HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – On May 11, 2017, Bank Suey, a new and unique lecture and discussion venue in Hamtramck, Mich., featured a lecture by Vera Andrushkiw about the Holodomor, the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine.
Ms. Andrushkiw, an active member of the Ukrainian American community in Metropolitan Detroit and currently the president of the Detroit Regional Council of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA), presented a thorough and somber picture of the Soviet government’s brutal and intentionally merciless forced collectivization of Ukrainian farmers, which resulted in the horrific deaths of millions of men, women and children.
The audience of Detroit-area residents came away with an understanding of the irredeemably evil nature of the Russian Communist system, and the sufferings which it willfully imposed upon millions of innocent human beings.
Ms. Andrushkiw, who has taught at the Immaculate Conception High School, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Harvard University, has been a frequent speaker about the Holodomor, exposing an ever-larger public to the tragic topic.
Her presentation was preceded by two haunting melodies played on the bandura by Wolodymyr Murha, a member of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus.
The speaker’s presentation was followed by readings from the moving testimonies of three Holodomor survivors, read by their daughters Olga Liss, Vera Petrusha and Roma Sawchuk-Figacz. Afterwards, members of the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and make comments.
Ukrainian community representatives commended Bank Suey for inviting Ms. Andrushkiw to speak about the Holodomor, a topic which is slowly but surely becoming known among a growing number of Americans.
Bank Suey’s program coordinator of “The Wall Speaks,” Wojtek Sawa, invited residents of the Metro Detroit area to attend and participate in its ongoing series of lectures and discussions concerning various topics, including the arts, literature, history, economics, politics and current local, national and international events. For more information, google “Bank Suey.”