Internees remembered at Dauphin Festival (08/24/03)

Internees remembered at Dauphin Festival

DAUPHIN, Manitoba - A crowd of hundreds of visitors attending Dauphin's National Ukrainian Festival during the first weekend of August witnessed the unveiling of a sculpture hallowing the memory of the thousands of Ukrainians and other Europeans unjustly imprisoned as "enemy aliens" during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920.

Created by Kingston area sculptor, John Boxtel, the three figures portray the profound emotions experienced by those caught up during this tragic episode in Canadian history. While the central figure shows defiance, he is flanked by another man whose despair at the indignity of his needless confinement is portrayed by how he hides his face in shame. To his right stands an internee who, in contrast, has somehow endured the wartime hysteria and racism that precipitated the internment operations and now stands proudly confident of his future. The statue, called "Behind Canadian Barbed Wire," was unveiled on August 2.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, UCCLA's Director of Research Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk thanked those whose efforts had gone into making the event possible, in particular Dauphin's own Peter Bilash, head of the Ukrainian Centennial Memorial Committee, and Member of Parliament Inky Mark (whose riding is Dauphin-Swan River), remarking that the latter "is the best friend the Ukrainian Canadian community has today in the Parliament of Canada, for he has consistently supported our efforts to see justice done."

Dr. Luciuk also told those attending that, over the past several months, Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps, has initiated a series of high-level meetings aimed at crafting a reconciliation settlement acceptable to the community, an effort for which she should be thanked, even if negotiations are still in progress.

Concluding, UCCLA's representative stated, "We must not only remember what our ancestors accomplished in Canada, but also what they needlessly suffered during this country's first national internment operations. As well, it is critical that we, as a community, rally around the just cause of securing official recognition of what happened and appropriate commemorative and educational programs by way of redress. We have not done so to date in part because we as a community, out of fear, ignorance or indifference, have ourselves largely forgotten what happened to the men, women and children who were interned."

"We must also accept some measure of responsibility for the fact that many other Canadians still do not know what the internees suffered," Dr. Luciuk continued. "Now is the time for us to come together to see this issue settled, regardless of where we live, when we or our predecessors came to Canada or what church or organization they belonged to. In unity is our strength."

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