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 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
36-37
38-39
40
sonal letter apologizing for their oversight. Senator Kennedy’s letter was curt; he acknowledged his error and assured me that “the plight of nationalists in all the Soviet republics” had concerned him since he was first elected to the Senate. Senator Dole’s letter was more detailed: On Tuesday, May 13, in a "Face Off” radio broad cast, Senator Kennedy and I mistakenly referred to the people and area of Ukraine as Russian. I wish to thank you for taking the time to bring this to my attention. It has become an unfortunate American habit to use the term “Russian" to characterize all people and places within the USSR. This can be traced back to the time of the Czar and the Alaskan Land Purchase; at that time all of the land was called Russia. The United States’ inter vention in the Russian Civil War reinforced the notion that everything in northern Asia is "Russian". No insult was intented in my use of this terminology; the word “Russian” was chosen only for expediency because of the time limits of the "Face Off” format. As an admirer of the cultural and social contribu tions Ukrainians have made in this country and in the USSR, I will try hard to be more sensitive to the need to accurately refer to Ukraine and its fine people. Neither letter was much of a consolation. Of the two, the letter from Senator Dole was the more frustrat ing as it highlighted the depth of American misunder standing of Ukraine, Ukrainians, and their place in both the Russian Empire of the Czars and the Soviet Empire of the communist era. Five years have passed since I received these telling letters. In those five years Ukraine, like most of Eastern Europe, has changed. Perhaps no other incident has been as instrumental in provoking the changes in Ukraine as the nuclear disaster at Chornobyl. Many vis itors from Ukraine, those who are political activists and those who are ordinary people, see Chornobyl as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. It has been referred to “the final blow,” the “ultimate act of geno cide" by RUKH’s Orest Vlokh, Mykhailo Horyn and countless others. It can be viewed as one of the most important catalysts that spawned the move toward de mocratization and autonomy in Ukraine. Chornobyl, has become a symbol of something so horrific and tragic that it has become a rallying cry for those who are work ing to bring about reform and restitution of long aban doned rights, freedoms, and privileges. Among those rights and privileges sought is the right to refuse to allow other nuclear reactors to be built on Ukrainian soil and the privilege of protecting Ukrainians from hazard ous wastes and other pollutants that are the results of Moscow’s indifference to the risks these pollutants pose to human lives. America has noticed the changes. Journalists who five years ago rarely bothered to acknowledge the existence of Ukraine have discovered that it exists and that it is a sleeping giant that can be the key to the dis integration of the entire Soviet Union. Articles on Ukraine are published in reputable and established weekly mag azines. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Philadelphia Inquirer have published material based on interviews with mem bers of RUKH and other nationalist organizations in Ukraine. They are taken seriously and they appear on the front pages of these newspapers, no longer rele gated to space reserved for “other international news." Network television has also recognized Ukraine. News programs and documentaries on events and people in the Soviet Union are no longer focused solely on events in Moscow. Ukrainian activists travel to Washington and meet with high ranking members of Congress and re presentatives from the State Department. Chornobyl continues to resurface as a media event and a political reality. In Congress, representatives who have long supported Ukrainian causes and those who have only recently begun to take an active interest in Ukraine refer to Chornobyl as a symbol of Ukraine’s tragic history. Their words are inscribed in the Con gressional Record, noted and preserved for posterity. In a recent PBS special on the Soviet Union, Chornobyl was the topic of an entire two hour segment. The Child ren of Chornobyl Relief Fund has recently been the focus of a prime time news special. Extensive articles on the tragedy and its long term effects have appeared in various newspapers and magazines. In each case, the journalists have called Chornobyl a Ukrainian tragedy. Just recently Time and Newsweek ran concurrent stories on plans to make Chornobyl a tourist attraction. Neither of the articles mentions Russia. The writers have accurately placed Chornobyl and its victims in Ukraine. The war over nomenclature seems to have been won. One wonders how much this matters to those who are living with Chornobyl’s legacy. Post Script: Shortly after this article was submitted to the editors of Our Life magazine, I came across an information bulletin distributed by AHRU. Among the requests for donations of money and vitamins for the children of Chornobyl was an item from the Wall Street Journal about the World Health Organization’s plans to build "an international center for radiation-induced health problems for the victims of the Chornobyl nu clear disaster.’’ The proposed site of the center is Ob ninsk which is approximately sixty miles southwest of Moscow. Recipients of AHRU’s bulletin were urged to write to WHO, the United Nations, and members of Congress to urge that the center be built near Chor nobyl instead.
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 
