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16 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 2019 insti tutions and s earching homes for Ukrainian nationalists. Food shortages and long lines at shops be- come the norm. Diachok notes that many families, including his own, found themselves on opposite sides of a debate on socialism and its impact. Young people disappear; sold iers come to private homes and con- fiscate personal belongings. There are compulsory rallies, Stalin’s portrait hangs everywhere, and children are forcibly taken from “unreliable” parents while soldiers enforce “voluntary participation” at elections. New ru les are imposed on all aspects of life. We learn about family travails and tragedies within this milieu but also discover the rebirth of Ukrainian language and literature and a defiant resistance. A brief History insert explains the conflicts between comm unism and Christianity and the ensuing struggles, exacerbated by Stalin’s 5 - year plan to reinforce and solidify atheism as the “state religion,” designating clergy as “agents of foreign terrorism.” The Great Purge ensues. In a chapter titled “The Tightening Noose,” Diachok describes a problem faced by a convent supe- rior because the local commissar “wants to personally instruct them [children] in free love. . .” Other illus- trative stories in this section deal with random arr ests, torture, forced confessions, theft and confiscation of private property, destruction of religious artifacts, and a concerted campaign to replace religious faith with Marxist ideology. In a later chapter, Diachok describes a conversation with his ail ing father who compliments pro- gress on the book while questioning its viability in an environment where people believe “what they know from Hollywood movies.” Theo provides more details about the brutality of the times in question and then wonders “Why was I spared?” For this reader, the existential question is rhetorical and answered in the concluding chapter of the book, which describes the young couple’s decision to leave Ukraine, a decision made by many Ukrainians who survived the war, the camps, religi ous and political persecution, and the perils and uncertainties of emigration, becoming part of what is now referred to as “the great generation.” A sequel documenting the family’s migration from Europe to the United States is in the works. Escapes is a book all diaspora Ukrainians should read, both for its unique and intrinsic value as a record of the time it describes and as a writing prompt for our own family stories. It is also a book that should be shared with non - Ukrainians who know little or n othing about Ukraine’s history and the history of the peo- ple who had to leave their homeland to survive. – tsc _____________________________________________________ Летять лелеки над моєю хатою Олег Шупляк. «На чужину» . Летять лелеки над моєю хатою, Де серед лугу — змійкою ріка, Де пахне матіолою і м’ятою, Що мамина посіяла рука... А там, внизу, де трави вкриті росами, Де мальви пломеніли, як вогонь, Росло дівча із золотими косами, Й пило життя із праведних долонь. Там на морозі оживали комини... А як санчата мчалися з гори! І це не сон, це — незабутні спомини Із тої, серцю милої, пори. Летять лелеки, як роки, до вирію, Кружляє час понад старою стріхою... Життя своє уже й не дітьми міряю — Онуки стали радістю і втіхою. Та... хочеться пройтись ногами босими, Аби лиш потай зазирнути в двері, Де те дівча, що з золотими косами, Малює своє щастя на папері... Оксана Садовська ________________________________________________________________
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