Rights activist Nadia Svitlychna is mourned and laid to rest in Kyiv

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - She now rests at Baikove Cemetery, beside the fearless dreamers who stood up to a vicious Iron Curtain at a time when it appeared invincible and those who defied it seemed foolish.

Though Nadia Svitlychna wasn't as prolific as her Shestydesiatnyky colleagues, the tight-knit community of legendary artists and writers paid her the highest respect at her August 17 funeral proceedings in Kyiv, honoring her defiant spirit and courageous deeds while mourning her loss.

"In that time when we whimpered in Ukrainian and complained about our fate and evaded the possibility of danger, Nadiyka Svitlychna went into the midst of the greatest danger completely defenselessly and never thought of how she would pay," said Shestydesiatnyk and Soviet dissident Yevhen Sverstiuk.

"She had a Kozak motto - 'It will work out somehow, because it never was that it didn't workout in some way.' And she had another Kozak motto - 'God give us wisdom, and let us be.' "

Ms. Svitlychna died at age 69 on August 7 in New Jersey. Requiem services were held on August 12 at St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, N.J.

In Kyiv on August 17, after a morning viewing and noon panakhyda (requiem service) at St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv, more than 100 of Ms. Svitlychna's family, friends and admirers gathered at her gravesite to eulogize the former Soviet political prisoner who risked her life because of her love for Ukraine and its people.

Father Volodymyr Cherpak of St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kyiv led the panakhyda.

He described Ms. Svitlychna as a loving and compassionate woman who loved her family, friends and the Ukrainian people.

While most Ukrainians didn't challenge the Soviet authorities for fear of losing their jobs and their apartments, or fear of their children losing opportunities, Ms. Svitlychna placed her life at the altar of the Ukrainian people, becoming an outspoken human and national rights activist.

"This woman lifted her voice against the nation's prisons, lifted her voice against what she described as the largest concentration camp in the world," Father Cherpak said in his eulogy.

May God allow us to love Ukraine and its people as much as Ms. Svitlychna did, Father Cherpak said.

Ms. Svitlychna's devotion to Ukraine drew the attendance of President Viktor Yushchenko, who arrived in a somber mood and placed a bouquet of red roses upon her coffin.

He extended his condolences on behalf of the Ukrainian government and said Ms. Svitlychna would be in his family's prayers. In his eulogy, Mr. Yushchenko venerated the Shestydesiatnyky as a legendary generation of people.

The Shestydesiatnyky were a collective of Ukrainian artists and writers who openly questioned and challenged the Soviet government during the 1960s without fear of persecution.

Soviet authorities responded to their activities with brutality, sending dozens to hard labor camps and prisons, where some even perished, among them writer Vasyl Stus.

Without Ms. Svitlychna's contributions, Ukrainians would not have seen manuscripts from Soviet dissidents imprisoned in Siberia and Magadan, President Yushchenko noted. In her literary and editorial work, she also offered a better understanding of the writings of Mr. Stus, he said.

The conditions of the time demanded large sacrifices, Mr. Yushchenko continued, and Ms. Svitlychna's life was a good example of how, in your own way and in different times, it's possible to serve Ukraine.

"I am convinced that her position, her views, the way she lived her life and passed along values to the next generation, has left footsteps to follow for millions of contemporary Ukrainian patriots," Mr. Yushchenko said.

"She did not live in vain. I am convinced that she is happy today because the values with which she lived all her life are the values of millions of people today," he said.

Shevchenko Prize laureate Lina Kostenko delivered the final eulogy, in which she described the Shestydesiatnyky as a crystal for Ukrainian history, who loved their country infinitely. Among them, Ms. Svitlychna was an immortal angel who was a Shestydesiatnyk to the very end, she said.

Ms. Kostenko recalled an incident with Ms. Svitlychna in which they together stood at Gen. Petro Grigorenko's grave at South Bound Brook, N.J.

Someone came along with a camera and, rather than photographing them, snapped their reflections in his gravestone.

"I recalled the Bible verse that life is a passing of shadows," Ms. Kostenko said. "I hope that no one goes through this. But we need to face up to this. We need to love those who gave us our presence."

In the vicinity of Ms. Svitlychna's grave are many Shestydesiatnyky, Ms. Kostenko pointed out.

After the eulogies, President Yushchenko joined the mourners in the tradition of singing "Vichnaya Pamiat" (Eternal Memory) chants before Ms. Svitlychna's coffin was lowered into the grave.

Along with other mourners, which included former Soviet political prisoners Mykola Horbal and Bohdan Horyn, Mr. Yushchenko picked up a handful of soil and tossed it to bid farewell.

Amidst the eulogies, Mr. Sverstiuk read a prayer that Ms. Svitlychna had written:

God, allow me to greet
with spiritual calm
whatever this day brings me.
Allow me to completely surrender
to Your holy will.

Whatever news I get today,
teach me to accept it
with a calm spirit
and firm conviction
that everything is Your holy will.

In all Your actions and words,
guide my thoughts and feelings.
In all unforeseen situations,
don't let me forget
that You sent everything.

Teach me to deal with all people
simply and wisely,
offending or aggrieving no one.
God, give me the strength
to bear all the events on this day.
Guiding me with Your will,
teach me to pray, believe, hope,
endure, forgive and love.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 20, 2006, No. 34, Vol. LXXIV

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