1993: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Worth noting... (12/26/93)

1993: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Worth noting...

The February 22 issue of Time magazine featured a story written by Lance Morrow about rape as an instrument of war. It caused quite a stir in the Ukrainian community and put much pressure on Time, which finally printed an explanation and a partial retraction. A Time photo editor had seen fit to include a photograph with the story that shows a crying adolescent girl sitting nude on a city street being embraced by an older woman. The caption, which read "Traditions of atrocity: A Jewish girl raped by Ukrainians in Lvov, Poland, in 1945," angered Ukrainians and sent a deluge of protest mail flowing into Time headquarters. Diplomats, such as Counselor Andrij Veselovsky of Ukraine's Embassy in Canada, scholars, such as Prof. Danylo Husar Struk, journalists and citizens vented their protests to the conjecture within and the inaccuracy of the caption. Finally on April 19, Time wrote that more than 750 pieces of mail had flooded the editorial offices of the magazine. The retraction went on to say, "there is enough confusion about (the origin of the photo) for us to regret that our caption, in addition to misdating the picture, may well have conveyed a false impression."
A guide to assist the curious who increasingly jetted to this newly independent and still mysterious country called Ukraine was published the first week of February. The section on Ukraine in "Birnbaum's Eastern Europe 1993" was written by New York-based free-lance journalist Roman Czajkowsky. Kyyiv, which receives 20 pages of coverage, and Odessa, with 12, are highlighted. The guide also provides a brief section on the Crimea. The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times all gave it favorable reviews.
The Ukrainian American Nautical Association was founded in 1993 after 13 Ukrainian American professionals spent a week sailing in the blistering heat of the British Virgin Islands. They came back with the idea that sailing could bring Ukrainian Americans closer together. The group hopes the bonds and closer ties developed through sailing might ultimately be put to service for the benefit of the Ukrainian American community at large. The group plans to organize a Caribbean regatta in 1994 and to publish a newsletter.
The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organization (WFUWO) received consultative status at the United Nations on March 23, the first such Ukrainian organization to do so. The U.N. Economic and Social Council, which accepted the WFUWO, expressed its support for the work the group has done in Eastern Europe and Ukraine. The new status will allow the WFUWO a more active role at the U.N. and in the work of the ECOSOC, which comprises organizations such as the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and UNESCO.
Seven Ukrainian business/professional organizations held talks on April 3 regarding establishment of a nationwide federation. Representatives from groups in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington met in East Hanover, N.J., and listened to Eugene Zalucky, an executive of the National Council of Ethnic Canadian Business and Professional Associations. By the time of The Washington Group's Leadership Conference in October, Buffalo and Pittsburgh had decided to become involved. The target date for the launch of a national federation is February 1994.
About 700 veterans of the World War II army division "Halychyna" along with family members and friends, gathered in Lviv beginning on August 14 for a 10-day commemoration marking the 50th anniversary of its formation within the Waffen SS.

Celebrants from the diaspora and Ukraine expressed vindication and satisfaction that the fight against Soviet communism finally had succeeded. The military unit had been organized under the German General Government, which was the occupier in Ukraine at the time. Ukrainians who had agreed to form the Galicia Division had exacted several demands from the Germans, one being that they would fight only their Soviet oppressors and the other that they would not take an oath of allegiance to Germany.

Earlier in the year, Wolf-Dietrich Heike's, "The Ukrainian Division 'Galicia,' 1943-1945" entered a second printing in commemoration of the division's jubilee.
Historic Preservation, a publication of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, in its March/April issue carried a feature article titled "Ukrainian Dawn" by architect Arnold Burke, executive editor of Historic Preservation News. The article described Ukraine's architectural heritage and offered an overview on Ukraine's history and culture.
Nashe Zhyttia (Our Life) celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 4 at the Ukrainian National Home in New York. The magazine, published by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, was first published in Philadelphia and moved to New York in 1974.
Iryna Kurowyckyj was unanimously elected president of the National Council of Women/U.S.A. She had been the representative of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America until her election and had served as first vice-president of the NCW. The National Council of Women is the oldest women's organization in the United States; one of its founders was suffragette Susan B. Anthony.
Mir Lada, 25, of Toronto won the National Magazine Awards gold medal and $1,000 first prize for conceptual photography in April. His winning photograph, featuring a spike-haired, punk-affected boy scout, had first appeared with an article in Today's Parent magazine.
The first leadership training course for Plast-Ukraine was held in Donetske on June 12-13. It was cosponsored by Plast-Canada and Plast-Ukraine. Six members of the national executive of Plast-Canada were on hand for the "vyshkil," which attracted two groups of people: young people, mostly in their 20s, who were curious about the activities of the scouting group, and pedagogues interested in new activities for students who no longer had the Pioneer program toward which to channel their energies.
The first Joint World Congress of Ukrainian Students, with more than 300 students in attendance, was held in Kyyiv on June 25-27. Three student groups, the Central Union of Ukrainian Students, the Ukrainian Student's Association and the Ukrainian Students Group, were present. The group announced the transfer of the Central Union of Ukrainian Students to Kyyiv from the U.S. and plans to open a worldwide information bureau.
A new generation of community leaders was elected to take the helm of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America on May 28-30, among them Anna Krawczuk, elected president to succeed Maria Savchak, who had held the office for the last six years. Since 1984, Ms. Krawczuk had chaired the UNWLA's highly successful Scholarship/Student Sponsorship Program.
A Ukrainian electronic mail news group was formed in early June after informal voting by e-mail users showed a need for such a service existed. The news group, which is found on Internet, is called "soc.culture.ukrainian" and may be accessed in that manner.
On June 28, Adrian Karatnycky became the new executive director of Freedom House, the non-profit, worldwide human-rights watchdog founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Wilkie. Before his appointment, he was the AFL-CIO's specialist on international affairs in President Lane Kirkland's office.
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski spoke on the first night of The Washington Group's seventh annual conference, held October 8-10. He said the task ahead for Ukrainian leaders is to fashion an image for Ukraine as an active member of the European community. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros was given the group's "Friend of Ukraine" award.

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