Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization holds its first worldwide jamboree in Ukraine (09/01/02)

Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization holds its first worldwide jamboree in Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Many of them spent the first week trudging through the rain-soaked Carpathian Mountains in mud-caked boots or canoeing between the broad banks of the snaking Dnister River. Several dozen got lost near the highest mountain peak in Ukraine. The oldest pitched tents, while the youngest were given comfortable apartments at the base camp.

After seven days, however, all the participants of Plast's International Jamboree - the first to be held in Ukraine - ended up at the main camp, located on the rolling foothills outside of Lviv near the ancient feudal castle of the town of Svirzh. There, the sun finally won out over the rain and gave the participants beautiful weather for their second week, during which they celebrated 90 years of Ukrainian scouting.

More than 1,500 Ukrainian scouts, or "plastuny," age 6 to 60 and even older, spent the better part of two weeks between August 11 and 24 participating in the worldwide quinquennial jubilee jamboree of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. It was the largest Plast gathering ever in Ukraine, which proceeded under the slogan "Discovering the Ukrainian Planet."

While camping under the stars (except for the youngest, the "novatstvo," who were given housing) and taking part in various activities and celebrations, the scouts rejuvenated old friendships and developed new acquaintances. For that, after all, was one of the essential reasons for making the trek to the mountains of western Ukraine.

"For me it is a chance to meet with my friends from around the world. I have come as a counselor for our "yunatstvo" (youths age 11-17) because I wanted to help them to experience this, too," explained Lesia Tkachenko, 23, of Munich, Germany, a member of the Buryverkhy sorority, as she stood outside her mountain tent before opening ceremonies

Andrii Harmatii, director of the Plast Executive in Ukraine, said that Plast jamborees occur once every five years on the anniversary of the establishment of the scouting organization, which took place in 1911-1912, when Oleksander Tysovsky a Lviv-based educator implemented the notions and strategies of Boy Scout founder Baden Powell, based on the principles of clean mind and clean body, and formed the first scouting group in Ukraine.

"Because this occurs only once in five years, 'yunaky' have only one real chance to attend, so it is a special occasion for them. That is one reason why the jamborees are significant events," explained Mr. Harmatii. "But also they are a chance for the entire family of Plast to get better acquainted."

The Plast members, known as "plastuny," who attended the jamboree came from 12 countries ranging widely across the globe, including Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Germany, Spain and Argentina. The word, "plastun" comes from the old Kozak word for, what else, a scout or reconnoiterer.

By the time the last busloads had arrived in Svirzh on Sunday, 1,515 plastuny had registered for the jamboree. Mr. Harmatii estimated that about 1,700 people, including 79 Ukrainian scouts not associated with Plast as well as other guests, were in attendance.

One guest - a member of neither Plast nor any other scouting organization - was a South African who temporarily resides in Ukraine. After watching the excitement of the hustle and bustle of the first day's activities, she stated that she would definitely have to get her kids involved in Ukrainian scouting during her stay in the country.

The 14-day jamboree was divided into two significant parts. During the first week the campers broke up into 22 camps of about 40 scouts each dedicated to various aspects of the scouting experience, plus a separate camp for the youngest, the novatstvo. Some took part in ecological projects, others rock-climbing activities. Some walked the mountains and made traditional folk crafts, while still others hang-glided and para-glided. One group took part in para-military "extreme camping."

George Kuzmowycz, a member of the Chornomortsi fraternity from New York, along with 36 teen and young adults and his fellow counselors and instructors spent the week canoeing the winding Dnister River that meanders through western Ukraine.

The New York "senior plastun" said that while the river was relatively peaceful, except for a few "skittles" here and there, he enjoyed the experience.

"Most interesting for me were the two nights we stayed at the place where the first "morski tabory" (maritime camps) of Plast were held in 1927 and 1928," explained Mr. Kuzmowycz. "And I enjoyed meeting with the various Chornomortsi from throughout Ukraine."

He said the weather posed a problem to some degree, with intermittent rainstorms throughout the week proving bothersome. "We never had enough sun to really dry out our stuff," explained Mr. Kuzmowycz.

The para-military camp, called "Zvytiaha" (Conquest) offered problems of a more extreme type, but the participants well knew what they were getting into. Yunaky spent the week deprived of a normal night's sleep, once finding shelter in a cave, another time hunkering down at the side of train tracks.

"There definitely was some stuff that was risky," explained Sviatoslav Efremov Kendall, 17, of New York, who did not elaborate.

For the most part, the participants of "Zvytiaha" did a lot of marching with 60 pounds of gear on their backs, said Mr. Kendall. He said that the most extreme activity he had heard about was of one plastun eating a live frog.

But perhaps most challenging became the climb by the Smotrych campers up Mount Hoverlia, Ukraine's highest peak at nearly 7,000 feet. Although it wasn't supposed to have been that way originally, the trek became an ordeal after the rain and the mud caused by thunderstorms made many of the trails impassable. The group decided to descend to the village of Luky, located at the foot of the mountain, but could not get across either the Chorna Tysa or the Bila Tysa rivers, both bloated by the rainfall.

Ruslana Wszesniewska, a Canadian who runs a children's camp in the area, was contacted and attempted to rescue the hikers, explained Mr. Harmatii, after the plastuny had sent out a call for help via their radio, which an amateur short-wave radio operator picked up and relayed to the Plast headquarters in Lviv. Ms. Wszesniewska, however, could not locate the lost hikers, so Plast informed the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which sent a rescue team to begin a professional search.

The team discovered the group of about 40 plastuny on a mountain road in another area of the region, safe, sound and a bit surprised at the fuss that had surrounded their travails. They had been missing for less than 12 hours.

The various adventures having ended and the weather improving, the plastuny spent August 17 gathering at the official site of the jamboree and the place where they would celebrate 90 years since the inception of their organization. They arrived by cars and buses on the slopes of the lower Carpathians to the sounds of the Kozak drill team, Boyovyi Hopak, going through rehearsal and the sight of soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces unloading gear and setting up field kitchens and shower stalls.

The next day, after a divine liturgy celebrated by Archbishop Mykhailo Bzdel of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, followed by a two-hour delay, the official opening ceremony finally took place. Flag-bearers hoisted the eight national flags of the countries represented by official Plast delegations as the young plastuny observed, the adventures of the last week, undoubtedly, still on the minds of some.

Also watching were many distinguished guests, including Yurii Shukhevych, the former Ukrainian dissident whose father led the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during and after World War II; longtime Ukrainian National Deputy Ihor Yukhnovskyi, who is an honorary member of Plast; his newly elected colleague, National Deputy Ihor Hryniv, who was one of the people who re-established Plast in Ukraine in 1991; as well as Bohdan Hawrylyshyn of Switzerland, an economist, scholar and lifetime Plast member who has spent most of the last 11 years in Ukraine helping government and state officials at the highest levels make the transition to democracy and open markets.

Dr. Hawrylyshyn explained that what these plastuny had experienced and would continue to do so as scouts would help them develop the qualities that have guided him in his successes.

"Plast gave me self-discipline, self-motivation and helped develop leadership qualities," explained Dr. Hawrylyshyn. "It also gave me confidence that if I needed to get something done I could, and if I needed to learn something I would."

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