Ukrainian Canadian writer tackles a difficult subject (01/13/02)

Ukrainian Canadian writer tackles a difficult subject

by Oksana Zakydalsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

TORONTO - A book of fiction for teenagers about an alleged Ukrainian war criminal?

Writer Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is no newcomer to difficult subjects. She is the author of a children's book about the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during World War I ("Silver Threads"), a picture book about the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine ("Enough"), and a story for young adults based on the Armenian massacre ("The Hunger").

Her latest book, "Hope's War," tells the story of 15-year old Kat (Kataryna) Baliuk, a gifted fine arts student who hopes to have a fresh start at a new school for the arts after a less than successful year at a Catholic high school. The stresses of fitting into a new school, making new friends and finding the right outlet for her talent take second place when her family becomes the center of a media storm. Her grandfather, Danylo Baliuk, is accused by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of being a policeman for the Nazis in World War II Ukraine and is suspected of having participated in atrocities against civilians.

All of Ms. Skrypuch's books have been well received and have enjoyed good sales. "Hope's War," published in October by Dundurn Press, differs from her previous works in the fact that, this time, the historical context is not something that is done and over with, but one that continues to devastate some families and touches the whole Ukrainian community today.

The background to the book's story is the problem of finding Nazi criminals in Canada. The Dechenes Commission, convened to advise the government on how to deal with alleged war criminals in Canada, recommended in its 1985 report that such accused persons be given criminal trials in Canada.

When the first three criminal cases were thrown out of court because of lack of evidence, the federal government lowered its standards and said it would institute deportation proceedings against suspected war criminals. Under federal law, people who lie about their wartime activities at the time of their immigration can be denaturalized and deported, even if there is no proof they actually committed any war crimes. Because the government destroyed old immigration records, the courts do not even have to prove someone lied, just that he probably lied.

The case in the book against Kat's grandfather is based on the cases of four real individuals in Canada. Three have been ordered deported: Helmut Oberlander of Waterloo, Ontario, Wasyl Odynsky of Toronto and Volodymyr Katriuk of Montreal. The fourth, Serge Kisluk of St. Catharines, Ontario, was also ordered deported, but died on May 21, 2001. In the Katriuk case, testimony was sought in Ukraine but once the trial was over and Mr. Katriuk was stripped of his citizenship, the people who testified against him admitted they had lied under oath. Their testimony had been taken under the threat of torture by the former KGB. Ms. Skrypuch said that "every single thing that happens to Danylo Baliuk actually happened - I just put it together."

At her book launch, held on November 17, 2001, at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, Ms. Skrypuch explained how she came to write the book. She stressed the fact that the central focus of the book is not wartime Ukraine but the issue of justice in Canada today; that it concerns a human rights issue rather than an ethnic one. (The Ottawa Citizen misleadingly titled its review of the book "Explores strained relations between Jews and Ukrainians.")

Ms. Skrypuch said that she did a lot of research for the book - she interviewed people who have been accused and talked to many people who are involved with deportation procedures. She noted that people are being targeted, but they are not given a criminal trial: such actions of the government have put the rights of all naturalized Canadians under threat. This is brought out in the book by the support the family receives from Kat's Vietnamese friend whose grandparents came to Canada as boat people.

The book is aimed at 12-to 16-year-olds - junior high school age. It features a teen's voice and perspective, and convincingly connects history and today. As Kat learns her grandfather's story, a chapter of Ukrainian history unfolds both for her and for the reader. Her grandfather's and the whole family's ordeal becomes the defining aspect of Kat's year and solves some of the ambiguities with which she has to deal in her personal life. However, the wider issue of justice and fairness for all remains unresolved, as it is in real life.

"Hope's War" is a book that confronts the young reader with a contemporary issue, engages him in the efforts of a young person to understand it, and shows him the effect an ill-guided government policy can have on a family and a whole community. It is both a good story and food for thought and discussion.

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