In the past few weeks, The Ukrainian Weekly published a letter to the editor (July 12) and a column (August 2) commenting on UCCA Executive Board Member Andrij Dobriansky’s original article (June 14) marking the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
Although my intention is not to rehash the details of the 1980 UCCA Convention, I feel the readers of The Ukrainian Weekly deserve a response. The record needs to be set straight and, as the current president of this organization, I feel it is my responsibility to not only correct some of the inaccuracies mentioned in both R.L. Chomiak’s letter and Dr. Myron Kuropas’ column, but also to underscore what the UCCA is today, 35 years after the fateful 1980 UCCA Convention.
Indeed, there was a split in the community back in 1980. But since that time, the goal of the UCCA has been to unite the community. We have worked hard to achieve this goal, and many organizations have chosen to return to the UCCA – among them the Ukrainian National Association, the publisher of this newspaper. In his column, Dr. Kuropas questions if the UNA will once again play a prominent role in the UCCA? Dr. Kuropas, the UNA does play a prominent role in the UCCA. In fact, the UNA has been integral from the moment it rejoined in 2003, when the UNA General Assembly unanimously passed a motion to rejoin the UCCA. The UNA holds the position of the chair of the UCCA National Council – the highest ruling body of the UCCA between conventions (as stated in the UCCA bylaws). Furthermore, the UCCA has an excellent working relationship with the UNA and is grateful for its active participation and continued support within the UCCA.
The UNA is not the only organization to rejoin the ranks of the UCCA. The Veterans of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army, the Federation of Ukrainian Student Organizations of America (SUSTA) and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association (which has since ceased to exist), to name a few, all rejoined the dozens of other organizations under the UCCA umbrella. Additionally, newly-formed organizations have joined the UCCA family, including Nova Ukrainska Khvylia (New Ukrainian Wave).
Admittedly, there were several organizations that left the UCCA in 1980 and have remained neutral, including the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. But over the past decade the UCCA and UNWLA have forged a close working relationship and will continue to work together in the future.
Mr. Chomiak, who did not attend the 75th anniversary reception of the UCCA, as he himself admits, nevertheless, felt qualified to comment on the event. I find it irresponsible of Mr. Chomiak to comment on an event that he did not attend, particularly given his 65 years work in journalism (as he noted). If he had attended, he would have known that there were well over 100 in attendance and not the 40 people seen in the one photo published by the newspaper. Moreover, the reception was a show of support for the UCCA’s work and was attended by many members of Congress and the State Department, as well as various ethnic community leaders who deemed it important enough to take time out of their busy work schedules to attend an afternoon reception.
It’s true, every Ukrainian American organization is not a member of the UCCA, but we are an umbrella organization of dozens of membership organizations and dozens of active branches throughout the country – the only such structure of its kind, as Dr. Kuropas rightly points out, since the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council – the organization that grew out of the 1980 Convention – is moribund.
Messrs. Kuropas and Chomiak are no doubt aware of the multi-faceted work of the UCCA. They know that we are the only national organization with a public affairs bureau in Washington that initiated the formation of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus; that maintains contacts with Congress and the administration on a constant basis; that has organized numerous Ukrainian Days advocacy events for the community throughout the years.
They must also know that the UCCA continues to be active throughout the country in raising awareness about the Holodomor and spearheaded the Holodomor Memorial Project, as well as initiated the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness 1932-1933. They are surely aware that the UCCA has organized international election monitoring missions for every presidential and parliamentary election in Ukraine since independence; that we continue to actively raise awareness about today’s crisis in Ukraine, as well as other topics important to the Ukrainian American community.
However, if they need a refresher course in community history, I strongly recommend that they peruse the pages of The Ukrainian Weekly that has for decades been covering and highlighting the work of the UCCA on its pages.
In reading the recent letter to the editor and opinion column about the 1980 UCCA Convention and the community split, I cannot help but wonder why some people choose to dwell on unfortunate events in our community’s history. In fact, I question their motives as this only encourages old wounds to fester and does nothing to heal and improve relations within our community. Thirty-five years have passed since the 1980 congress. Since then, a new generation of community activists and leaders have emerged who are determined to work together for the betterment of the Ukrainian American community and Ukraine. Shouldn’t we all be focusing on this and working towards unity, now more than ever, for the sake of helping Ukraine and strengthening our community?
In light of that, I’d like to conclude by encouraging all organizations within the Ukrainian American community to unite. In fact, allow me to throw down the gauntlet and offer this prospect up as a challenge. Let us put aside our antiquated differences and unite into one strong and unified voice. The XXIII Congress of Ukrainians in America (UCCA convention) is coming up in September 2016. This can be the perfect forum for our community to finally bury the hatchet that some in our community insist on wielding at every turn and to unite for the sake of Ukraine and our community.
I encourage all leaders of our Ukrainian American organizations to attend the XXIII Congress of Ukrainians in America. Furthermore, I propose a meeting of all organizational heads this fall, which can be held at the UCCA National Office in New York City, so that we can begin discussing concrete ways to truly unify our community. Together, let’s find a way to overcome that which divides us and work together for the greater good of our community and Ukraine. Carpe diem!
Tamara Olexy is president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.