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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 2014 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 17 THEY PRAYED FOR PEACE AND REMEMBERED THE DEAD by Ulana Zinych, 1st Vice President During and after the 10:30 liturgy, Ukrai n- ians at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in New Haven, CT, remembered the estimated 80 men and women who had just recently died at the Maidan in Kyiv while “fighting” for huma n rights in Ukraine. Parishioners were joined by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, Mayor Toni Harp, and former Congressman and University of New Haven President Larry DeNardis, who was part of a team of international election observers in Ukraine back in 2004. Following mass, during the memorial se r- vice ( panakhyda ) all held lit candles as they walked silently to the church hall. Here the names of the fallen Maidan victims were read — a somber moment indeed. Myron Melnyk, Director of the Ukrainian Stud ies School at St. Michael’s, told the crowd of well over 100 people that the names read were only “a partial list” since the death toll had climbed over 80 by Sunday morning. Despite very recent tumultuous change in Ukraine that many people in the room viewed as positive, “it’s not a time for euphoria because the hard part starts now,” Melnyk cautioned. Blumenthal, who also attended similar gatherings on Sunday at St. Vladimir Cathedral in Stamford and the Ukrainian National Home in Willimantic, told the crowd that, as a father of four children, he could not “help but feel the pain and the grief of losing such young, wonderful people." “On an occasion like this... the hearts and prayers of my family go out to the people of Ukraine, the families who have lost loved ones or who’ve been injured...,” Blumenthal said. “We are here today, very simply, to make sure that their lives are not lost in vain,” he added. One goal is to insure “that there will be a path to self - determination and democracy and freedom...” Blumenthal continued that the U.S. should provide aid to Ukraine. He called not only for san c- tions against perpetrators, but for aid such as the provision of natural gas, “so [that] people of Ukraine are not blackmailed by any country,” meaning, of course, neighboring Russia. “My prayer this morning is not only for Democracy, but for an end to the bloodshed, so that young people... will be part of a living fu- Branch 108 members remember the fallen heroes of the Maidan. ture...,” Blumenthal said, “and the United States of America should hopefully lead the way.” Mayor Harp expressed solidarity with the group and marveled at the “sweet and beautiful spirit” that was present in the church during se r- vices. Representing Rosa DeLauro, Congres s- woman from Connecticut, Nick Severia read a statement from her, which said, among other things, that “my thoughts and prayers are with you.” While most in the crowd were associated with St. Michael’s, one young woman, Oksana Kirichenko, a native of Kyiv and now a member of St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in New H a- ven, said that at St. Michael’s Church, as on the Maidan, people from both the Ukrainian Catholic and the Ukrainian Orthodox faiths stood together. DeNardis, who has become somewhat of an expert on Ukrainian affairs since serving on an international delegation to oversee the 2004 ele c- tions and later some of the parliamentary elec- tions, expressed his “very fervent hope” that the current events would complete the “Orange Rev o- lution.” Ulana Zinych, member of New Haven Branch 108 of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America and Vice President of the N a- tional Board, took a few minutes to inform those present of a fundraising effort undertaken by the UNWLA to provide humanitarian aid to those a f- fected by the Maidan protests. She was amazed and moved by the generosity of this small comm u- nity which, within less than an hour, donated over $4,000. Following this meeting, Branch 108 me m- bers continued to the home of Maria Antonyshyn for their annual meeting. Here again, these women remembered the fallen heroes of the Maidan in solemn prayer.
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