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railroad tracks, decapitated. The official version was that he had killed Alla. No one believed it then or now. All the evidence pointed to a sanctioned killing. Alla Horska was buried on December 7, 1970. On that day her first and last art show was opened for her friends in her studio which was decorated with Ukrain ian embroidery and flowers. Her body was denied internment in the cemetary where many great Ukrainian giants such as Lesia Ukrainka are laid to rest. The Soviet authorities juggled the burial dates so as to dis courage a crowd from attending. Nevertheless, hundreds of people came to the funeral, saying farewell to an unusual human being - a talented artist, a woman of courage, decency and kindness, an individual of high moral principles, a fighter for justice, a true daughter of Ukraine! ALLA HORSKA — A Tribute! NADIA SVITLYCHNA When I was questioned during the investigation concerning Vasyl Zacharchenko in 1973 the examiner told me quite frankly that had poet Vasyl Symonenko not died ten years ago, he would be behind bars, together with his sympathizers. Now, I often think: where would Alla Horska be today had her life not been ended prematurely in 1970? I don’t in the least doubt that she would be in prison, where many of her friends are today — Evhen Sverstiuk, Ivan Svitlichnyj, Vjacheslav Chornovil, Mykola Plachot- niuk... Alla Horska was neither a troublemaker nor a terror ist. Neither are the members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, yet to this day they are detained in prisons, accused of some imagined, unpardonable crimes. Myk ola Horbal, Jaroslav Lesiv, Vasyl Strilciv, the Sichkiv family are labeled as drug addicts, rapists, hooligans, bums. Merely because these honest and decent people, like Alla Horska, would have nothing to do with the environment of opportunism and conformity. A story is told about two young men, who having heard legendary tales about Alla Horska went to pay their respects at her gravesite, even though they hadn’t known her. Meeting each other for the first time, they struck up a conversation and together planted flowers at Alla’s grave. They found they had a lot in common and went home fast friends. Today, these young men Myroslav Marynovych and Mykola Matusevych are im prisoned for their part in the fight for human and national rights in the Ukraine.. “Enveloped by the light of the Good Spirit she came among us with the innocence of a neophyte who had suddenly discovered the homeland and the faith of her ancestors. Glory to the artist because for us she was the embodiment of strength, consciousness and possesed of a rare dedication to the welfare of mankind. ” (These words were inscribed on the grave of Alla Horska on the day of her funeral, December 7, 1970. The follow ing day the inscription was gone.) To date the most memorable tribute to the life and art of Alla Horska is in the words of Evhen Sverstiuk, who delivered the eulogy at her wake. “She lives in all. A person who desires nothing for herself — she cannot be forgotten. Alla IS — she is there when there is trouble, grief or tragedy, she is there with the unfortunate, the homeless. She is always the first to find those in need and to take upon herself the heaviest burden with no fuss or bother. It seems as though fate chose her to be a tower of strength and support for other people. ” Mr. Sverstiuk continued to speak about her, — Alla is a person of quiet dignity, self-assurance and an uncorruptible conscience. She inspires confidence and one can count on her without reservations, perhaps more so than one can count on oneself. She is blessed with that gracious artis tic talent which allows her to devote herself unsel fishly and completely to others and to matters which she deems important. This is truly a rare combination of duty, strength and understanding. Alla’s radiant face brings with it the reverence of a holiday and her smile and laughter rises above others, as does her impressive physical sta ture. One can feel that her soul is illuminated with a fanatical dedication and love to everything that is good, honest and decent. She forever searches out that which is worthy of dignity and honor. Her every gesture implies an abhorence to meanness and greed, traits with which people debase their precious lives and many times drag others into this unholy alliance. Describing Alla Horska’s art, E. Sverstiuk said, “Apprehensive, uncertain yet almost mature are the children in her paintings, as if they grew in thought, blossoming beneath the wind and sun. There is the portrait of her mother whose eyes mirror her soul as she gazes into the distance. Dovzhenko —worried crease acrosss his forehead, painfully clasps his hands in a portrait sketch. How much suffering and dignity there is in the paintings of women’s faces! And today, this studio of mourning becomes an art exhibit and all be comes clear how a garland of thorns fits so well in the wisdom and grief crystalized in each of her self-portraits, so far removed from her photographs
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