LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (08/29/99)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ukrainian sailors stranded in New York

Dear Editor:

I am writing regarding your August 8 and 15 stories about the Ukrainian sailors stranded in New York harbor. This ship was dead-in-the-water for almost four months. The crew of 26 were deserted by their employer, and unfortunately the Ukrainian government as well.

As an aside from the main thrust of this letter - it's very sad and disheartening that this ship has been reduced to being a junk hauler for the world. That's the only conclusion one can come to when taking into account that subject ship (Znamia Oktiabria) from Ukraine is hauling old auto wrecks from the United States to Haiti and the Dominican Republic - not exactly two world-class economic powerhouses. Under these circumstances, retaining the ship's Russian-Soviet name is most appropriate.

You correctly identify the primary sources of food and supplies for the ship. However, you neglected to mention the several hundred pounds of food and supplies provided by the City of New York. The city also provided transportation for Post 301 the Ukrainian American Veterans to transport their food and supplies order. It was brought to the ship on a New York City Fire Department boat. Everthing was easily accommodated in the ship's barren cupboards and freezers. The crew understood who the delivery was from, and expressed their gratitude.

What did the Ukraine's Consulate General here in New York do? They sent a "suit" to explain to The New York Times that this was merely a "normal" delay in getting orders, supplies and salaries to the crew. Normal? I'd hate to see how they operate under abnormal conditions. People are left stranded thousands of miles away from home, and all their government can do is send a public relations "suit."

The first captain of this ship committed suicide on board in January, while tied up off Sandy Hook, N.J. Where was that "suit" then? Why didn't Svoboda and The Weekly start shouting on their editorial pages about this problem then?

This is not one isolated incident. Post 301 responded to similar dire conditions aboard the Mikhail Senko, another Azov Shipping Co. vessel on April 16, when yet another crew was left without provisions while in port in Yonkers, N.Y. This same Azov Shipping Co. presently has another half a dozen ships stranded around the world. We are closely watching the fate of the Victor Talillkin that recently arrived in New York Harbor and dropped anchor to await orders and provisions.

Your sister publication, Svoboda, chose to ignore this story until after the ship left. Why? How else is the local New York City community and the larger Ukrainian community supposed to learn about such occurrences? This is the type of story that should be strictly page one material in the Ukrainian media. Your editorials should be demanding that Ukrainian businesses put the safety and well-being of their employees ahead of profits. If the Azov Shipping Co. is incapable of supporting all its crews around the world, perhaps they should sell off some of their ships and concentrate on business opportunities closer to home that they can better manage.

Stephen Rudyk
Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Editor's note: The Weekly first learned of the suicide aboard the Znamia Oktiabria on August 3.

Past Ivana Kupalo celebrations recalled

Dear Editor:

Not being a young person, I am not qualified to participate in this puzzle solution. but I couldn't resist saying a few things about the feast of Ivan Kupalo (June 24 or July 7).

On a visit to Ukraine in 1992, my husband, Morris, and I found ourselves in Uman on July 7 where we visited their beautiful park. As we entered the grounds we encountered charming young girls in white, filmy dresses with wreaths in their hair and also in their hands. Memory bells rang in my ear and I inquired what they were doing with the flowers. They replied that they had been floating them in the stream as a game played on that particular day.

The memory that was stirred up for me by this sight was that of our daughter, Paula, dancing a beautiful folk ballet around just this theme, in the same type of costume, at a Yevshan Folk Ballet performance in our civic auditorium in Saskatoon. Here was evidence of a beautiful ritual observed in different ways - thousands of miles apart - by young people (fortunate in their heritage opportunities.)

The legend surrounding this particular festivity is that on that particular night a fern blooms in the woods. The mystical quality to this legend lies in the fact that this particular fern does not normally produce a bloom. Should this bracken fern or tree fern or "adder's tongue" be observed by someone to have indeed produced, magically, a flower [Kvit paporoti], then this was a sure sign of the bliss of love awaiting this person in short order.

The young girls floating wreaths in the water are also looking for love signals, for the wreaths are perceived as floating toward a loved one. However, should a wreath sink, this was a signal of love being denied. I must say that I was sorry to have missed the scene in Ukraine of this search for love by the young girls on the night of Ivan Kupalo.

Thank you for providing an opportunity to share a few recollections about Kupalo - although not related to camp life.

Mary Cherneskey
Saskatoon

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