Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
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
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
36-37
38-39
40
the usual annoyances of travelling alone. I went with my husband — a honeymoon taken in the twenty seventh year of marriage. I was looking forward to being an observer in a country whose people I know and love. But none of us who go to Ukraine can be mere obe- servers, mere tourists in this land that is undergoing a renewal. Now, as in earlier, less promising times, we are seen as representatives of the Ukrainian community abroad, as part of themselves, and we can never be total strangers in Ukraine, even if Ukraine is strange, unknown country to us. In our case, both my husband and I know Ukraine and know very many Ukrainians, some of them very well. We were prepared to see changes, but were never theless struck by their pervasiveness. Every aspect of life in Ukraine has been touched by the reform move ment that is sweeping — indeed, has swept, the land. The degree of change in Ukraine is dramatic, even for those who know the land and know its people. I did not want to sound poetic, but there is no avoiding it. Life is bursting out. Amid the shortages, the breakdowns, the difficult conditions of existence, the lack of food, the lack of water, the overcrowded public transit, frequently marked by its breakdown, despite all this, and partly because of all of this, life bursts forth. There is hope, and moreover — there is the firm conviction that change must be brought about by the people themselves. No longer is there the fearful talk of “them”, of the myste rious forces that control events; rather, there is not only a realization for the need for action but also the impor tant realization by a large segment of the population of especially the need for measured, reasoned, goal orien ted activity. That was the major difference, both in Kiev and L’viv, that struck me after a five year absence in Ukraine. The Ukrainian community is alive, it is organiz ing itself, and, moreover, it is an open and democratic one. What more, it is a workmanlike group, a bit given to oratory, but also level headed and rational. We crosed the border from the old Ukrainian city of Peremyshl, which is now in Poland, and traveled by bus through the Galician countryside to L’viv. Many of the villages along the route sported two story brick su burban-like houses, along with the older wooden, blue whitewashed houses. Cars and bicycles predominated over the horses. All along the way churches were being renovated. The names of villages echoed my parents’ talking: Mostyska, Sudova Vyshnia, and Brody made famous by the bloody battle fought there. But most dramatic were the blue and yellow flags that waved from many official buildings and quite a few houses. The flags in L’viv, on the Renaissance city hall, the baroquely ornate opera, on the ruins of the oldest castle site, on the factories and on lapels of passers-by, were even more dramatic. Even more dramatic was the fact that these flags, unthinkable a bare year ago, were con sidered normal. I had the same sensation I had had watching the first step on the moon — drama when Neil Armstrong stepped on it, and then total acceptance of the normality of it all, as if we had been made to walk on the moon. The meeting of the elcted district council of L’viv was impressive on two counts, in addition to it being the first democratically elected body in the area. It was very businesslike, almost low key in the manner of its dis cussions, despite the fact that the substance of the discussions were frankly mind-boggling. The deputies, having decided earlier to work under the blue and yellow banner, now objected to the presence of the bust of Lenin in the hall. The statue was then chastely draped by a large hanging blue and yellow standard. The deputies reflect the whole gamut of the population of the area. What is striking — and this is my second point — is the manner in which they all if not cooperate, then listen to each other. Beginning with Viacheslav Chorno- vil, the journalist whose zeal for his topic earned him an eighteen year stay in Siberia, and who upon being elected chairman of the Council affirmed his intention to work will all representatives of government and society alike. This ability at compromise, so natural for those in the West, does not come easy to Eastern European intelligentsia. Chronovil was demonstrating a political sophistication that needs to be duly recognized. The Kievan meetings are characterized by the same spirit also. There is also strong inter ethnic cooperation. In L’viv for instance on April 22, 1990, the Sunday after Easter when graves of loved ones are visited and the day that had been set aside for marking Earth Day and Chornobyl commemorations, Ukrainians carrying their blue and yellow flags linked up with the standard of the Star of David to commemorate — on the medieval defense parapets — where the remains of Synagogue of the Golden Rose are marked by one wall left standing after the Germans blew it up. Rostyslav Bratun’, the writer who was most instrumental in the reestablishment of the Sholem Aleikhen Society, his wife, Natalia, the producer of L’viv television that is responsible for the most interesting programming, and the poet Iryna Ka- lynets and her husband Ihor, both veterans of notorious KGB camps were active participants in the ceremony. Yaroslav Hlazun, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the Ukrainian friends, Oleksander Lizen, a Yiddish writer, and Rudolf Mirsky were among the speakers. Iryna Kalynets was a well chosen speaker. She is more than a poet — a conscience of the people, as have been the lot of Ukrainian poets through the centuries. She is civic minded, and realizes the need for community action. Kalynets has organized the S o c ie ty o f the M y rrh o r P e a c e B rin g ers, a Catholic women’s society that brought the cause of the Catholics in Ukraine to the forefront. Now the society helps organize joint celebra tions of Catholics and Orthodox, a welcome attempt to encourage cooperation between the two branches of Christianity. Kalynets has also been elected to the 24 ’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 1990 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 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
