Dear Editor:
I read Andrew Sorokowski’s “Crosscurrents” column titled “Hyphenated?” (March 15) with great interest. Identity is a complex issue. Growing up in America as a child of post-World War II immigrants from Ukraine, I certainly experienced the angst of split identity and often would ask myself whether I was Ukrainian or American. Being both was difficult.
When I lived in Ukraine from 1990 to 1999, I never felt more American; and when I would come home to visit, I’d never feel more Ukrainian. Now, back in the U.S. for almost two decades, I am reconciled with my identity being an American (after all, I am a U.S. citizen) of Ukrainian descent – hence, an un-hyphenated Ukrainian American. But this does not negate my sense of loyalty and responsibility to Ukraine, the land of my ancestors and the source of so much spiritual, cultural and social enrichment for me.
What helps me is the concept of transnational community – people who live in a particular place and feel themselves part of it, but also have a deep connection to another place.
Nick (Mykola) Deychakiwsky
Brighton, Mich.