COMMUNITY CHRONICLE: Boston activists promote Famine curriculum (03/26/06)

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

Boston activists promote Famine curriculum

BOSTON - Back in November 2005, a group of Ukrainians met with Sid Smith, who is in charge of the history curriculum for the Boston School District, to discuss the inclusion of information about the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 on the history website used by the school district's teachers.

Present at the meeting were: Anna Raniuk, a survivor of the Famine; Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk and Roman Tarnawsky, respectively, of the local Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox parishes; Dr. Lubomyr Hajda of Harvard University; Dr. Oleksander Zaytsev of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv; and Maria Walzer, vice-president of the Boston Chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

After reviewing the material presented, Mr. Smith said he would place it on the website provided he had the permission of Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, an educator and historian, to scan his curriculum guide, which was released by the Ukrainian National Association. Dr. Kuropas readily agreed.

"The Forced Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933: Curriculum and Resource Guide for Educators" includes a 29-page section for teachers and a 33-page section for students. (Copies of the curriculum guide are available from the UNA Home Office by calling or writing to Steven Woch, Ukrainian National Association, 2200 Route 10, Parsippany, NJ 07054; 973-292-9800, ext. 3013. Copies of the guide are free; however, there is a postage charge.)

The Ukrainian community activists also presented Mr. Smith with a booklet that contains copies of a selection of testimonies from the three-volume report of the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine, a bibliography of books and websites that have information about the Famine, and a copy of a proclamation on the Ukrainian Genocide issued in 2004 by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (Copies of the booklet are available to the public for $3. Checks should be made payable to the UCCA Boston Chapter and orders sent to: Maria Walzer, 11 Green Valley Road, Medway, MA 02053.)

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