On September 26, President Poroshenko and his wife, Dr. Maryna Poroshenko, while on a visit to the United States for the 70th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, were welcomed at an evening reception at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York. The UCCA organized the event. Prayers were offered by Bishop Daniel of the UOC of the U.S.A., and Ms. Olexy offered words of solidarity with the people of Ukraine and wished Mr. Poroshenko a happy 50th birthday, with the audience singing “Mnohaya Lita.” Andrij Futey presented an icon of the Virgin Mary written by Ukrainian American iconographer Daria Hulak-Kulchytsky. Mr. Poroshenko thanked the audience and the community for its contributions to the development of the Ukrainian army, and called for a meeting with the diaspora on every foreign visit. Following his remarks, Mr. Poroshenko bestowed the Order of Princess Olga (third degree) on Ms. Olexy. The Order of Danylo Halytsky was presented to the family of Ukrainian American Markian Paslawsky, who was killed in the fighting in the Donbas of Ukraine.
On October 3, the Ukrainian American Veterans dedicated a national monument at St. Andrew Memorial Church and Cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J., during their 68th annual national convention that was held on October 2-3. Designed by Canadian artist John Jaciw, the monument honors all American veterans of Ukrainian heritage who have honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including those currently serving in the ongoing global war on terrorism. Metropolitan Antony and Bishop Daniel of the UOC-U.S.A. and Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Metropolitan Soroka prayed and blessed the monument. The U.S. Air Force Color Guard from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey executed the presentation of colors and the UAYA choir from Chicago sang the Ukrainian and U.S. national anthems. A banquet at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Somerset, N.J., followed the dedication.
More than 5,000 people witnessed the dedication of the Holodomor Memorial in Washington on November 7. The weekend’s events included commemorative concerts, informative displays, as well as liturgies. People came from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland and Canada. The monument was blessed by Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, and Metropolitan Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. Thousands watched on a large projection screen from Columbus Circle in front of Union Station as the monument was blessed. Mr. Sawkiw led the program of events addressed by, among others, Reps. Levin and Kaptur, as well as Ukraine’s first lady, Dr. Poroshenko. Video greetings were delivered by President Poroshenko, and Sens. Rob Portman and Charles Schumer. The three-hour ceremony concluded with the singing of the “Prayer for Ukraine” led by the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of Detroit.
Christine Syzonenko
The Holodomor Memorial in Washington, which was dedicated on November 7.
The Holodomor was commemorated once again at the annual service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on November 21 that attracted hundreds of participants. Co-organized by the UCCA, the requiem service was led by hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. (Metropolitan Antony and Bishop Daniel) and the Ukrainian Catholic Church (Bishop Chomnycky and Bishop emeritus Basil Losten). The Dumka Chorus of New York sang the responses. Keynote speaker Larysa Kurylas, who designed the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, recalled her personal journey of genocide awareness in Ukraine history. Other speakers included William Pope, senior advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations; Ambassador Chaly; and Ambassador Sergeyev.
The United Nations hosted an invitation-only event on December 9 that was sponsored by the Ukrainian American organization Razom and the VOLYA Institute for Contemporary Law and Society, which presented its report on human rights violations in Crimea, “Human Rights in Occupied Territory: Case of Crimea.” Ambassador Sergeyev noted the ongoing violations, including the abduction of Crimean Tatars. Ivanna Bilych, president of VOLYA Institute, highlighted the key findings of the report. The discussion was moderated by Mary Holland, director of the New York University Graduate Legal Skills Program, who supported the work of the report. The group also produced a downloadable manual, a “Human Rights Protection Guide” that can aid in identifying human rights violations.
Georgia’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Kaha Imnadze said that the inadequate response to Russian aggression in Georgia in 2008 paved the way to Crimea. The panelists echoed the view that Russia considers Crimea a war trophy and treats everyone and everything there with contempt.
A similar event was held at the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York on December 8. A roundtable discussion on the topic was hosted at Columbia University and moderated by Huseyin Oylupinar from Turkey, who is the Mihaychuk Fellow at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. In Washington, an official public hearing at the U.S. Helsinki Commission was held on December 11 to present the report on human rights abuses in Crimea.