NUCLEAR DISASTER IN UKRAINE: U.S. Ukrainians pray for kin (05/04/86)

NUCLEAR DISASTER IN UKRAINE

U.S. Ukrainians pray for kin

by Marta Kolomayets and Michael B. Bociurkiw in New York,
and other correspondents nationwide

NEW YORK - More than 700 Ukrainians gathered here at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church to pray for their brothers and sisters in Ukraine, victims of the nuclear disaster at the Chornobyl power plant.

Both Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox clergy served the 45-minute memorial moleben here on Wednesday, April 30. Community leaders, youth organization members in their uniforms and concerned Ukrainians wearing black armbands and holding lighted candles filed into the church for the 7 p.m. service.

Television radio and newspaper crews followed them to record the service and get Ukrainian American community reaction to this tragedy.

During his sermon, the Rev. Patrick Paschak, pastor of St. George's, said that the catastrophe comes at a time when Ukrainians traditionally prepare for Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection.

He added that there was no way to actually know what happened at Chornobyl or how many people fell victim to this nuclear disaster, but that prayers are needed at this time.

The service ended with the people singing the hymn "Bozhe Velyky."

The Rev. Paschak, at a press conference following the prayer service, told reporters many of his parishioners are frustrated at not being able to obtain more information about their families in Ukraine.

"We don't know what's happening or whether anything can be done to help these people," the Rev. Paschak said.

He added that people should be mindful of the fact that nuclear power installations "can be at fault not only in the Soviet Union but here (in the United States) as well."

Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian American Youth Association, SUM-A, told reporters that representatives from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America were going to try to meet with Vice-President George Bush in Washington on May 1.

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The service in St. George's was only one of many such services scheduled to take place around the country. The Ukrainian communities in Rochester, N.Y., and Newark, N.J., for example, were planning services for Thursday evening, May 1.

In San Francisco, Ukrainians were to hold a memorial service and, afterwards, a candlelight vigil outside the Soviet Consulate in that city on Friday, May 2, which is Good Friday for Ukrainians who observe the Julian calendar.

Chicagoans prayed for their brothers and sisters in Ukraine on Wednesday evening, April 30, reported The Weekly's correspondent in that city, Marianna Liss. Demonstrations also were being planned for Thursday afternoon, May 1, at the Daly Center Plaza.

Philadelphia Ukrainians, led by the Ukrainian Human Rights Committee, were gearing up for a demonstration on Monday, May 5, at noon at 2 p.m., near the United Nations in New York City. Local organizations were expected to lend their support. The purpose of the demonstration, according to Ulana Mazurkevich of the UHRC, is to call on the U.N. secretary general to immediately dispatch a team to ascertain the damage and to determine what relief efforts are needed.

New York Ukrainians were to follow up their church services with a press conference and demonstration on Friday, May 2.

Washington, D.C., area Ukrainians told The Weekly that they would hold a vigil at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 2, at Lafayette Park across from the White House. The demonstrators will ask the Soviet authorities to allow technical and humanitarian assistance from outside the USSR; that restrictions be lifted on parcels mailed to the USSR; and that lines of communication be opened in order that relatives may contact each other.

Both the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Medical Association of New York released statements on April 29, indicating that they were willing to come forward with assistance to the victims of the nuclear disaster. Spokesmen for the UNA said they foresaw providing funds for relief activities that would be conducted by either the International Red Cross or some U.S. government body.

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