New documentary chronicles Canada's internment of Ukrainians (05/15/94)

New documentary chronicles Canada's internment of Ukrainians

by Oksana Zakjdalsky

TORONTO - A new feature-documentary film, "Freedom Had a Price," subtitled "Canada's First Internment Operation 1914-1920," will be premiered on May 27 at a special showing organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Yurij Luhovy, the one-hour film is an account of the imprisonment of thousands of Ukrainians branded enemy-aliens at the beginning of World War I by the Canadian government and sent to internment camps across Canada.

"Freedom Had a Price" is produced by La Maison de Montage Luhovy Inc. in association with the National Film Board of Canada and the UCRDC. Mr. Luhovy's link with the UCRDC goes back to the director and editor. Mr. Luhovy recently won the best editor award at the Atlantic Film Festival for the film "Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance" shown to wide acclaim on the CBC.

At the turn of the century, Ukrainians who lived in territories that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were technically citizens of the empire, yet economically exploited and politically dominated. Canada was actively recruiting East Europeans to settle the western prairies with the promise of free land and abundant work. Thus, thousands of Ukrainians left their homes, lured to Canada by the hope of a better way of life.

When war broke out in 1914, 171,000 Ukrainians were living in Canada and, overnight, all those who still bore their Austro-Hungarian passports became "enemy aliens." In spite of the fact that the British advised the Canadian government that Ukrainians were "friendly aliens," opposed to the war aims of Austro-Hungary, wartime hysteria and anti-foreigner feeling created a hostile atmosphere.

Between 1914 and 1920, about 80,000 Ukrainian immigrants had to register as enemy aliens, report regularly to the police and carry identity papers at all times. Over 5,000 were imprisoned in 26 internment camps across the country. The properties and possessions of many were seized and never returned. In the camps the conditions were grim and the treatment of internees was harsh. Many died in the camps, many became sick and some were killed by guards while trying to escape.

The film "Freedom Had a Price" was shot on the former locations of internment sites throughout Canada. It uses archival footage, old photographs and testimony of survivors, and features commentary by prominent Canadian historians such as Desmond Morton and Donald Avery.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the internment operations. For the last decade, the Ukrainian community in Canada, particularly the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Civil Liberties Commission, have been lobbying the Canadian government for an acknowledgment on the part of the government that the internment operations were unjust. So far, the government has responded only with procrastination.

The film "Freedom Had a Price" will help to ensure that this episode of Canadian history does not disappear from public consciousness.

The premiere showing of "Freedom Had a Price" will be held on May 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Lawrence Center for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. Toronto. Tickets are priced at $50 and include a post-premiere reception. Proceeds will go to offset the production costs of the film. Tickets may be obtained from the St. Lawrence Center Box Office, (416) 366-7723, or from the UCRD, (416) 966-1819.

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