Press Release
April 29,
2008
CANADIAN
FRIENDS OF UKRAINEEXPAND GENOCIDE
AWARENESS ACTIVITIES
Toronto-
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Stalin-era Terror-Famine in Ukraine which
claimed over 7 million lives, Canadian Friends of Ukraine have undertaken a
number of joint Canada-Ukraine projects to strengthen international awareness
of Ukraine's genocide.
Canadian
Friends of Ukraine have worked with Canada's Government and Parliament to ensure the passage of
Canadian legislation and have endeavored to raise awareness of the genocide by
working with government officials and the media.
The
Second Reading of Conservative Member
of Parliament James Bezan’s Private
Members' Bill C-459 which seeks to have the Holodomor recognized as an act of
genocide against the Ukrainian people, took place in the House of Commons during a historic debate on
April 29th. Canadian Friends of Ukraine have had the privilege to
work with Mr. Bezan, on the drafting of this important legislation entitled “The
Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act.” Mr. Bezan, MP for
Selkirk-Interlake (Manitoba), is of Ukrainian descent.
 | Member
of Parliament James Bezan (second from right) meets with
representatives of Canadian Friends of Ukraine, Stefan Horlatsch,
Margareta Shpir, and Lisa Shymko. |
Recently,
Stefan Horlatsch, a Holodomor survivor, together with fellow members of the
Canadian Friends of Ukraine executive, Margareta Shpir and Lisa Shymko, met
with several Canadian parliamentarians to urge all-party support for this
legislation. Representatives of Canadian Friends of Ukraine also had the
opportunity to speak with Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian
Identity, the Hon. Jason Kenney, on Parliament Hill. Secretary of State Kenney
received a copy of the CFU’s Government Brief on the Holodomor, presented
earlier to Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier. The CFU has also encouraged the Canadian government to
support multilateral efforts at the UN to have the Holodomor recognized as an
act of genocide.
Canadian
Friends of Ukraine are supporting several genocide-awareness projects in Canada, including the "Walk for a World Without Genocide"
initiative undertaken by Holodomor survivor, Stefan Horlatsch. Born in 1921 in
the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine, and having lost 11 members of his family during the
terror-famine, Mr. Horlatsch is the initiator of a symbolic walk across major
Canadian cities to raise public awareness of the Ukrainian Terror-Famine.
Ironically,
while the tragedy of the Ukrainian genocide is discussed openly in North America and Europe, the psychological fear imposed by the Stalinist
terror has meant that, 75 year after this tragedy, survivors of the forced famine
in Ukraine continue to be afraid to discuss their experiences.
For this reason, Canadian
Friends of Ukraine have launched three genocide awareness projects in Ukraine.
Student
Interviews with Holodomor Survivors is a CFU program undertaken in selected provinces (oblasts) across Ukraine in which secondary school and university students will
conduct interviews with family members who witnessed the Famine-Terror of
1932-33. Participants are required to submit their written interviews in
digital format along with photographs and biographical information about the
Holodomor survivor being interviewed. Supplementary audio and video documentation
will also be collected.
A
three-person jury in each province will judge submissions made in their
respective provinces. All participants will receive a specially cast Ukraine Famine-Genocide
memorial lapel pin and competition certificate. In August 2008, the competition
finalists will travel to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, where the official announcement and
award presentation will take place. Finalists will receive a monetary prize, Award
Certificate, laureate gift and multi-media prize package.
Canadian
Friends of Ukraine plan to compile and publish the genocide survivor
interviews, making them available in Canada and Ukraine to institutions dedicated to the study and
prevention of genocide. The project's Honorary Chair is Jurij Darewych.
Canadian
Friends of Ukraine’s second project is the International Book Exhibition on the
Famine-Terror. CFU has partnered with the National Parliamentary
Library of Ukraine in Kyiv as well as several NGO’s to present a unique
exhibition dedicated to Ukraine's Terror-Famine. The exposition will showcase books
and journals printed outside Ukraine and published in various languages throughout the
Diaspora. Ukraine's parliamentarians, government officials, foreign diplomats,
historians, journalists, and human rights activists will participate in the
official opening of the exhibit.
The
official opening will take place in late August 2008 to coincide with the
awards ceremony honoring the winners of the Holodomor
Survivors Student Interview Competition. The Holodomor book exhibition is
chaired by Lisa Shymko.
Canadian
Friends of Ukraine have also initiated a Genocide Curriculum Development Project.
This unique educational pilot project is entitled: "The Symbolism of Death: The Holodomor through the prism of art
and culture." The project will be implemented in Ukraine's eastern and northern provinces, as well as the Crimea region of Ukraine, where decades of Russification and Stalinist propaganda sought to deny
the truth about the Soviet state's complicity in the anti-Ukrainian genocidal
policies of the former Soviet regime. The curriculum will also be utilized by
educators for summer youth-outreach programs.
The
curriculum will also be applied in Canada in several Ukrainian-language schools and heritage
language programs. The approach taken by this curriculum development project is
unique because it will address the issue of the Terror-Famine through the prism
of an Art and Culture course, utilizing varied historical sources in literature
and fine art, such as poetry, prose, paintings, drawings, posters, and
placards. Teacher training and preparation for implementing this curriculum
development project will begin in the summer of 2008. The project is chaired by
Margareta Shpir.
The genocide awareness
projects undertaken by Canadian Friends of Ukraine are made possible through
the support of individual Canadian donors. Donations to projects promoting public
awareness of the Terror-Famine, may be forwarded to: Canadian Friends of
Ukraine, 620
Spadina Ave., Toronto, Ontario M5S 2H4. Please indicate "CFU
Famine-Genocide Projects" on your cheque. For additional information,
call (416) 964-6644 or visit our website: www.canadianfriendsofukraine.ca.
