandum outlining a series of issues that concern the Ukrainian American community, including an increase in foreign assistance to Ukraine, granting it permanent normal trade relations status, further expansion of NATO and U.S. support for the Shelter Implementation Plan for the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Among other encounters of candidates with the community in January we reported on a telephone conference call during which several leaders of the Ukrainian American community spoke with Vice-President Al Gore's national security advisor, Leon Fuerth. The purpose of the call was to brief the members of the community about the December 1999 Gore-Kuchma Binational Committee meeting in Washington.

Mr. Fuerth pointed to President Kuchma's statement that Ukraine's course of action will be to further integrate Ukraine into Euro-Atlantic structures and to maintain ties with Europe and the United States, as well as Russia. He also spoke of the need for more rapid privatization and the elimination of governmental and non-governmental corruption.

Then on May 17, as a preview of the issues and events surrounding President Bill Clinton's trip to Ukraine, the White House Office of Public Liaison held a conference call with 25 representatives from various Ukrainian American organizations and institutions.

Among the issues discussed were: progress towards accession to the World Trade Organization, U.S. support for commercial law reform in Ukraine, permanent normal trade relations status for Ukraine, equal rights for women in Ukraine, health-care concerns, education of a new generation of business leaders and the closure of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

The UCCA was also in the news after its quadrennial convention on October 13-15 in Chicago, where the delegates from UCCA branches throughout the United States unanimously elected Michael Sawkiw Jr., 32 (yes, 32!), as their president for the next four years.

Various congressional committees were appointed to examine critical aspects of Ukrainian community life: aid to Ukraine, student and youth groups, veterans' affairs, public relations, educational concerns, financial considerations and organizational status of the community.

Another project of the UCCA discussed this year has been the building of a Ukrainian school in Karaganda, Kazakstan, a project that costs an estimated $14,000 and will be funded by the estate of Yaroslava and Ivan Parachoniak.

Then a month later, on November 18 the newly elected UCCA president called to order a UCCA executive board meeting in which a major topic of discussion was unity within the Ukrainian American community.

The UCCA pledged to rededicate its efforts to bring the community together after 20 years of disunity and established a Committee for Reunification, which will be headed by Prof. Taras Hunczak, who will conduct talks with various organizations, as well as with Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC).

With a similar goal in mind, other organizations have also joined forces to discuss issues of mutual concern, as at the September 13 meeting of the executives of four Ukrainian American fraternal organizations.

Present were representatives of the Ukrainian National Association, Ukrainian Fraternal Organization, Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics in America and the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America. Together they discussed the continually growing requirements and oversight of state insurance commissions; difficulties associated with new insurance regulations in Canada; enrollment of new members from among the "Fourth Wave" of immigrants from Ukraine; the possibility of providing insurance services in Ukraine; and cooperation among all fraternals.

In the realm of education, the Educational Council, which functions under the aegis of the UCCA, held its elections meeting on June 24-25 in East Hanover, N.J. The teachers who attended this meeting represented 2,600 students from 35 Ukrainian studies schools.

Dr. Eugene Fedorenko, president of the Educational Council, reported that schools are being revived due to the influx of highly qualified teachers from the Fourth Wave of immigrants, many of whom have a new approach to the teaching of different subjects. The newly arrived teachers make up 50 percent of the total number of Ukrainian studies staff. Enrollment has also risen due to new students from Ukraine.

The Educational Council also discussed how the educational process is being redefined in Ukraine. In Kyiv there are 90 Ukrainian-language schools and only three Russian language schools, therefore, the Ukrainian nation is on the right path.

This year has also seen new conferences and discussions about Ukraine's position in the world and how Americans can help it achieve its goals.

The first of these was on May 23, when Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, met with the Ukrainian American community at the Ukrainian Institute of America, where he expressed his gratitude for their essential support in Ukraine's good relations with the United States.

In his discussion he noted that the slow but steady approach to the increasing use of the Ukrainian language is the most successful method "to put Ukrainian in to its proper place."

Also, with regard to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine, the ambassador explained that the funding from the United States goes to projects that the U.S. Congress believes Ukraine needs, and not necessarily to the programs that the government would choose.

In an effort to continue discussion about Ukraine's future, on September 19-20 more than 200 representatives gathered in Washington for a conference titled "Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood: A Roundtable" where they exchanged views on Ukraine's progress in its nation-building efforts and external relationships.

The roundtable brought together representatives from academia and the governments of Ukraine and the United States to evaluate the recent realignment of political forces in Ukraine and examine its geo-political/geo-economic implications.

Zbigniew Brzezinski delivered the keynote address, whose central theme was "Ukraine is not Russia." In his presentation, Dr. Brzezinski underscored the various areas in which Ukraine outshines Russia, among them in protecting human rights, building a democracy, economic reforms, effective use of foreign assistance and its attitude toward the United States.

Dr. Brzezinski stressed that the United States should deal with Ukraine as a strategically important independent nation and not tie it to Russia in every level of its relationship, including the "symbolic level."

A month later, on October 6-8, The Washington Group, led by its new president, Ihor Kotlarchuk, held its annual Leadership Conference which focused this year on the issue of Ukraine's integration into the global community.

After two days of discussions, the consensus appeared to be that Ukraine should strive to integrate itself within European and global economic and political structures, even though it is not yet fully ready to take some of the necessary steps.

Then on October 18, the International Renaissance Foundation's Executive Director, Yevhen Bystrytsky met at the corporate headquarters of the Ukrainian National Association, with representatives from U.S. organizations that also are working for change in Ukraine.

Organizations represented at this meeting were: Americans for Human Rights in Ukraine, Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Association of New York and New Jersey, Coordinating Committee to Aid Ukraine, Rukh Fund for the Democratization of Ukraine, Sabre-Svitlo, 20th Century Human Rights Fund, the Sabre Foundation and the UNA.

Mr. Bystrytsky organized the meeting because he had noticed that the paths of all of these organizations have crossed and he wanted to assess what has been done in the last 10 years, and set goals for the next decade. He also introduced the IRF's plan of developing and financing a website that will include information about activities that have been undertaken by other foundations.

Another one of Mr. Bystrytsky's goals for the future was to change Ukraine's law on non-profit organizations because it offers no incentive for charitable contributions; in fact it penalizes the donor and the recipient organization.

Speaking of charitable organizations, the Ukrainian American community actively supported humanitarian efforts to aid the families of the 81 miners from Krasnodon, Ukraine, who were killed in the explosion at the Barakova coal mine on March 11.

The United Ukrainian American Relief Committee was the first group to give support to the families of the deceased miners when it sent $16,700 worth of humanitarian aid just days after the tragedy. On September 29, the UUARC along with the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America donated an additional $27,205 to the families of survivors.The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation also raised over $12,000 for this cause. Of that the Ukrainian Assumption School of Perth Amboy, N.J., was one of the largest contributors. The schoolchildren raised nearly $1,250 for the Krasnodon mining families. Also, the CCRF delivered three tons of medication valued at $108,000 to the Krasnodon Regional Central Hospital to aid the victims.

The UUARC has also had an active year, providing all forms of humanitarian aid to Ukrainians throughout the world. This year alone the organization has sent 12 containers valued at $820,000 to various regions in Ukraine. These efforts prove that Ukrainian Americans can unite in order to help the many unfortunate people in Ukraine.

Also in the news was the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund that continued its tradition of offering medical aid and other assistace to the Ukrainian population affected by the Chornobyl disaster.

One of its projects this year was providing the Poltava maternity hospital with new and modern intensive-care equipment for infants. Unlike the well-endowed medical institutions in Kyiv, hospitals in other Ukrainian cities often lack medical instruments and even basic medical supplies. For this reason, the CCRF has been working to provide those hospitals with modern rehabilitation technologies.

Scientific conferences of neonatologists organized by the CCRF raised the qualifications of Ukrainian doctors to the level of their American colleagues. Due to their efforts, for the first time women who were once discouraged from becoming pregnant due to their exposure to radiation, now have a chance to become mothers.

Also on July 7, taking advantage of a visit to New York by the staff ship of the Ukrainian navy, the Slavutych, the CCRF delivered five skids of over $85,000 worth of humanitarian aid destined for the ship's home port of Sevastopol, Ukraine.

And recently on December 12, the CCRF delivered nearly $1.3 million worth of high-priority medical supplies to the region affected by the Chornobyl disaster. The airlift - the CCRF's 27th - coincided with the closure of the last operating reactor at the Chornobyl Atomic Energy Station. CCRF staff traveled to the city of Slavutych to express their solidarity with nuclear clean-up workers who are currently employed at the Chornobyl nuclear plant and whose jobs are threatened by the closure of the last operating reactor.

To date, the CCRF has delivered 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, with a total value of $46 million. The fund continues to be in the forefront of intensive efforts to improve infant survival rates and to combat children's cancer.

In other news, this year has marked many significant jubilees for Ukrainian American organizations. For example, the Ukrainian National Women's League of America marked the 75th anniversary of its founding this year with celebrations across the country by the organization's regional councils. Their goal was to recall what the UNWLA has done and continues to do for the entire Ukrainian community.

In most districts anniversary events encompassed divine liturgies, a traveling exhibit of photographs, documents and publications of the UNWLA as well as a display of children's publications.

On December 2, there was a nationwide anniversary celebration at a gala banquet in Arlington, Va. The formal event saw a symbolic candle-lighting ceremony, a photo montage slide presentation, an invocation by the Rev. Myroslav Medvid, and special congratulatory readings.

On December 3 the UNWLA continued its celebrations by hosting a special conference at which the participants discussed Ukrainian history, identity and future.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Gen. Roman Shukhevych (nom de guerre: Taras Chuprynka), supreme commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), who died on March 5, 1950, in the town of Bilohorscha, outside of Lviv, during combat with special forces of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD).

In its statement commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Shukhevych, the Ukrainian World Congress noted that "Shukhevych was a rare genius in modern insurgent warfare ... one who opposed both the Hitlerite-German and Bolshevik-Russian occupations. The measure of the quality of the military activity of Roman Shukhevych transformed him into one of legendary status, as the commander of the 'Armiya Bezsmertnykh' (Army of the Immortals)."

Gen. Shukhevych was also member of the Plast fraternity "Chornomortsi." Consequently, on Memorial Day weekend, when over 300 Plast members met at the Plast campground in Middlefield, Ohio for their annual "Sviato Vesny," they dedicated the event to Shukhevych's memory.

However, Shukhevych's was not the only important jubilee in the Plast community, as the organization has spent this last year celebrating its 50th anniversary in the United States.

The 22 U.S. branches of Plast contributed to the national celebration as well as held banquets and ceremonies in their own communities. In addition, Plast produced and distributed commemorative audio cassettes and CDs featuring popular Plast songs and a 50-minute video titled "The Never-Changing Face of Plast." A book covering the history of Plast in the United States is due to be published at the end of this year.

On November 19 the Plast community gathered for a special celebration - a theatrical presentation titled "Yuvileina Vatra" (Jubilee Bonfire). The program was a montage of music, dance, humor, drama and video technology intertwined through a seven-act story line that involved a young scout reliving past Plast adventures.

Another Ukrainian youth group - the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) - also celebrated its 50th jubilee in the United States.

The ceremony of the SUM branch in Hartford honored active members for their participation and achievements and commemorated SUM members who had significantly contributed to the organization but have passed away. Other SUM branches including Yonkers, N.Y., also marked the jubilee.

SUM also made the headlines for its World SUMnet conference that took place in Ellenville, N.Y., on April 1-2 this year. Over 100 delegates gathered from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine and the United States in order discover the magic of the Internet. The participants learned how to create web pages, design and create computer graphic images, send e-mail in Ukrainian and create online books and publications. Since SUM is first and foremost an organization dedicated to its youth, there was much emphasis on how technology can play an useful role in SUM's youth programs.

Another group that has made efforts to keep up with ever-changing technology is the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association, which unites 22 Ukrainian American credit unions. CEOs and managers met at a conference on February 17-20 in Venice, Fla., to discuss proposed UNCUA-sponsored credit union affinity/courtesy cards, potential credit/debit ATM card services for smaller credit unions, as well as marketing the benefits of credit union services to a new generation of members. The conference also had the opportunity to present the benefits of credit union membership to the ever-growing Ukrainian community of retirees in Florida.

Then on June 29-July 1, 19 Ukrainian American credit unions sent representatives to the annual meeting and spring conference of the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association in Philadelphia. Guests from Ukraine and representatives of the Credit Union National Association's Mutual Group were also present.

Topics discussed were the institution of credit cards for smaller credit unions, an analysis of the financial status of Ukrainian American credit unions for the previous year and comparative reviews of individual credit unions.

The conference showed that Ukrainian American credit unions compare favorably with peer American credit unions and remain a strong basis of financial support for Ukrainian communities and their various organizations and institutions.

The Ukrainian American community has also been active in honoring Ukrainian history this year. On September 20 the annual Congressional reception commemorating the anniversary of Ukraine's independence was held in the Senate's Hart Office Building.

Sponsored by the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the reception brought nearly 150 people to observe the annual tradition on Capitol Hill.

On November 18 the Ukrainian community of the New York metropolitan area gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral to solemnly recall the victims of the Great Famine in Ukraine with the third annual ecumenical memorial service and addresses.

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in remembrance of the 7 million to 10 million Ukrainians who died in 1932-1933 as a result of the famine engineered by the Soviet government.

After the service, several notable speakers addressed the more than 1,500 people present. Among them were Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Volodymyr Yelchenko; UCCA's newly elected president, Michael Sawkiw; and the Rev. Myroslav Medvid.

The ambassador commended the Ukrainian American community for organizing the memorial event, "proving," he said, "that this is not simply a tribute to the past but also a reminder to the future." He also discussed the Ukrainian government's efforts at greater worldwide awareness of the Great Famine through the United Nations and other channels.

Speaking of the famine, the Rev. Medvid noted that the Soviet authorities were unable to accomplish their goals, just as the tsars had been unable to break the Ukrainian spirit in earlier centuries. He attributed this to courageous political leaders throughout Ukrainian history, noting that even after the deaths of these leaders, "their ideas did not die."

The Rev. Medvid, the event's keynote speaker received the most attention, as this was his first visit to the United States since he made international headlines 15 years ago when, as a young Soviet sailor, he jumped ship and unsuccessfully sought political asylum in the United States.

Similarly this year, Walter Polovchak, was in the spotlight once again. Mr. Polovchak was once known as the "little defector" because he defied his parents at the age of 12 by choosing to stay in the United States while they returned to Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union.

Now in his 30s, Mr. Polovchak met with Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez and said that he understands how the 6-year-old feels. "I think Elian knows the difference between freedom and not having freedom," Mr. Polovchak said sympathetically. "You don't have to be hit by a car to know that it is painful."

Mr. Polovchak's refusal to return to Ukraine had set off a five-and-a-half year custody battle that didn't end until he turned 18 and was granted U.S. citizenship. Now a father to a 6-year-old boy, Mr. Polovchak said he believed that the best solution for Elian would be for his father to come with his wife and young son to live with him in the United States, rather than fighting to take him back to Cuba.

Also in the news again was John Demjanjuk, who on March 3 filed a lawsuit claiming that the U.S. government's investigation of him dating back to 1977 amounts to torture.

The lawsuit sought at least $5 million in damages from the U.S. government and asked that the new case filed against Mr. Demjanjuk last year by the Justice Department be dismissed.

Mr. Demjaniuk's suit was a response to the U.S. Justice Department complaint filed in 1999, which sought to revoke Mr. Demjanjuk's citizenship on the grounds that he illegally gained U.S. citizenship because he concealed his service as a Nazi camp guard.

The Justice Department complaint alleged that, after being trained at the Nazis' Trawniki training Camp, Mr. Demjanjuk served as a guard in Lublin, the Landed Estate Okzow, the Majdanek and Flossenberg concentration camps, and the Sobibor death camp.

The new legal documents filed by the defense denied all the charges against Mr. Demjanjuk, stating that he was forced to work as a laborer after being taken prisoner by the Nazis in May 1942.

Finally, also notable among community developments in the year 2000 was a new book titled "Generations: A Documentary of Ukrainians in Chicago." The book preserves Ukrainian cultural life in Chicago and was the work of Irene Antonovych (oral histories) and Lialia Kuchma (photo-portraits). This landmark chronicle was born of the ideas of the late Adam Antonovych, a longtime publisher of Ekran Magazine.

The subjects of the many photos and anecdotes represent four full generations of immigrants and American-born Ukrainians, whose stories transform the abstract history of Ukrainians immigration into personal and effective realities. The book offers an opportunity for nostalgia and background information relevant to Ukrainians not only in Chicago, but throughout the diaspora.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 7, 2001, No. 1, Vol. LXIX

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