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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 201 3 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 15 “Recollection of the horrors of the Famine of 1933 had become a sort of ritual in our family... When , in time, I became a mother myself, I better grasped the pain my poor mother suffered, and understood the scope of her tragedy. Her endu r- ance and unyielding faith fueled her to survive it all for us ....” (“Four Ears of Corn,” 1933, Witness, Stories of Genocide and Urban Survival , created for middle school children in Chicago through a grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cu l- tural Affairs.) It wasn’t until late in 1932 that news of the famine reached Western Ukraine , but the e x- tent of the tragedy was not fully understood until the summer of 1933 , when actual documentation surfaced in the press. Women in Ukraine, inclu d- ing the peasant women living and w orking on farms, made heroic efforts to get the news of the famine to the outside world. The Union of Ukrai n- ian Women in L’viv, whose president was Milena Rudnytska, turned to international women’s o r- ganizations as early as August of 1933. The Union issued an appeal printed in several languages and aimed at these international organizations. The appeal presented mortality statistics as a result of the Famine and also touched on the progress of the struggle for national liberation of the Ukrain i- an people. Th e appeal ended with a call to “wo m- en of all nations, countries and continents, all classes, parties and confessions” to awaken the “sleepy consciences” of their husbands, sons and brothers who hold “responsible government offi c- es” in those countries. This appeal reached the United States via the women’s magazine Zhinocha Dolia , under the title “To the women of the entire civilized world.” It was signed with Milena Rud - nytska ’ s name. The UNWLA, a young and evol v- ing organization, immediately reacted. Its me m- b ers played a major role in bringing the news of the ongoing tragedy to the forefront in the U.S. as well as in attempting to offer assistance to the starving people of Ukraine. Unlike other women’s organizations (both in the U.S. and abroad) whose goal was to gain equal political rights with men, Ukrainian women saw their main mission as the struggle for independence as a nation. T he UNWLA immediately formed an Emergency Relief Co mmittee for Starving Ukrai n- ians, chaired by Dr. Neonilia Pelecovich. Despite the fact that the Soviet regime made relief efforts impossible and most American politicians, orga n- izations and mass media would not get involved in this “delicate” political matter, the UNWLA pressed on. The American Red Cross was not wil l- ing to help in the relief effort. A reply from the office of President Franklyn D. Roosevelt stated that “there does not appear to be any measure which this Government can appropriately take at the present time in this matter,” while First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s letter also stated that she would be unable to help in any way. Nevertheless, the UNWLA, together with the United Ukrainian Organizations of the U.S., continued to write to members of Congress with the request for an off i- cial recognition of the famine and for a congre s- sional resolution declaring support for the star v- ing Ukrainians. Finally, in May of 1934, Republ i- can Hamilton Fish of New York proposed resol u- tion #399 which registered the facts of the fa m- ine, recalled the American tradition of reviewing breaches o f human rights, expressed sympathy for the victims, and stated that the United States hoped that the USSR would alter its policies. This is believed to be first official commentary by the U.S. on USSR policy. It has been 80 years since this dreadful perio d in the history of Ukraine and its citizens. One of the UNWLA’s most important missions has been to continue sharing the tragic news of the Holodomor. On the 50 th anniversary of the Famine, copies of UNWLA archives documenting its extensive efforts in 193 3 - 34 were sent to the U.S. Congress Com mission on the Ukrainian Famine. On the 70 th anniversary, in 2003, the November issue of Our Life was dedicated to UNWLA archival materials, once again demo n- strating its contin ued commitment. On the 75 th anniversary, the XXVIII Convention book was dedicated to the vi c- tims of the Holodo - mor . On the 85th a n- niversary of the UNWLA, an English translation of Svicha Pamiaty , an oral hi s- tory of the Ukrainian _______________ A Candle in Remembrance by Dr . Valentyna Borysenko, translated into English and published by the UNWLA
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