Solemn march and memorial service in New York recall deaths of millions in Holodomor (11/23/03)

THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAMINE-GENOCIDE IN UKRAINE

Solemn march and memorial service in New York recall deaths of millions in Holodomor

by Adriana Paska
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

NEW YORK - Seven-year-old Maksym looked down at the blue button pinned by his aunt onto his hooded sports jacket. He read it aloud: "Ukraine will never forget you. 1932-1933," it said in Ukrainian.

Precisely at noon on Saturday, November 15, the first toll of a bell echoed among the apartment buildings and St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Seventh Street, as over 2,000 people began the 50-block "March of Remembrance" to St. Patrick's Cathedral, where a memorial service was offered for the 12th consecutive year in memory of the Famine's victims.

The 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide brought together Ukrainians from New York and other states - New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and beyond - to honor those who lost their lives in 1932-1933 and to focus the public's attention on the fact that the Stalin regime deliberately starved to death over 7 million innocent Ukrainian men, women and children.

The gray sky and bitter chill in the air complemented the seriousness and significance of the procession. Escorted by police officers, Ukrainians of all ages, representing various waves of emigration from Ukraine as well as those born in the United States, walked down the chaotic streets of Manhattan. Some distributed flyers, while others held signs, informing pedestrians of the man-made Famine. Ukrainian flags, draped with black ribbons, waved wildly in the wind. Most of the marchers were dressed in traditional Ukrainian embroidered blouses and shirts, further strengthening their unity as a nation.

"I'm proud to be Ukrainian!" Marusia Drobenko, of Queens, N.Y., exclaimed energetically, as she displayed her red embroidered blouse and two Famine remembrance pins.

Marchers made a brief stop at Bryant Park, where a representative of the Office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, Commissioner Brian G. Andersson of the Department of Records and Information Services, read the mayor's proclamation designating November 10-15 as "Famine Remembrance Week" in the city. The proclamation said the "Famine-Genocide is a horrifying example of the crimes people have committed against fellow human beings" and called it a "hidden holocaust."

When asked why he was participating in the march, Andrew Bzowyckyj, a student at the University of Connecticut, responded: "The problem is that hardly anyone knows about the Ukrainian Genocide and so, by walking and commemorating this day, hopefully someone will walk away learning something."

"It's important to be publicly talking about this, to give people honor and respect," said Peter Shahay, who organized a bus for fellow Ukrainians from Hartford, Conn., to New York City.

Andrea Popovech, of Queens, N.Y., echoed those sentiments, but she had another reason for participating in the event: "We want to show Duranty and The New York Times that the famine did actually happen. This was real." She was referring to the 1932 Pulitzer Prize winner Walter Duranty who in his articles for The Times denied that the Famine had occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933.

Holding their organization's banner, members of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America participated in the march because, according to one member, they wanted "to show faith in our nation and to express our sorrow for the countless numbers of lives who suffered."

Chrystina Czebiniak from Binghamton, N.Y., added, "This is a way for our souls to be united with those souls lost."

The march culminated at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 2 p.m., where others filed in, packing the church to its 2,400-person capacity. Andrew Tsintsiruk, a seminarian at St. Basil's Seminary in Stamford, Conn., was surprised at the large turnout. "I can't believe that so many Ukrainian Americans are here to participate in the commemoration," he said.

Bishop Basil Losten of the Stamford Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, opened the solemn commemoration by welcoming everyone. He then stated that "Propaganda, manipulation of the truth, secrecy and even denial shrouded the starvation of 7 million Ukrainian peasants. They had no champion to give voice to their plight," while others, like Duranty, "either engaged knowingly in a shameful cover-up or turned a blind eye to its horrors."

After those opening remarks, Bishop Losten, Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and retired Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Michael Kuchmiak of England, who now resides in Newark, N.J., exchanged turns reciting the requiem service, while the Dumka Chorus sang the responses.

Afterward, various speakers addressed the somber audience. (Texts of speeches and messages appear on page 10.) Michael Sawkiw, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, introduced each speaker and called on all present to "recall the victims of this horrific genocide, and their incredible and ultimate sacrifice for freedom and liberty."

Several members of both the Ukrainian and U.S. governments were present, including Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations Valeriy Kuchinsky, Ukraine's Consul General in New York Serhiy Pohoreltzev, and National Deputy Hennadii Udovenko. Ukraine's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Yelchenko read a message from President Leonid Kuchma that declared: "the Holodomor that took place in Ukraine in 1932-1933 proved to be an act of genocide against our nation."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) quoted philosopher George Santayana saying, "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it," which is why, he explained, we need to teach everyone our history. "Even today most Americans don't realize, either that it happened, or its enormity," he continued, and "it is our job to light the candle of knowledge."

Sen. Schumer concluded by emphasizing that "The horror of what Stalin did, did not extinguish the flame of freedom in the hearts of the Ukrainian people" and "out of the greatest darkness sometimes comes light" - the independence of Ukraine.

"Member-states of the United Nations support the 70th anniversary of the artificial famine," said Mr. Yelchenko. "The Holodomor has been officially recognized as a national tragedy of the Ukrainian people caused by the cruel actions of the totalitarian regime," he explained, referring to the joint declaration released at the United Nations earlier that week.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte commented on the "assault" on millions of Ukrainians and said that the United States bears witness to humanity's loss through House Resolution 356, which states that the Genocide-Famine must be acknowledged. He quoted the resolution, which states: "Although the Ukrainian famine was one of the greatest losses of human life in the 20th century, it remains insufficiently known in the United States and the world."

Mr. Negroponte concluded: "Our burden is simply to give these martyrs a voice in time; it is not too much to ask that we acknowledge what they have lost and we have learned."

A proclamation read by Orysia Woloszyn Dmytrenko from the office of New York Gov. George Pataki declared November 15 as "Ukrainian Famine Remembrance Day in the Empire State" in memory of "one of the most painful chapters in the history of Ukraine." The proclamation noted that the Famine "was created by the Stalin regime as a brutal Soviet policy directed against the Ukrainian people."

Archbishop Antony ended the requiem service on a solemn yet powerful note, underscoring that "If we permit ourselves the luxury of letting history be history, then we are doomed. If we force the memory of those millions who died out of our minds because it makes us - or perhaps someone else - uncomfortable, then we fail them." He left the following words in everyone's hearts and minds: "Let us never forget. Let us never forget. Let us never forget."

The commemoration at St. Patrick's ended at 3:30 p.m. Filing out of the cathedral with the crowd, Maksym jumped down the stairs. He looked up at one of the many crosses on the church's facade, then smiled at his aunt and said: "I was here to pray for all the people who died 70 years ago."

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