EDITORIAL: Recording the "truth of injustice" (10/23/05)

EDITORIAL

Recording the "truth of injustice"

For nearly 20 years the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association has been fighting to right a grievous wrong committed during World War I, when thousands of Ukrainians and other East Europeans were deemed by the Canadian government to be "enemy aliens." Since 1994 the UCCLA has also been quietly placing commemorative plaques at the sites of internment camps across Canada where the enemy aliens were confined.

The latest such historical marker was placed on October 1 in Fernie, British Columbia, where hundreds were interned from June 9, 1915, through October 1918. (We direct our readers' attention to page 4 of this week's issue.) In all, more than two dozen historical markers, and several statues, have been erected across Canada; most were funded by the UCCLA and its supporters.

More than 8,000 people - including some 5,000 Ukrainians - were interned as enemy aliens under the 1914 War Measures Act for the simple fact that they hailed from countries then officially at war with Canada. Another 80,000 were required to register as enemy aliens and to regularly report to local authorities.

As speaker Nancy Lyzaniwski said during the ceremonies in Fernie, these were "innocent citizens of our country who were never convicted of any crime." Ironically, many of the internees were immigrants "who had followed the government of Canada's invitation to leave Ukraine for a promise of a new life to live and work in a country that was 'free' and full of opportunity."

Since the time of Canada's first national internment operations, Ukrainian Canadians have been fighting indifference and ignorance, as most Canadians were not even aware of a dark period in their country's history when thousands branded as enemy aliens had their possessions confiscated, were sent to internment camps, forced to do heavy labor, disenfranchised and subjected to other state-sanctioned measures. Ukrainian Canadians were also fighting lies, as there were those who said the internment operations never occurred.

For 85 years the federal government of Canada refused to acknowledge this great injustice. Finally, on August 24 of this year, the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Paul Martin announced an agreement in principle on redress for the internment operations. That agreement provided for an initial payment of $2.5 million to Canada's Ukrainian community for the purpose of commemoration and education. Total funding of $25 million over three years is geared toward acknowledging, commemorating and educating Canadians about the experiences of ethnic communities affected by the wartime measures.

For nearly two decades, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association has fought to record the "truth of injustice" through lobbying for redress and actions such as placing historical markers at all 24 first-world-war-era internment camps, as well as publication of historical material. For that, the association deserves our community's deepest gratitude.

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