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Letter From Ukraine by Martha Bohachevsky Chomiak Another election, preparations for another aniversary of independence, discussions about Ukraine’s relationship to Europe, to Russia - in short - life as usual in contemporary Ukraine. Every once in a while there is a discussion - what has independence given Ukraine? There are very simple answers to this ques tion. Teeth and feet. Independent Ukraine has made it possible for most Ukrainians to have access to modem dental care. You can see that in the smiles on the streets. The smiles themselves are also a product of in dependence, replacing the solemn “eyes straight and walk on” gait of the Soviet pedestrian. It used to be easy to spot foreigners in Ukraine; they were the ones with the inquisitive roaming look, and with a ready smile. Guess again. Ukrainians look around now, at least in the cities, to see the new “sale - prices slashed 70%” signs. The other achievement of independence is the availability of comfortable shoes. This, of course, par don the pun, is very pedestrian. Nevertheless, it is very important. Remember, there were interminable lines for scarce items, all endured in very uncomfortable and old shoes. The Soviet Union produced little in this field and that little was always uncomfortable. Independence and relaxation of the markets did away with lines, speeded local production, and for the few who can afford them, brought Italian and Bra zilian footware. More importantly, it helped create Ukrainian-Italian factories that produce decent shoes for the entire family. It used to be that only those who traveled abroad could get their teeth fixed and their feet at tended to. Now all can, with a fair amount of saving and skimping. Of course, independence brought freedom and liberty and national self-determination. But none of these are quite as real as the physical benefits of self- government. Ukrainians need to be reminded of these mun dane truths, because now they take the teeth-feet index for granted. Young people do not know about scarce goods, and the older ones have forgotten about the ra tions for sugar of 15 years ago. Ukraine is a very tangible entity on the globe. And the Ukrainian people need to remind themselves of the tangible benefits independence makes possible. Note from the Editor As we prepare for the 26th UNWLA Convention to be held in Sarsasota, Florida, this year, many of us are also pre paring reports that will be published in the Convention Book or presented at one of the many scheduled seminars and meetings. This year, it will be my great pleasure to share with UNWLA members a very good piece of news, and it seems that this news should also be shared by the readers of Our Life. During 2001, Our Life received an un precedented number of articles from UNWLA Members, Branches, Regional Councils, and Committee Chairs. These were articles about special events or programs and most were accompanied by photographs. We are pleased to report that the trend seems to be continuing this year. In January, we published an article contributed by Branch 73, in February we published an article contributed by Branch 3, and in this month’s issue, we are publishing arti cles form Branch 98 and Branch 118. A warm thank you is extended to all of the authors who have submitted arti cles to Our Life and a warm invitation is extended to those UNWLA Members, Branches, Regions, and Committee Chairs that are still waiting to be heard from. 16 ‘НАШ Е Ж ИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕН Ь 2002 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.
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