Shukhevych in exile: an update on his condition (11/09/86)

10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE UKRAINIAN HELSINKI GROUP

Shukhevych in exile: an update on his condition

by Nina Strokata

Those sources that have been able to provide any information about Yuriy Shukhevych all agree that he continues to live in exile. The exile was added to his prison term when he was sentenced in 1973.

After 10 years spent in the prisons of Vladimir-on-the-Klyazma and in Chistopol in the Tatar ASSR, Yuriy was taken to a country where morning frosts appear at the beginning of September. Yuriy's present home is a building for invalids which has the name of "Forest Cottage" (Lesnaya Dacha). The "Forest Cottage" is located in a forest not too far from the banks of the river Ob and about 10 kilometers from the nearest large city, Tomsk. The "cottage" is surrounded by several five-story buildings housing the service staff and its families. It appears that the "village" has many occupants.

Ever since Yuriy was released from prison and living in exile, his mother and sister have visited him every year. Nothing has been heard from his wife, who last saw Yuriy in 1983 with his son, Romchyk. The children neither visit their father nor write to him. Yuriy's mother and his sister Mariyka visited Yuriy again in 1985 along with his aunt Natalka. The visits lasted several days. In December 1985 dissident Vilgelm Fast arrived from Tomsk. He was able to enter the grounds of the "cottage" and to visit Yuriy, but when he was leaving he was stopped and taken to the police. There Yuriy's unexpected guest was thoroughly searched.

Because he is 99 percent blind, Yuriy has tried several methods of writing letters without anyone's help. At first he used a ruler to keep the lines of the paragraph together. Later his sister brought a typewriter and helped him to learn the layout of the keyboard. Using the typewriter was not easy, but after a time Yuriy's family and friends began to receive typewritten letters from him. The letters are much easier to read than those written with the help of the ruler. It sometimes happens, however, that Yuriy will insert the sheet of paper too far to the right, with the result that the first few letters of every line are omitted. This causes the person receiving such a letter no small problem.

Despite his handicaps, Yuriy Shukhevych is not depressed, has many interests, and is aware of what is happening beyond the borders of the "cottage." The persons around Yuriy treat him with great respect. The service staff and the neighbors (who suffer from similar disabilities) are astonished that a blind man not only is able to take care of himself but helps others as well, even to the point of doing his own and others' laundry. According to sources, Yuriy's affability and active kindness stand out in the surroundings into which fate has cast him. He is held in general esteem by the invalids, among whom he has been living for four years.

The latest news from Yuriy is in his letters of early 1986 which contain Christmas thoughts and greetings.

In September of this year, Yuriy was visited in exile by his mother and sister. During the last year, Yuriy had received many letters, written in many different languages by people who live in different countries of the free world. Because of his blindness, Yuriy could not read these letters; his neighbors do not know foreign languages. Therefore, Yuriy waited a whole year until his relatives came again. They read aloud everything that free people had written to Yuriy.

The campaign for Yuriy Shukhevych, "the eternal prisoner"

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