November 10, 2017

Albany-area community marks 85th anniversary of the Holodomor

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Elizabeth Baran

The requiem service at the Holodomor Monument in Cohoes, N.Y.

COHOES, N.Y. – On a gloomy, windswept afternoon commensurate with the sentiment of this solemn occasion, over 150 people gathered at a small memorial park on Pulaski Street in Cohoes, to remember a tragedy that took the lives of millions of their countrymen 85 years ago: the Stalin-orchestrated Famine-Genocide in Ukraine known as the Holodomor.

With U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and New York State Assemblyman John MacDonald in attendance, the ceremony on Sunday, November 5, began with a requiem service performed by clergy of three Capital District churches: Father Vladimir Marusceac of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Cohoes, Father Vasyl Dovgan of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Troy and Deacon Thomas Gutch of St Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Watervliet.

At the ceremony (from left) are: New York State Assemblyman John MacDonald, Dr. Andrij Baran and Congressman Paul Tonko.

Elizabeth Baran

At the ceremony (from left) are: New York State Assemblyman John MacDonald, Dr. Andrij Baran and Congressman Paul Tonko.

The service was followed by the recitation of a poem – dedicated to the over 7 million victims of Stalin’s regime who were intentionally starved to death in Ukraine to break the independent will of the Ukrainian people – by sisters Ksenia and Solomiya Valihunda.

Dr. Andrij Baran, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Capital District United Branches, then introduced Lukera Kauta of Cohoes, a 94-year-old survivor of the genocide. Dr. Baran summarized for the audience the historical record leading up to the Holodomor, its execution and aftermath.

Holodomor survivor Lukera Kauta.

Andrij Baran

Holodomor survivor Lukera Kauta.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of the national anthem of Ukraine. A reception and exhibit were held in the Ss. Peter and Paul church hall to conclude the day’s event.

This year marks the beginning of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor. This ceremony served as a starting point of a yearlong effort by the Ukrainian American community of the United States to have the U.S. government officially recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide against the Ukrainian people, as was concluded by the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine in its 1988 report.

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