FACES AND PLACES: The sleeping giant has awakened! (11/28/04)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

The sleeping giant has awakened!

Win or lose, the recent election in Ukraine underscores the power of the good people of Ukraine and the capability of the Ukrainian American community to respond to a crisis.

While Leonid Kuchma and his thugs were stealing the election from Viktor Yushchenko, our community demonstrated its outrage. While the Ukrainian people were camping out in Kyiv's Independence Square and shouting and marching for Yushchenko in every major city, we alerted our representatives and senators and boarded buses for Washington.

As always, there were those who only whined on the Internet. "What did you expect from Ukraine?" asked one pessimist. "The whole country is corrupt." "President Bush has turned his back on Ukraine," complained another. "Why doesn't the U.S. do something?" asked one hand-wringer.

I offer my 2 cents. First of all, we can be very proud of the people of Ukraine, especially the youth. At great risk to themselves they demonstrated, agitated, and worked to get the vote out for Mr. Yushchenko. In a dictatorial state where the government, the schools, the universities, local government, the mass media, NGOs and practically every independent business enterprise is either under the direct control of the mafia-like government, or severely constrained by that same government, this is an incredible accomplishment. Ukraine, the sleeping giant, has awakened. Our people were not bamboozled. Think of it. Today's 18-year-old was 5 years old when the Soviet Union fell apart. It is difficult to intimidate this kind of person or to fool him/her with false promises. Today, Ukraine's youth thinks for itself.

Secondly, President George W. Bush is not ignoring Ukraine. In a letter to outgoing President Kuchma, the president thanked the Ukrainian president for sending troops to Iraq, for participating in the coalition of the willing. But President Bush also warned that if the presidential election was unfair, the United States "will be obliged to review our relations with Ukraine and the individuals who participated in fraud and manipulation." This includes, presumably, Viktor Yanukovych. President Bush sent Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, as his personal representative during the election. Observing the election, the senator declared that "a concerted program of election-day fraud and abuse was enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of government authorities." Responding to the chicanery, the Bush administration urged the Ukrainian government not to certify the results.

Finally, calling one's congressman now is a wonderful idea, but like the old Ukrainian adage says, "it's mustard after lunch." How many Ukrainian Americans even know who their congressman is? A more important question: how many congressmen know us? How many of us contributed to his/her campaign? How many of us sent congratulatory letters to our recently elected/re-elected congressmen? House Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.) once said: "All politics is local."

There was a time when our community understood those wise words. The Taras Shevchenko statue in Washington would not have been possible without the long-time personal relationship former UNA Presidents Dmytro Halychyn and Joseph Lesawyer had with Sen. Jacob Javits (R-N.Y.). It was Sen. Javits who greased the skids in the U.S. Senate to pass a bill authorizing the statue.

The U.S. on the Ukraine Famine Commission would never have happened without the 14-year personal friendship Lesia and I had with Sen. Chuck Percy (R-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and the support of Rep. Millicent Fenwick (R-N.J.) and Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), both of whom were cultivated by Ihor and Bozhena Olshaniwsky. That was the only way we were able to get Senate and House hearings on the legislation.

People on the Hill will respond if approached personally by their constituents. Many years ago Julian Kulas and I brought signed Ukrainian petitions to Democratic and Republican congressional leaders in Washington. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), then the powerful head of the Ways and Means Committee, met with the two of us and, after literally sitting down and checking the addresses of all those who signed the petitions to see how many actually lived in his congressional district, he listened to what we had to say.

On another occasion Father Peter Galadza and I traveled to Washington to meet with legislative assistants to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We were asking for Senate oversight hearings of the Office of Special Investigations. After outlining the outrages perpetrated by OSI, we were told that we were the first Ukrainian Americans to raise this issue in person. The assistants then told us how many Jewish Americans visit them on a weekly basis. What does that tell you about our visibility?

I have one word for those who want to gain political influence. Cultivate. Cultivate your senator. Cultivate your House member. Develop an ongoing relationship with the legislative assistants who handle foreign relations. They have the ear of their bosses. They want to demonstrate their usefulness as people who know how to work with constituents. Ask how you can help.

In May of 1977 the Ukrainian National Association co-sponsored a "UNA Day on Hill" with then Sen. Bob Dole. Sen. Dole was able to get us a reception room in the Capitol building itself. The UNA provided food and refreshments. According to The Ukrainian Weekly, some 150 Ukrainians came from all over the United States during the day to meet with elected officials and to invite them to the reception that evening. A total of 31 senators attended the reception. The UCCA sponsored a similar event recently. How about a joint UNA/UCCA event in D.C. in 2005, soon after the president's state of the union speech?

As I write this, the will of the people in Ukraine is clear. Regardless of how the election ultimately shakes out, we here in America need to become more pro-active, more visible and more politically effective in Washington. Win or lose, the good people of Ukraine still need our help.

Myron Kuropas's e-mail address is: [email protected].

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