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which clearly labeled me Ukrainian despite my American accent. I described my background, the meaning of the word Svodoba and the reason why the newspaper had to be published beyond the national boundaries of Ukraine. I described the UNWLA, the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations and my four-year- long writing stint with Our Life, my sponsor to Copenhagen. Kathy Barry’s purpose for being in Copenhagen was to draw atention to the problem of female sexual slavery. I was amazed and disgusted to learn that traffic in women, particularly young females, is still a booming business in certain parts of the world. According to testimony amassed by Barry and the London — based Antislavery Society, women and girls are routinely kidnapped and forced to work as prostitutes in the most degrading circumstances. Few individuals survive the ordeal, even fewer are willing to talk about it. Barry explains that she was scheduled to conduct a workshop on female sexual slavery at the Forum, because UN officials preferred to avoid the topic at the governmental conference — since it would be too embarassing for certain countries. Many such touchy issues were sidestepped for just this reason. However, because Barry was so tenacious — organizing press conferences, panel discussions and private meetings with official delegates — the crime of female sexual slavery did get ample coverage. Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski, a member of the American delegation, actually introduced a resolution at the UN meeting condemning this heinous offense against human dignity, as a result of Barry’s agitation. The bus still had not arrived when Bella Abzug joined us at the bus stop. Wheezing and smiling, wearing her ever-present hat, the former Congresswoman inquired whether we were on our way to the Bella Center. ”1 want to know why they call it the Belle Center!" boomed Bella, at anyone who would listen and laugh. Later, in the couse of the conference, I was to see and even to meet many of the old-guard American feminists, like Flo Kennedy and Betty Friedan. It was clear that they no longer had the clout they possessed when the women’s movement was just getting underway in the United States. Not part of any official delegation, these women haunted the halls of Amager University like shadows of forgotten ancestors. In no time at all, the crowd was swelling into a mob. Several Argentine women — grandmother, daughter and granddaughter, as it turned out — wanted to know where my hotel was and how much it cost. They were appalled at the Danish cost-of-living, explaining to me that their money had an even lower rate of exchange than the American dollar. Almost an hour had gone by when a short-haired, graying woman approched our international gathering. Our group now included a practicing witch from Australia, a Swedish jounalist and assorted unidentified — for me — women of various racial and national origins. Our rescuer was a member of the UN secretariat staff. She informed us that the 44 bus travelled only on weekdays. If we would follow her, she would lead us to the Bella Center by a more circuitous route, but one that actually functioned on Saturdays. And so it was throughout my conference experience, during which even misunderstandings, scheduling difficulties and silly mistakes worked out for the best. I met women from all walks of life, from countries all over the world,from different political perspectives, of various ages and cultural backgrounds. As a result, I know more about the world I live in and, hopefully, a few women of the world know more about Ukrainians and our national aspirations. EMBROIDERED BLOUSES OF SOKALSHCHYNA A collection of designs of Sokalshchyna and the monograph "The Blossoming of Folk Art” gave us the opportunity to study the embroidery of this region. What a joyous experience! Rarely does one find such ingenuity in ornamentation as we find here! In speaking of the embroidery of Sokalshchyna, one must mention the article of clothing most often utilized for it. This is the traditional woman’s, and on occasion man’s blouse. The blouse is made of rectangular pieces of cloth, arranged in such a way as to form the main article of clothing of the Ukrainian folk costume — the blouse. The embroidered blouse of Sokalshchyna is slightly different from the traditional blouse. For one — it has an ornately trimmed collar, medium in size, sometimes rounded, sometimes in a "sailor" fashion. The wide sleeve comes to a gathering, ending in a wide cuff. The blouse buttons down to the waist. The feature which truly differentiates the Sokalshchyna blouse from other blouses — is its ornamentation. The embroidery of Sokalshchyna is so full, so rich, that none other can quite compare to it; it is fully original, not "borrowed" from other sources. Sokalshchyna embroidery began in olden times with geometric designs, a few of which still remain. These designs are characterized by a small repetitious drawing. As time went on, verdure motifs took on importance. One sees flowers, twigs, and leaves of every kind. These are often painstakingly combined with geometric designs, so as to have the flowering design framed by the geometric one. This frame is left out when the imaginative flora is portrayed as being firmly implanted in the ground, as already having a firm support. The flora ornamentation is diverse. Designs are forever changing, forever taking on new forms. Often one can recognize the influence of the Cossack baroque period. How strange it is that the Cossack baroque period has touched Sokalshchyna, while bypassing the Podillia, a large region which draws a boundary between Sokalshchyna and the central lands! One must also bring up another feature present only in Sokalshchyna embroideries — their distinctive coloration. The oldest designs were done strictly in black. Later a bit of red and yellow trickled in, in very minute quantities. Sometimes one sees a combination of designs embroidered in black and filled in with yellow. Except for Sokalshchyna, such НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, ЛИСТОПАД 1980 23
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