FACES AND PLACES: Esteeming Eugene Iwanciw (03/12/06)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Esteeming Eugene Iwanciw

The thing about Eugene Iwanciw was that he cared for others. Too much, some might say.

Gene cared about his family, of course, and his work. But most of all he cared about the Ukrainian people.

Gene Iwanciw, who passed away unexpectedly and tragically on February 25 at age 53, was a rare individual, one of the few outstanding Ukrainian American activists of his generation.

Joining SUSTA (Federation of Ukrainian Student Organizations) during his college years at Georgetown University, Gene was eventually elected national president. Energetic and determined, he worked assiduously to promote the organization on various college campuses. Under Gene's leadership, SUSTA, in cooperation with TUSM (Ukrainian Mykola Mikhnovsky Student Society), then headed by Askold Lozynskyj, issued a national proclamation calling on all Ukrainian businesses to close down on January 22, 1974, in observance of Ukraine's then nascent human rights crusade.

Remaining in Washington for most of his professional life, Gene was one of the first Ukrainians to work in the U.S. Senate. He initially served on the staff of Conservative Party Sen. James Buckley of New York. Later, he worked for Republican Sen. Harrison Schmitt of New Mexico. It was during his time with Sen. Schmitt that Gene took to wearing cowboy boots.

The son of Michael Iwanciw, a long-time UNA activist, Eugene became active in the UNA and was elected to the UNA Supreme Assembly in 1974 at age 22, the youngest person ever to ascend to that once-coveted position. After serving as an advisor for 20 years, he was elected UNA second vice-president at the 2002 UNA Convention in Chicago.

In 1977, at a time when there was a growing Ukrainian presence in both the U.S. Senate and the White House, Eugene, Taras Szmagala Sr., then a legislative aide to Sen. Bob Taft (R-Ohio), and I, then a special assistant to President Gerald R. Ford, planned what would have been another first for Ukrainians in America. Soon after the release of Ukrainian dissident Leonid Plyushch by the Soviets, the three of us planned to have Sens. Buckley and Taft present Mr. Plyushch to President Ford in the Oval Office. It was to be a great photo opportunity on behalf of Ukrainian dissidents speaking out against Soviet repression.

Confident that all was in order, we eagerly looked forward to the event. As I came out of the Ukrainian church on the Sunday before the introduction was scheduled, a parishioner ran up to me excitedly and asked, "Did you hear what Plyushch said last night?

"No," I replied.

"He made a public appeal on behalf of the children of convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg," I was informed. Shocked, I rushed to my office to verify the information and learned, to my dismay, that Mr. Pyushch had indeed parroted the Soviet line regarding the traitorous Rosenbergs. Fearing that he might mention the Rosenbergs to President Ford as well, I called Gene and Taras, and we reluctantly agreed to scuttle our carefully planned event.

The three of us, all UNA advisors at the time, joined forces again in May of 1977 to coordinate the so-called "UNA Day on the Hill" during which some 150 UNA members, from New York to Arizona, traveled to Washington to meet with their representatives and senators and to attend a congressional reception sponsored by Sen. Bob Dole and the UNA. The goal was to inform Congress of the plight of Ukrainian human rights activists. We organized another successful UNA human rights rally on Capitol Hill on October 5, 1978. Some 50 U.S. lawmakers attended that affair.

A persistent advocate of Ukrainian visibility in our nation's capital, Eugene wrote columns for The Ukrainian Weekly under the heading "Influence in Washington." His dream of a permanent Ukrainian presence in Washington became a reality in 1988 when the UNA Executive Committee appointed him director of the newly established UNA Office in the nation's capital. He remained director until 1995 when the office was closed due to lack of funds. It was an immense loss for the community.

Eugene Iwanciw headed the UNA Washington Office at a crucial time in Ukraine's history. Following Ukraine's 1991 declaration of independence, he met with and worked with representatives of the new Ukrainian government, informing them of the way our government works. Unfortunately, many of Ukraine's early officials were mediocre at best, avaricious at worse. Arriving in the United States for the first time, some seemed to be more interested in "shopping" than in promoting Ukraine's interests. Ignorant of American ways and dismissive of our Ukrainian American community, these so-called representatives did little to advance the Ukrainian cause. Biting his tongue, Gene worked with them as best he could.

The young Mr. Iwanciw's lobbying efforts on behalf of Ukraine continued long after the UNA office was closed. He was the permanent UNA representative on the Washington-based Central and East European Coalition, for example. All of his later work, most of which remains unheralded, was pro-bono. Did Ukraine ever reward him? No. His greatest disappointment occurred after the election of President Viktor Yushchenko when the new government by-passed him to hire an American lobbying firm to present the Ukrainian case.

Another thing about Gene is that while he cared about Ukraine, he neglected to take care of himself. Friends warned him of the consequences but Gene was Gene.

To honor his memory, the UNA has established the Eugene Iwanciw Heritage Scholarship Fund. The fund will be used to reward graduating high school seniors who show promise as future community leaders. We can best esteem Gene by sending a donation today to the Ukrainian National Foundation - Eugene Iwanciw Scholarship Fund at the UNA, 2200 Route 10, Parsippany, NJ 07054.

A final thing about Eugene Iwanciw is that we have no one who can take his place. Like Jim Mace who also died too young, Eugene was a community treasure. He was informed, creative and indefatigable. No one represented his generation more admirably. Vichna Yomu Pamiat!

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

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