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EDITOR, MISS MILDRED MILANOWICZ—151 Hopkins Avenue Jersey City 6, New Jersey Jor better oAmericanism read Shevchenko ‘‘There, can be no doubt today,” -says Prof. Clarence T. Manning o t Columbia University in his recently published book Taras Shev chenko, Poet of-Ukraine, “that 'Shevchenko is one of the great Sfavic poets-.. He. is one of the-great poets of the 19th century, with out regards to, nationality and language, and his fearless appeal to right and. truth and justice speaks- as eloquently in the New World as it did in the Old. or in the little village where he was born, the city to which he was taken or the treeless steppes to which he was exiled.” Shevchenko, who died at 47 and .was for 24 years a serf, a free man for only nine years, was sentenced to .military servitude in ex ile for ten fyears and was under police, supervision for four years, as a result oi his championing the cause of freedom for Ukrainians he knew* beyond doubt the value of personal liberty. For a ‘C e n t u r y , now, Shevchenko's poems have served as'the in- corporation?*'of_all the. .aspirations of Ukrainians believing in and striving J o r ., freedom* for free Ukrainians in a free Ukraine. To all -■his kinsmen, great and small, the. intellectual and the unlettered, Shsvcbe.nko’s...words have beep., a beacon, a hope. For a century, Ukrainians-have taken heart, have believed in the unshakable, truths iHt-mmat^d' rn the-se poems. Bare truths, simply stated, iii simple wcrdsras profound as the simply stated, simply w'orded truths con tained in God’s commandments^* .that man is born with the right to his o w n life, his own-freedom and his own pursuit of happiness. To-Americans of Ukrainian descent, Shevchenko's ideal, so clc sely akin to-the revered Lincoln's ideal of “a government of the -pe°plev by the people and for the f>epple”, becomes the common .ground on which to base their understanding of the problems and aspirations of their Ukrainian kinsmen in ens&aved Ukraine.-—' Comparison nsts appreciation j By the .comparison of their kinsmfeif s struggle for attainment of а зїщіЦг freedom in their native Ukraine, Americans of Ukrainian * descent:are do.ubly appreciative of their citizenship in this free coun try, and ^re doitbly,; avare of the importance of keeping it free. Each year in -Maгсіт,.. Ukrainian communities, celebrating the memory of .Shevchenko 3 'itb: concerts, plays, lectures, revalue anew their good foi tune'in. J>eing part of the .American way of life: PROGRAM NOTES FOR MARCH Join in your local Youth Conservation Program of the Federa tion of Women's Clilibs, Learn your status and p^art - tion. Contact other Junior League clubs, through Mrs. Amelia Bo- ciiey, 301 West Berks St., Phila. 22, P,a.,; for .League plans. Discuss tfie life and* works of Taras Shevchenko; WHY NOT A FREE UKRAINE? by Natalie Koster •BELGIAN RELIEF ACKNOWLEDGES U. S. DONATIONS In the January 1, 1946 issue, just received, of the official bi monthly liewspaper. “Visti” print- ed in Brusels, the Eelgiah Uk rainian Relief Committee has ac knowledged receipt, to date of is sue, of 49 bales of clothing, and bwo trunks of shoes; sent by the miited Uk rainian A mer ican R e - lief Committee oF Philadelphia and earmarked for distribution to the neediest of Ukrainian dis- .placed persons in Belgium. These shipments of clothing were gathered and sorted and packed by the Women's Auxili ary o i t:be Relief Committee. The Committee's head, Mrs; Jeannette Benical,. stated that this acknowledgment of receipt of the, shi^frient wa's good nfeWs, be ing; grp of that our people Wetfe getting ;them. The shipment ..con sisted of, bales of carefully label- ed men's clothin|g, winter .and summer,, as,...well as similarly- . majbkjed.я woщ-gii's clothes. Chil-, dre;n were not; overlooked, as 13 of the bales were packed with •clothes for them and 106 pairs of the shoes, sent were for children. Distributionof the clothes and’, fodtwear to the Ukrainian..dis--, t placed persons" is being •cttrried: out by the Ukrainian Relief Committee of Belgium under a special permit, granted bjy the Belgian . government. This com mittee; designated by the. Amer- ‘ icah^goyernm^nt to distribute re- Iie|,^-ireeeived*c fep - ■(. America*, mustAreport :regukii:ly on-it^ac- ~ tivitf6s‘^t'o >'Ше Ukrainian1 Relief I, Committee in Philadelphia.. All around us we hear about a Free China, a Free Poland, Freedom for the Philippines. These freedoms are based on, the Atlantic Charter and that philosophy embodied in the Bill of Rights, namely,. that all men were endowed with certain inalienable rights — Life, Liberty and the Pur suit of Happiness. As a teacher in the American school system, I try to disseminate and inculcate these democratic ideals in the hearts and minds of my young pupils. I must admit that my contri bution to the democratic way of life is small — my contribution as a Uk- rainian-American is neglible. Need this .be. so? Why-should Ukrainian- Americans be less cognizant of the rich cultural background which is their heritage,, than the Italian-Amer- ican, or the Irish-American of theirs? In the U. S. today, there are ap proximately 1,000,000. Ukrainians. The immigration movement to Ame rica^ started about fifty years ago. They came to America because of the economic, social and political condi tions that prevailed in the Fatherland. They came here seeking only one thing — an opportunity to work and estab lish a home in this, their adopted country. No task was too severe for them. They mined coal, they built railroadfS, and ‘they labored in the forests. It is true that these tasks were not highly intellectual in nature, but this, in no way stigmatizes Uk rainian mental endowments. We must keep in mind that here was ah entire group of people whose roots W ere deeply implanted in the soil of Europe through centuries bf culture and tra dition, suddenly transplanted in a new country, with new- customs, language, and with very restricted opportuni ties. Despite these obstacles, many of them achieved national'-importance in music, the arts and ' other cultural . phases of American life.' This brings liie to the title of my topic: “Why not a Free Ukraine?” What can we of Ukrainian descent, do to achieve this' ultimate ideal ?- To, give a faGile answer to these ques tions would indicate an inadequate solution. These questions c&nnot be answered easily. They can only be - realized when each and every Uk- - rainian contributes ' in ; some meastire* towards National’ Solidarity. We The six-month£s old Belgian Relief Committee also acknow ledges in this issue .of “Visti,” the receipt^-o&o^S^OOO^-Xn^. accord- ance witlv the ?hflingr of the President's Relief Board, this money is designated for relief of Ukrainian displaced persons, re gardless of their religious or po- litkaUcreeds. besides the relief :serjtl irojn America, the Belgian Committee received shipments - o F h clothdrrg? and ^f^d; From ^rg^ntitia^ must invoke that old saying; that “A chain is only as strong as its weak est link/- Let us resolve, therefore, that there be no weak links in our chain. This means not merely lip ser vice, but an intelligent co-operative effort on the part of all Ukrainian Americans. I would like to suggest, here, some ways which may tend to accomplish this purpose. 1. Organizing Junior Leagues in all cities with significant Ukrainian population. These leagues would be closely integrated with other civic groups, thereby sharing in the social problems of others and at the same' time disseminating our Ukrainian cul ture. These civic leagues, these Uk rainian Junior Leagues would be charged with the responsibility of pro moting at regular intervals dances, festivals, art exhrbitione, mulsjicales and other means to acquaint the pub lic with Ukrainian culture. 2. Making a study of the existing state, sectional, and national bodies for the purpose of making them more effective instruments in promoting Ukrainian recognition. .3 (a) Frequent and extensive pub licity in American newspapers as well as in Ukrainian ones. (b) More publicity about our scholarship fund, thus insuring boys and girls of Ukrainian descent and gifted with superior intelligence the assurance of higher education. These scholarships would be granted on a competitive basis. , 4. A close alliance between the Ju nior and Senior Leagues with at least one member of the Senior Leauge act ing in an advisory capacity. Teachers may contribute in their specificJields; for example: Social study teachers can. use Uk raine as a class project with each pupil by bringing in something con nected with this group. History teachers can discuss the reasons why both Germany and Rus sia considered the Ukraine a prime objective in winning the war. Physical education teachers can in clude simple fundamental dance steps of the Ukrainian dance routine as a part of their course. Geography teachers can assign a map project bf Ukraine with each child bringing in a traced outline with a list of its most important resources. Teachers can also use their' influ ence with individuals in charge of auditorium assemblies to arrange de monstrations in costume of Ukrain ian dance groups. All local leagues should have such groups trained for such purposes. Field trips to museums can also be planned, especially those featuring .exhibits by Ukrainian artists. As Ukrainian-American . educators, Jet us not think of Democracy in a, re stricted sense and submerge our cul tural . heritage,, but instead let us think (Continued on Page. 5) Junior League Section Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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