UCCA executive board meeting focuses on upcoming 70th anniversary of Great Famine (02/09/03)

UCCA executive board meeting focuses on upcoming 70th anniversary of Great Famine

by Tamara Gallo
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

NEW YORK - The first meeting in 2003 of the executive board of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America was held on Saturday, January 25. The UCCA president, Michael Sawkiw Jr., welcomed all board members present and wished everyone a healthy, prosperous and energetic New Year. Executive Secretary Marie Duplak read the minutes from the previous meeting, which were adopted without any changes.

The main topic on the agenda was commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. A broad spectrum of ideas was discussed of how to appropriately observe the upcoming anniversary, including what has become a tradition, the annual commemoration of the Famine-Genocide at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, which has been scheduled for Saturday, November 15 at 2 p.m. Proposed keynote speakers recommended by the UCCA Executive Board include United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Vice-President Richard Cheney, and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. The annual event may be preceded with a march/demonstration down Manhattan's streets, as occurred during the 65th anniversary observance.

A critical aspect of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide, the UCCA leader agreed, is education. The UCCA executive board proposed the following: to educate Ukrainian children at an early age by devoting one entire history lesson on the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide within the system of Saturday Ukrainian schools. To supplement this lesson, a special competition would be held among schoolchildren who would depict their views of the Famine-Genocide through sketches and paintings. The best works from every school would then be displayed throughout the community in a traveling exhibit portraying the Famine-Genocide through the eyes of our youth.

Secondly, since U.S. educational issues are decided on the local level, either by the state or city administration/school boards, the UCCA will begin examining which high school curriculums teach their students about the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. Most states require 10th grade students to undergo a week of studies titled "Genocide Around the World." Unfortunately, the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 is not as widely studied as other genocides/ethnocides, and thus must be brought to the forefront for discussion within high school classrooms.

A multi-media approach in the United States was examined by meeting participants in the context of informing the general American public about the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933. In particular, the UCCA executive board proposed that the highly acclaimed documentary film, "The Harvest of Despair," be broadcast on American television programs such as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) or similar public information channels. Furthermore, the UCCA executive board proposes approaching The Trident Group, a group of Ukrainian Americans in southern California who work in the motion-picture industry, to develop a documentary about the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide, complete with witness testimonies.

The dubious reporting of New York Times Moscow correspondent Walter Duranty, who denied the Famine was occurring, subsequently received a Pulitzer Prize for his articles from the Soviet Union. The UCCA executive board will begin a campaign to revoke Mr. Duranty's Pulitzer Prize.

In cooperation with Ukrainian diplomatic representations, the UCCA executive board agreed to approach Ukraine's Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) to introduce a resolution recognizing the Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as an act of genocide at the U.N. General Assembly; efforts to jointly sponsor an exhibit in the U.N.'s Visitor's Gallery in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide were discussed.

Finally, the topic that generated the most discussion was the building of a monument in Washington to the victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. Last year's bill (H.R. 5289), introduced by Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), was not voted upon by Congress since it was overburdened by a busy congressional schedule. Rep. Levin, co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, will introduce a new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to put into law the erection of the famine memorial in the U.S. capital.

The UCCA executive board mandated that a separate building committee, encompassing all Ukrainian American organizations, be organized to coordinate all matters associated with the construction of the Famine memorial. Additionally, it was agreed that the UCCA Presidium should meet with Ukrainian Church leaders in the United States to obtain support for the building of such a monument in Washington.

In previous years, UCCA regional conferences were held in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic states, the Midwest and in Florida. As the Ukrainian community expands beyond its traditional hubs of activity, the UCCA executive board recommended that additional regional conferences be organized in the states of Texas, California, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado and Washington. These regional conferences will feature a speech on a particular topic of interest by a visiting UCCA executive board member and would be centered on attracting the younger generations of Ukrainian Americans, as well as the newest immigrants to the United States.

That the unity of the Ukrainian American community is a grave concern to the UCCA executive board, also was stressed at the meeting. Following the 18th Congress of Ukrainians in America, the UCCA had formed a Commission on Unity to begin talks with the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council. Though unsuccessful in its initial attempts, the commission is to be reactivated for the purpose of speaking directly with various unaffiliated organizations with the goal of unifying the multitude of Ukrainian American organizations under one central umbrella representation.

In conjunction with the law in Ukraine on "foreign Ukrainians," a national library/foundation has been recently formed in Ukraine, which will be dedicated to publications of the Ukrainian diaspora. With over 60 years of publications and volumes of printed material, the UCCA Executive Board agreed to contribute a complete set of UCCA publications to the library. As details of the program and the formation of the foundation become available, the UCCA will provide further details to the Ukrainian American community to encourage their contributions of books and periodicals.

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