LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (05/12/96)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ukrainian settlers in Brazil noted

Dear Editor:

I have just returned from a spiritual tour of Brazil, and while it was an exhilarating experience for me, there was one episode that truly inspired me, which I would like to share with the readers.

After our group of 27, mainly from California, toured the sights of interest in the cities of Salvador, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, our second to the last flight before departure for home was to Foz do Iguassu, site of the magnificent Iguassu Falls. On the way to the Cataratas hotel adjacent to the Falls, I was pleasantly surprised to hear our bus tour guide, while describing the main points of interest in the vicinity of rich farm lands, turn her talk to European immigrants. On top of her list was the mention of the Ukrainian settlers. What a joy it was for me to hear that familiar, beautiful-sounding name "Ukrainian" in a country so distant and foreign in culture and language.

Later, while touring the hotel and while in Sao Paulo where we changed planes for home, I saw on display our traditional Easter eggs.

Mary E. Pressey
Forest Hills, N.Y.

Now is not the time to turn our backs

Dear Editor:

In his March 31 column, Dr. Myron Kuropas paints a rather dark picture of contemporary Ukraine and its prospects for the future. To quote: "Corruption, an irradicable Soviet mindset, parliamentary intransigence, naivete regarding the diaspora, other shortcomings have contributed to a growing sense of pessimism about Ukraine's future." Dr. Kuropas is not alone with such a dark assessment. A large segment of the diaspora feels very much the same. Unfortunately, this view is overly pessimistic and not at all helpful to Ukraine's future.

Not that Dr. Kuropas and others are wrong, they are simply overly pessimistic. Indeed, there is widespread corruption, parliamentary intransigence, as well as other innumerable shortcomings in present-day Ukraine. Many of the oldguard Soviet apparatchiks who are still in charge try to run the country in the old way. But they have lost much of their former power (derived in the past mainly from Moscow muscle), and their days are numbered anyhow. On a positive note, there was peaceful and democratic transfer of political power in the country, and the new administration remains pro-Western in its orientation.

The Ukrainian Parliament is indeed intransigent. But which parliament is not? Aren't all parliaments designed in the first place to be intransigent? The intent of such a design is to solve disputes by means of verbal arguments, rather then by spilling blood in the streets. And it seems to work in Ukraine. There are democratic as well as Communist blocs in the Parliament, and each represents its constituency in a way democratic institutions are designed to represent different interests groups.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian Parliament is able to argue the pros and cons of a new constitution in a parliamentary setting, and is not being blasted by the tanks of its own army, as was the case in Moscow. The fact that the design of a new constitution is taking rather a long time underscores the point that this important subject is taken rather seriously.

The president of the country and the current administration are solving internal problems without bombs, assault helicopters or artillery fire, unlike in Chechnya. Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) veterans march under the yellow-and-blue flag and the sign of the trident in Kyiv and Lviv, while Communists demonstrate under the red banner of union with Russia. Neither group is being attacked by the "special forces" as recently was the case in Miensk. In short, when comparing the current political climate in Ukraine to the other former Soviet republics, there is no comparison. And while it might be true that independent Ukraine did not live up to all of our expectations, not all of our expectations have been realistic. One can not change a mind-set formed by 70 years of Communist oppression in a few months.

The act of proclamation of independence in Ukraine was not the miraculous end-point of a centuries-long struggle, but rather a beginning of a long process to regain our national dignity through statehood. The diaspora was steadfast in support of the country of our origin during the darkest hours of Communist oppression, when all hope seemed to be lost. It is not the time to turn our backs on our brethren now when there is hope.

Ihor Lysyj
West Hills, Calif.

How do you spell "Zahorodniuk"?

Dear Editor:

The article by Andrij Wynnyckyj "Ukraine's skaters in top 10 at World Championships in Canada" (March 31) has the correct transliteration of the names of Ukraine's skaters.

But on TV programs covering the World Championship in Edmonton the names of Ukraine's skaters were given as they sound in Russian e.g. "Zagorodniuk," "Belousovskaya." There is no doubt that TV uses names from the official championship directory to which input on Ukraine's skaters is provided by officials of Ukraine.

Does Ukraine's government still have an inferiority complex and therefore prefer to use Russian-sounding names rather than Ukrainian in foreign countries? Is the Ukrainian language still treated as a provincial one suited only for peasants? Are such views of Ukrainophobe Russian literary critic Vissarion Belinsky expressed when reviewing Taras Shevchenko's Ukrainian poetry in 1842 still alive in Ukraine after 150 years?

I just wonder what versions of names of Ukraine's athletes will be provided by Ukraine for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Will they be Russian or Ukrainian?

Russian-sounding names of Ukraine's athletes only emphasize that Ukrainians use the Russian language and may cause many non-Ukrainians to think: why do Ukrainians want to be separated from Russia when they really are Russians?

Andrij D. Solczanyk
Media, Pa.

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