DOUBLE EXPOSURE: Red lollipops and Orange dreams (12/04/05)

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

by Khristina Lew

Red lollipops and Orange dreams

In preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, my son's schoolteacher asked him what he was thankful for. While "red lollipops" and "my friends" may be an appropriate response for a 3-year-old, it got the Ukrainian part of me thinking. What am I thankful for - and in keeping with the holiday season - for what do I wish?

I am thankful that my parents sent me to Ukrainian Saturday school, but I wish I hadn't had to miss Saturday morning cartoons. I am thankful for bandura lessons on Tuesdays and Plast meetings on Thursdays, because that's how I met my husband. I wish I could have skipped the annual Taras Shevchenko commemorations though - when all the Ukrainian school kids took their turns badly reciting the bard's verse.

I am thankful I was raised in a bicultural home, because it exposed me to a whole other world of language, custom and tradition, and taught me tolerance of others. I wish it hadn't been so hard being Ukrainian sometimes, missing out on "American" things like high school football games, because the Ukrainian activities took precedence.

My Ukrainian heritage prodded me along my career path, so I am thankful Ukraine became independent when I started working as a reporter. I was able to cover some truly amazing events in modern Ukrainian history: the referendum on Ukraine's independence in 1991, a Ukrainian president's first official visit to the White House in 1994, Ukraine's Orthodox Churches struggling for recognition during the 1995 funeral-turned-riot of Patriarch Volodymyr (Romaniuk). I wish the rest of the world could see then how important Ukraine would be to a peaceful, expanded Europe.

Working in Ukraine in the 1990s introduced me to people who today have become leaders in Ukraine's political, legal and cultural worlds, and I am thankful to know them as friends. I only wish life in Ukraine would get easier for them, although I fear that they will continue to scramble to make a living, and that the fruits of an independent Ukraine will only be enjoyed by their children's generation.

Working at The Weekly and freelancing for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, I have met several Americans and Canadians of Ukrainian descent who are committed to keeping the Ukrainian identity in North America alive and growing. They are writers, editors, educators and community organizers, and they continue to run our newspapers, schools, museums and political organizations, often for minimal pay and with little recognition, even though Ukraine has been independent for almost 15 years.

I am thankful to them for making it easier for me to raise my son in a bicultural home. I wish they had the resources - material and other - to run top-notch endeavors, instead of being forced into mediocrity because they have no support.

Back on the other side of the ocean, I am thankful for the Orange Revolution that spurred civic consciousness among Ukrainians all over the country. On the first anniversary of the revolution, I am thankful that supporters of both Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko massed on the maidan to mark the date. Although Ukraine's democrats may be facing a showdown leading up to next March's parliamentary elections, it is a great manifestation of the democratic ideal to have supporters of two popular Ukrainian politicians meet in one space without rancor.

I wish that Ukraine's democrats find a compromise and unite for the good of Ukraine before the campaign season begins.

Lest my American side get jealous, some thoughts from the other half of my heart. I am thankful that my parents found their way to America after the second world war. America permitted them, and by extension us, to become whatever we wished to be: writers, students, photographers, mother, Ukrainian in America, American in Ukraine. America is a beacon for freedom and the embodiment of the individual spirit.

I wish that America could help the victims of Hurricane Katrina get back on their feet and bring our soldiers home for the holidays.

A tall order for both sides of my heart, and one I fervently hope will come true. May all your wishes come true this holiday season.

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