Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36
OUR ENGLISH COLUMN A Letter from Vorkuta Vorkuta has lately become probably the most notorious con centration camp in USSR, In this town (in -north-western Siberia) took place 1953 the greatest strike of political prisoners about which detailed informations have reached the Free World. The authors Noble, Paddington and Scholmer, former inmates of Vor kuta, have described in their books the horrors of this immense prison of slaves. Not long ago a woman prisoner has been released from Vorkuta. She endured the conditions of this bolshevik Sodom for five years in the camp named “Pred- sbak/htnaya.” On leaving the camp she promised her fellows in nuisely that she will tell the truth about the mode of existence of the political prisoners concentrat ed in Vorkuta. Recently a letter has been received from her de scribing the suffering of the people there. ,She was included in a brigade composed of 75 Ukrainian women, having been the only non-Ukra- inian in the unit. She w rites: “The Ukrainian women did not discri minate against “strangers” if their conduct was correct, and they were friendly toward me.” The brigade had :to unload the commodities brought to Vorku ta. Patatoes, hay, bags of sugar —alii was unloaded by women. Again -she relates: “There are no differences in Vorkuta between men and women. One is looked upon as a mere machine and such “machines” are shut Щ) within a brigade. We all were between 25 and 35 years of age. The older prisoners who are unable to work, stay in the home for invalids. The inmates of such a camip receive smaller rations, and there are no facilities for medical treat ment. Hence such vegetation of human beings in rigorous arctic climate is most exacting. She continues: “We had been working like slaves. All our e f forts were aimed a-t the fulfilment of the norm which was marked unusually high. Who completed the norm, received the entire ra tion, however small and meager. But those who did not achieve the mark, remained .at 300 grams of bread and a bowl of warm thin fish souip (ukha) a day. Which means slow death of inanition.” Yet even all these shortages did not plague the inmates so much as the attitude of the authorities she proceeds: “The Ukrainians were hated by these authorities in the most evil way. We were severely persecuted for every trifle. And what insults we had heard! Even -in the severest frost we had never been permitt ed to build a camp fire.” She gladly shared the hard ships with Ukrainian women be cause the mutual suffering made them — as she says — feel like sisters, and this feeling added the strength to endure the injustice. She resumes her narrative: “At times when the women of the brigade felt completely ex hausted and languished, some one of them would suddenly in tone a Ukrainian -song, and then instantly all young slaves would brace up singing the song and forgetting for a moment the frightful persecutions. I myself have learned to sing many a Uk rainian song.” She asserts that she felt at home with Ukrainian women in every respect. The whole brigade was like one large family. Joy as well as distress were lived through together. Thus in this friendly group even the worst oppression and abuse by the guard and the authorities could be put up with much easier. In 1955 when the Soviet gov ernment had started releasing the foreigners from the slave canups, the author of the letter has likewise been repatriated. We shall relate more details of this story in the next issues of Our Life. However, this is not enough. This true story of ensla vement and suffering of the people ought to be communicated also to all organized women of the Free World, so- that they, too, may learn of the dreadful en slavement of women in USSR, the greatest prison of the peoples ever known in history. MRS. ZALIZNYAK IS 70 Mrs. Olena Zaliznyak was 70 years old last March. She had been widely known throughout West Ukraine for her worthy cultural, educa tional and social work for the Ukrainian women in the course of half century. A teacher by profession, she had been conducting a vocational trade school for Ukrainian girls at Lviv which had progressed and developed greatly due to her efforts. At present she resides in Montreal, Queibec, Canada, where she has drawn together a WFUW'O Commission on Relations which she is dir ecting. We wish our friend and co-worker Mnohaya Lita. UKRAINIAN WOMAN 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.
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36 
