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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 2016 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 13 During a recent visit to Florida, I met with Ann Marie Susla, president of Branch 56 in North Port, who invited me to the branch’s monthly meeting. The invitation came with a request that I share details about my December 2015 trip to Ukraine. (An English-language version of the trip summary appeared in the January 2016 issue of Our Life ; the Ukrainian-language summary was published in the February issue.) As I was prepar- ing for this meeting, which was scheduled for February 2, I realized that there was more to speak about than reciting facts about meetings and discussions with the people we had met— there were also a host of personal impressions and feelings. My general takeaway was that al- most every negative experience and impression came paired with a positive one—not necessarily of the same weight, but nonetheless positive. And it is these impressions and feelings that I’d like to touch upon in this month’s issue. While walking through the very streets of the Kyiv Maidan where the Berkut massacred young Ukrainians, we experienced the pain of this horrific event, but we also witnessed scores of vis- itors to the site, people who spoke about the brav- ery of the Maidan’s young martyrs and in doing so were keeping the hope of a bright future envi- sioned by those killed alive! While visiting with Yegor Soboliev, a Deputy to the Ukrainian Parliament, we listened intently as he spoke of his uphill struggle as chair of the Parliamentary anti-corruption committee. What he said was depressing, but what we saw was a patriotic young man who had organized the students of the Maidan and who still believed in keeping the ideals of the Maidan alive, somehow holding on to an optimistic view of the future. Although we heard horrific stories from the families of the wounded soldiers we visited in the Kyiv and Lviv military hospitals, we also met many young volunteers who have banded togeth- er to help their fellow young Ukrainians and have adopted and shaped a true movement of volun- teerism. While visiting with Fr. Stepan Sus, Pastor of Sts Peter & Paul Garrison Church, in Lviv, we learned of the scores of soldiers whom Fr. Sus has buried in the past two years. We also saw a mod- est white birch cross standing in a prominent place in the church and learned that it was the only thing left standing at a Luhansk Ukrainian army base after a rebel bombing. But during the same visit we also met one of a multitude of cou- ples with whom Fr Sus has and will continue to share the Sacrament of Matrimony. The groom in this case was a soldier in the Ukrainian army, and the couple had just becоme engaged and was beaming with love and plans for the future. We also spent some time with Father Ze- leniuk, an inspirational 84-year old former dissi- dent, and with an extremely patriotic former dep- uty of Parliament. Together, these two have been at the side of Dr. Maria Furtak, the woman who has been instrumental in implementing the UN- WLA’s social welfare initiatives since the Maidan. And it was from these individuals that we learned the distinction between patriotism practiced by those living in Ukraine versus our “diaspora” pat- riotism. There is a difference. But there is also a difference between the political environments experienced by those liv- ing in Ukraine and those living in the diaspora. I personally witnessed that these two men are be- ing followed and know that their conversations and cell phones are listened to! “By whom?? I ask. “What year is this?” During our visit to Dzherelo, a disabled children’s rehabilitation center, our initial reac- tion was to feel sorry for these children, to pity their sorry lot. But this instinctive pity was soon dispelled. This establishment has made a major difference in how the general society perceives these children and has made major progress in teaching the community to learn to respect these beautiful children’s rights and appreciate them as unique gifts from God. While participating in the International Shriner’s Outreach Mission at the Lviv regional pediatric hospital, and observing the hospital hallways filled with parents and their children who suffer from burn injuries, we felt the frustra- tion of the parents unable to access the special- ized care their children need. But, at the very same time, we felt the goodness of the American doctors who willingly gave their personal time to improve the lives of Ukrainian children from all regions of Ukraine. Seeing and feeling the cooper- ation between the American and Ukrainian doc- tors was gratifying; so was the knowledge that the UNWLA was a major sponsor of this historic mis- sion. While discussing potential UNWLA sup- port of a mental health institute at the Ukrainian
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