LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (10/07/01)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

What message is St. George's sending?

Dear Editor:

As I looked out my window in the East Village on the morning of September 11 my perfect view of the World Trade Center was marred by the billowing smoke rising toward the sky. The reality finally settled in. It was true - the Twin Towers were on fire and collapsing right before my eyes.

Was this a war? Were we being attacked by an unknown enemy? Is this the Armageddon that Nostradamus had predicted? Frightening thoughts raced through my brain. Relatives in other states were impossible to reach by the over-loaded telephone circuits, so I ran outside to seek some solace and comfort.

What I saw was shocking! Thousands of soot covered people wandering around aimlessly, coughing, sobbing, covered with debris - reminding me of the World War II refugee stories my parents told me about when I was growing up.

All the churches in the neighborhood were open to the public. I myself was beckoned by a small Presbyterian church on Second Avenue and East 7th Street by a group of soft-spoken clergy and volunteers who knew exactly what their spiritual role was to their fellow men. Their gentle, soothing manner calmed my shattered nerves. Feeling somewhat relieved, I knelt down to pray for the safety of my friends in the financial district.

As I walked through the neighborhood I noticed that the local community centers also were opened and were distributing water and refreshments, offering restroom facilities, refuge and consolation to the walking wounded. I remember feeling such a great sense of pride for my community and the camraderie everyone exhibited during the most catastrophic day New Yorkers and Americans have ever experienced.

On my way home I wondered what St. George's Church on East Seventh Street was doing for its parishioners. I thought of my parents, contemporaries and how terrified they must be. I guess the parish was not as concerned as I was about their spiritual needs - for St. George's was closed. When I called the parish to find out why the church was not open for counseling and guidance for the Ukrainian community, the very rude and curt response was shocking: "I don't have time, I have to go to the bank," ... "If we leave the church opened people will steal the valuables."

Obviously, the parish's finances and wordly possessions were more important than tending to the spiritual needs of its flock.

Where were the Ukrainian spiritual leaders the week of September 11? Where were they on Friday, September 14, the official day of mourning? Outside of their regularly scheduled daily early morning masses, there were no special masses or prayer vigils at St. George's as there were in so many houses of worship in New York City.

The clergy that was missing in action for the Ukrainians, that was just too busy for their own parishioners, that was diligently looking after its own assets was very willing and very much available to provide spiritual counseling to the faculty and students of Cooper Union.

The message is very clear isn't it?

Stefa Charczenko
New York

Thanks from Ukraine to a reader in Ottawa

Dear Editor:

I wrote an article for The Weekly sometime ago (April 22) about a book-loving loner, Volodymyr Zhankovskyi, who lives in the deserted village of Novyi Myr, which is located in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The story had a rather unintended but very pleasant consequence.

Several days ago I returned from that village in the Chornobyl zone, once again having spent time with Mr. Zhankovskyi, who has lived by himself in the village since he refused to relocate after the 1986 nuclear disaster. This time I had good news for him.

After my article appeared in The Weekly, one of the newspaper's readers, Irene Bell of Ottawa, read of Mr. Zhankovskyi's love of books and decided to present him with a small library of Ukrainian-language books.

She informed The Weekly's editorial office of her desire, which in turn informed me. Before long I was on my way into the Chornobyl zone to visit Mr. Zhankovskyi once again - this time carrying a special package from Ms. Bell.

A deeply moved Mr. Zhankovskyi, who still refers to himself as the president's representative to the village, expressed his sincere gratitude to Ms. Bell and wished her all the best. He also invited her to visit him in Novyi Myr.

I am pleased to be the one to carry the message of thanks to Ms. Bell, and I would also like to add my own appreciation for what she did: I sincerely thank you Ms. Bell, for your attention and sensitivity to a person with such an extraordinary fate.

Mr. Zhankovskyi is 70 years old, but is still vigorous and does not complain about his health. He lives on what Mother Earth provides - fish, mushrooms and wild berries - and lives in harmony with nature.

This year he will not be able to depend much on his garden plot. The potatoes did poorly and what few did grow were eaten by the wild boars, of which there are plenty in these parts. But he hasn't lost his positive outlook and still sings often.

In the year since I last visited Mr. Zhankovskyi not much has changed, there is the same daily grind and the same troubles. He still takes pride in his two horses, Kalyna and Zoria. Such intelligent horses belong in a circus, he says. And they are so healthy, happy and beautiful. Mr. Zhankovskyi believes that a horse is one of the most beautiful creatures on earth, and I agree with him.

If Ms. Bell ever travels to Ukraine and visits her new friend in the Chornobyl region, he will be very pleased to hitch up Kalyna and Zoria and take her for a ride around the exclusion zone. It will be an excursion unlike anything she has ever experienced. In the exclusion zone there are only several hundred inhabitants in a few dozen villages. Few are as isolated as Mr. Zhankovskyi, however. From his village it is 15 kilometers to the nearest person.

Danylo Kulyniak
Kyiv

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries on a variety of topics of concern to the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities. Opinions expressed by columnists, commentators and letter-writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association.

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