NEWS AND VIEWS: Seeking solutions for the diaspora (09/13/98)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Seeking solutions for the diaspora

by Marko Stech

Having read Dr. Myron Kuropas' columns "The Grunts' Carry Us" and "Diaspora: Disconsolate Desperation?" (July 12 and July 26), I decided to respond to his invitation and add my voice to the discussion about the future of Ukrainian communities in North America. I agree with Dr. Kuropas that the time has come to seriously look at causes and solutions.

The first and fundamental issue, which will ultimately decide our communal fate, is the problem of a valuable, realistic, and fairly unified "mission" of the Ukrainian diaspora as a whole. The lack of the real sense of such a "mission" in almost all of our mainstream organizations is, to a large degree, responsible for the virtual loss of the younger generation, especially the movement away from the community of young aspiring professionals. (As a member of this age category, I can make this statement with conviction.) The same applies to the recent immigrants from Ukraine to whom the diaspora offers little with which they can relate to or identify.

It may seem utopian to presume that a sense of "mission" that is acceptable to the older generation and to young professionals, to recent immigrants and to second- and third-generation Ukrainian North Americans, to academics as well as to the uneducated - can ever be found. And yet, perhaps it is not as impossible as it seems. We can learn a lesson or two from the Jewish communities in North America, which, despite their overall linguistic assimilation, have been remarkably successful in running lively community centers, attracting young people to their ranks, and organizing highly effective local, national, and international campaigns and events.

A young Jewish professional once told me that he took an active part in the Jewish community life because he was proud to belong to the nation that had brought the world the highest number of Nobel Prize laureates, the world's most famous violinists, and the list went on. Would not a similar sense of pride to belong to an internationally prominent nation have a potential to unite Ukrainians from different generations, different ways of life and different political, cultural, business, religious, organizations?

We may not yet boast of such achievements, but nothing stops us from striving to build and improve the image of our nation and our community and from making this one of the cornerstones of our communal "mission." Not only that, but perhaps for the first time in our history, we have an opportunity to do this not for some semi-mythical "cause of our forefathers" (thank God, Ukraine is free), but directly for us, our children, and our national and communal sense of pride.

During the Soviet era, it was the diaspora that represented Ukrainian interests in the world and, against all odds, managed to "put Ukraine on the world map." Ukrainian academics, journalists, writers, philanthropists, community activists, the U.S. and Canadian politicians of Ukrainian descent - all contributed to this truly Herculean achievement. And it is a paradox that now, when possibilities to continue this work are greater than ever, this same community is on the verge of losing its sense of place and mission.

Now we have better than ever possibilities and resources to help the first Ukrainian to win the Nobel Prize or other prestigious awards, to support our politicians in international politics, or to help Ukrainian scholars, scientists, writers, and artists achieve international prominence. By doing this, we would not only help these particular individuals, but we would improve the image of all Ukrainians and make things Ukrainian more prestigious and sought after in the world.

With independent Ukraine ready to support our claims, now we have better than ever possibilities to promote the true image of our history and culture and to win back some of the "spiritual territory" we have lost through the centuries. Is it not an attractive idea to the old as well as to the young to be a part of the process of bringing Ukraine and all of us more international recognition? Is it not an area which could also unify constructive forces from the diaspora and Ukraine?

To me this idea is so simple and straightforward that I cannot understand why so little, relatively speaking, is being done in this area, especially by the mainstream Ukrainian organizations. Not only are such actions rare, but they tend to be poorly organized and ineffective. This brings me to my next point: the professionalism and efficiency of our organizations.

In the context of continually decreasing membership of our organizations, we have no choice, but to be more professional and cost-effective. Otherwise, our organizations will simply not survive.

Many organizations also have to win back the trust of our community as to their abilities to get things done. Too many times in the past funds raised from our community "for the liberation of Ukraine," "aid for Ukraine," or other nebulously described projects were spent without producing any real effects. In some cases, they were spent on unrelated activities. Also, too many times we have raised and continue to raise money for "hopeless" projects: to save for a year or two a building or some activity that is no longer relevant and cannot support itself. Ukrainian organizations must become ready to show results for every dollar they receive from their members and donors.

To give a positive example of how effective the combination of a far-sighted objective and efficient management can be, I would like to describe a close-to-home "success story" of the Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Research at the University of Alberta. In 1989 Mr. Jacyk took advantage of the two-to-one matching program in Alberta and with a donation of $1 million, created a $3 million endowment fund for the center. Invested, this money has been constantly growing and only part of its annual interest is used to run the center's many programs. This guarantees that the center will exist and operate permanently. Initially, the center employed two permanent staff members. Today its full-time staff consists of five highly qualified professionals, while several other specialists are employed on contractual basis.

There are, of course, other positive examples. For instance, in response to my recent letter to The Ukrainian Weekly, I was contacted by Dr. Bohdan Oryshkevych representing the USA/USA - an organization that helps the best students from Ukraine to obtain full scholarships at American universities. I was impressed with the success Dr. Oryshkevych has already achieved working singlehandedly. Even if the USA/USA and the Jacyk Foundation will not work directly on joint projects, I am convinced that our contact will enrich and stimulate both sides.

This brings me to my third point: interaction. Our new sense of mission, our priorities and more efficient work methods can be developed and improved through interaction and cooperation. In the process of an active dialogue, we need to develop new ideas and dispel old prejudices. In particular, people working in similar fields and sharing similar work ethics should get in touch and try to find areas of cooperation. Again, I agree with Dr. Kuropas that The Ukrainian Weekly is probably the best forum for such discussions.

The mission of uniting our efforts and resources in order to build a better image of Ukraine and Ukrainians (ourselves!) in the world and to support our best and brightest on an international level would not preclude or diminish the value of the work of the community activists working in fraternal organizations, parishes or credit unions. On the contrary, such grassroots organizations are the basis on which our community can build its national and international programs. These programs, in turn, by promoting the image of Ukrainians in education, politics, journalism, arts, etc., would bring back a sense of pride and accomplishment to the grassroots level for work that will have produced real and lasting fruits.

Dr. Marko Stech is managing director of the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation.

| Home Page |