the ukrainian weekly 1982-06

8/14/2019 The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-06

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25 ca t?Vol. t N o . 6 T H E U K R A I N I A N W E E K L Y S U N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 7 , 1 9 82

Soviet policy toward invalids:intentional neglect, inhumanityN EW Y O RK - Thousands ofSoviet paraplegics and other invalids,many ofthem World War II veterans,are forced to eke out an existencewith virtually no government assistance, are banished from most major

city centers, and are often beaten bypolice if they w ander into busydowntown areas because they spoilthe view for tourists and foreigners,reported Freedom Appeals, a bimonthly human-rights journal.Although 1981 was designated theInternational Year of D isabled Pers o n s by the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , theplight of the disabled in the USSRreaches inhumane dimensions, complete with government indifference,maltreatment and harassment thatrivals the treatmen t of the mentally illduring the D ark Ages. Many Soviet invalids, have beenforcibly exi led or i m p r i s o n e d inspecial camps, which lack propermedical facilities, and w here they areoften put to w ork despite theirphysical handicaps.Official Soviet policy toward theinvalids appears to be on e of intentional neglect. Unlike in the West,there are no special agencies to aidthe disabled, nor are there specialbuses, ramps or other accommodations specifically designed to makelife easier for the physically handicapped. Prosthetic devices are cheaply made, if they can be found at all.There is no housing designed forinvalids, and pensions are inadequateto meet their special needs.Freedom Apeals recounted oneincident in Moscow witnessed byVictor Abdalov, a photographer nowliving in the W est, w hich seemsindicative of official Soviet attitudestowards invalids.While riding in a ca b in Moscow,Mr. Abdalov witnessed a policemanroughing up a man with no legs, whowas forced to move about on a small,motorized platform.The cripple later told Mr. Abdalovthat he wa s a World War II veteranwho lost his legs defending the SovietUnion, and now was routinely routedby Moscow police for venturing intothe downtown area "where he couldbe seen by foreigners." The policemen consider him an eyesore, a ba dreflection of the Soviet system.In 1978, a handful of Soviet invalids, tired of official neglect andperiodic harassment, established theInitiative Gro up to D efend the Rightsof Invalids in the U SSR.The three founding members ofthe group, Yuriy Kiselev, a 50-year-old artist who lost both his legs in anindustrial accident when hewas 16;Failzulla K husainov, who is confined

to a wheelchair and lives in a buildingwith no elevator; and Valeriy Fefe-lov, 33, who has been a paraplegicsince suffering an industrial accidentwhen he was 17, have all sufferedreprisals.All three, plus contributors to thegroup's bulletins, have been harassedby the KGB. OnMarch 5, 1981, Mr.K iselev`s small w orkshop in theC rimea, which his friends helpedbuild, was set on fire by the KGB.Earlier that year, he-had been severelybeaten by police plainclothesmen.The Soviet invalids who suffer themost, however, are those who aresentenced to labor-camp and exileterms for political activities.The initiative group's Bulletin No.12 outlines the case of UkrainianH elsinki , an d. ,p oet-Iryna Senyk, 57, who is currently inher final year of exile in the remoteKazakh SSR.First arrested in 1944 and sentenced to 10 years for membership inthe Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Ms. Senyk was released in1954. While in the camp, she wasbeaten so badly that her spine wasbroken. She underwent a number ofoperations and, after a long convalescence, was able to walk again.She was declared an invalid uponbeing discharged.Although she was classified aninvalid, Ms. Senyk, who was sentenced in 1972 to six years'imprisonment and three years' internal exilefor "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda," has been forced to work as a

cleaning woman in a hotel.Sh e was deprived of her invalidstatus, and m ust how wash floors anddo other demanding work which hasseriously impaired her health.Her appeals to have her invalidstatus reinstated have been ignoredby doctors and administrators. According to the bulletin, doctors tellher: "You can walk, can't you? Soyou are not disabled."There are countless other invalidsw ho are p r i s o n e r s of c o n s c i e n c e ,among them Mykola Rudenko, 61,co-founder of the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup, who suffered serious woundsduring World War II.A c c o r d i n g to Bulletin No. 12,nearly a dozen inmates of a specialconcentration camp for invalids nearD nipropetrovske, Ukraine, died in1976-77.The existence of the camp wasverified last July by the Belgiannewspaper Libre Belgique, whichprinted excerpts of a s a m v y d a vs t a t e m e n t by an invalid prisoneridentified as A. Z e l i a k o v . In his

( C o nt i nued on | 2)

Helsinki monitor Lesivsentenced to five years

NEW YORK - Yaroslav Lesiv, 37,m e m b e r of the U krainian H elsinkig r o u p , was sentenced to f ive years 'imprisonment, reported the ExternalRepresentation of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.Mr. Lesiv was first sentenced in 1967to six years in camp and five years ofinternal exile for membership in theUkrainian National Front.In September 1979, he joined theU krainian H elsinki G roup, and inNovember of that year hewas arrestedreportedly on a fabricated charge ofnarcotics possession, which carries apenalty of up to 10 years'deprivation offreedom.He was to be freed on November 15,1981. However, another investigationw a s o r d e r e d , and instead of beingreleased on that day, Mr. Lesiv wasagain sentenced to a five-year term.This is not the first case in whichhuman-rights activists have had theirt e r m s p r o l o n g e d . T h i s has recentlyhappened to the Podrabinek brothers inM o s c o w , to V asyl Barladianu andVasyl Ovsienko.No one in the W est know s w hatcharges have been brought against Mr.Lesiv, a physical education teacher and

Yaroslav Lesivgymnast from Ivano-Frankivske. Hisonly "crime" seems to be that he is adefender of human rights and personaldignity, the Helsinki group's ExternalRepresentation noted.Mr. Lesiv is in poor health; he hasheart trouble, diabetes and severemyopia, which has caused partial blindness, theExternal Representation said.

U .S . E m b a s s y h u n g e r - s t r i k e r h o s p i t a l i z e dM O S C O W - Looking haggard andsallow, Lidia Vashchenko, the 30-year-old Siberian Pentecostal who has beenon a monthlong hunger strike in theU.S. Embassy here, was escorted out oft h e c o m p o u n d by U.S. officials on

January 30 and driven to nearby BotkinHospital after American doctors saidher condition had worsened, reportedUnited Press International.After the embassy car pulled up to thehospital entrance, trailed by a CBS-News camera crew, a gaunt Ms. Vashchenko, who reportedly lost 15 poundswhile on a liquid diet and is said toweigh just 90pounds, was wisked intothe hospital bySoviet personnel. WhenC BS tried to film her admittance, aburly man in a white smock suddenlyiunged at the camera and covered thelens with his hand.Botkin Hospital is regarded as one ofMoscow's best, and serves the city'sdiplomatic community. Soviet officialsflatly refused an American request tohave Ms. Vashchenko treated in a WestEuropean hospital.Ms. V a s h c h e n k o , who began herhunger strike on D ecember 28, 1981,along with her mother, Augustina, 52,was placed in an intensive-care unit.Soviet doctors reported that she abandoned her fast and began taking solidfood shortly after her admittance.Ms. Vashchenko is part of a group ofseven Pentecostals members of tw o

families who rushed past Sovietguards nearly three and a half years agoand have been living in a dingy basement room in the U.S. Embassy eversince.She and her mother began their fastto dramatize their plight, claiming thatthe United States has been dragging itsfeet in resolving their dilemma.A lthough Soviet off icials at firstrefused to allow U.S. diplomatic personnel to visit Ms. Vashchenko, theyfinally permitted two Americans Dr.John Schadler, theembassy physician,and James C urt Struble, a consularofficial to see the young woman onFebruary 2.A n embassy spokesman said thevisi tors spent 15 minutes w ith Ms.Vashchenko in the intensive-care unit,and found her "looking good, calm,smiling and appearing rested and alert."Yet, in a February 3 letter to theremaining six Pentecostals in the em-( C o nt t eued on page 2)

INSIDE: N e w s and views - page 7. Ukrainian pr o hockey update byIhor N. Stelmach - page 8. Panorama by Helen PerozakSmindak page 9. Tht Helm of D estiny":a film inthe making page 10.


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2 ' THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 , 1 9 8 2 No. 6

Three Soviet Baptist ministersplaced in solitary confinement

ELK HA RT, Ind. - Three SovietBaptist ministers serving labor-campsentences were recently placed in solitary confinement for religious activitiesin their respective camps, reported theInternational Representation for theC ouncil of Evangelical C hurches of theSoviet Union based here.Pastors G ennady M alakhov andMikhail Khorev, 50, spent 10 days insolitary confinement for preaching thegospel to other prisoners, while PastorNikolai B aturin was given 15 days forpraying and singing hymns.

Pastor Baturin, 54 , is the secretary ofthe C ouncil of Evangelical C hristianBaptis t C hurch es, and is currentlyserving the third year of a five-year

sentence in a strict-regimen camp inSiberia.Pastor Malakh ov, 4 3, is serving athree-year term in an ordinary-regimenlabor camp.Also a member of the C ouncil ofEvangelical C hristian Baptist Churches,Pastor Khorev is serving a five-yearsentence in a strict-regimen camp inOmsk, western Siberia.In addition to having been kept insolitary confinement, he is reportedlysearched every night by camp guardswho awaken him hourly by shining apowerful light into his eyes.In D ecember 1981, Pastor Khorev'swife, Vera, was barred from visiting herhusband by camp officials after she hadmade the long trip to see him.

Greek Orthodox bishops protestreligious oppression in AlbaniaP A S A D E N A , Calif. - A l b a n i a ' sH oxha regime, judged by A m nestyInternational and Freedom House to beone of the most brutally repressiveregimes in Eastern Europe, has comeunder fire from bishops of the Orthodox C hurch in neighboring Greece, whohave recently called for a united effortby religious and human-rights groupsand the United Nations to protest thepersecution of religious groups in thatBalkan country, reported East/WestNews.The bishops called upon all Auto-cephalous Orthodox C hurches, ecumenical leaders, the United Nations and

the public to voice objection to therepressive measures taken by the government in Tirana, the capital city, toenforce the regime's policy of officialand total atheism.

Most of Albania's 2.1 million inhabitants are Muslim, but there are anestimated 4 00,000 .Greek Orth odox .According to the Greek bishops, theC h u r c h i n A l b a n i a h a s n o l e g a ll yr e c o g n i z e d b i s h o p , a n d t h a t m o s tchurches have been renovated andconverted into museums.Kathpress, an Austrian news agency,recently reported that C hristians inAlbania live without a divine liturgy,without a church community and without baptismal services. In effect, theC hristian C hurches have been forcedunderground.In their statement, the Greek bishopssaid that such complete oppression ofrel igious expression does not exis tanywhere else in the world, not even incountries with similar "atheistic-totalitarian regimes."

U . S . E m b a s s y . . .( Con t in u e d f r om p a g e 1 )

bassy, Ms. Vashchenko said that shehad given up her protest after Sovietdoctors threatened that she would beforce-fed, reported Reuters.She quoted a Soviet doctor as tellingher: "If you don't want to eat, we willfeed you with a tube down your throat.We don4 want to, but we will."An embassy doctor who visited theyoung woman on February 3 reportedthat she was regaining her strength, andhad been transferred out of the intensive care unit.M eanw hile , M rs. V ashchenko iscontinuing her fast, despite a call fromformer President Jimmy C arter and aletter from President Ronald Reaganurging her to abandon her protest.Although somewhat weakened by herdiet of fruit jucies and tea, Mrs. Vashchenko, who is said to have lost 22pounds, is not yet in a condition towarrant hospitalization.

Mrs. Vashchenko, her husband andthree of their daughters rushed into theembassy on June 27, 1978, along withMaria C hmykhalov and her son Timothy in a bid to be allowed to emigrate to a country where they couldfreely practice their religion.Originally from C hernog orsk, Siberia, the seven still have relatives therewho have been repeatedly harassed by

Soviet authorities. The Soviets view thePentecostals as a deviant sect notofficially recognized by the governmenton the grounds that members refusemilitary induction and engage in otheractivities deemed anti-social.Lidia Vashchenko's evacuation to aSoviet hospital raises serious concernsas to whether she will eventually beallowed to return to her family in theU.S. Embassy. American officials havesaid that the Soviets have refused toguarantee such a move, and it seemslikely that she could face arrest after sherecovers from the effects of her fast.

Soviet policy...( Con t in u e d f r om p a f t 1 )testimony, Mr. Zeliakov describedhow invalid prisoners were forced todig trenches, were brutalized bysadistic camp guards, and often leftto died in a special barrack when theyno longer could work.A lthough independent associations do exist for.the blind and the

deat-mute in the Soviet Union, thereis no such group to represent invalidsand paraplegics. One of the aims oft h e I n i t i a t i v e G r o u p t o D e f e n dRights of Invalids in the USSR is toget the government to establish sucha body, in addition to raising pensions for the disabled and providingnecessary social services and specially equipped housing and otherfacilities for invalids. . .

M e s h k o r e c o u n t s h a r d s h i p s o f e x i l eNEW YORK - In excerpts from aletter released by the External Representation of the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup, Oksana Meshko, the 77-year-old dissident, writes about the hardships she has encountered in exile.Ms. Meshko, who was most recentlyarrested on O ctober 14, 1980, for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" andsentenced to half a year in prison and

five years in exile, is the founding andsenior member of the Kiev-based Helsinki group. In her letter, Ms. Meshkow rites abo ut her journ ey from theprison camp to exile in A yan, Maiskyi raion, in Khabarovsk."I arrived here on July , 1981, in therain and am still drying off," she Writes."Here there are torrential rains.""I live here in total isolation. Thewinters are harsh and the townspeoplewarn me that I won't make it throughthem. Here, I have encountered threeproblems: lack of firewood, water andfood. When the snowstorms come, theywill block the roads , and if one venturesout it is impossible to find the way backhom e. Although the grocery store is notfar, n o one will help me, no one. willcome with supplies."I had asked for a telephone to beinstalled, I even went to the chairman ofthe raion executive committee. H eanswered me: 'You'll have to wait yourturn. '"My turn comes in two to three yearsand how long I live interests no one,"she said.Ms. Meshko, w ho celebrated her 77thbirthday yesterday, set out for her newhome in exile on March 17,1981. On theway, thanks to the many stops along theroute, she "saw the sights of Kharkiv,S v e r d l o v s k , K r a s n o y a r s k , I r k u t s k ,

K h a b a r o v s k a n d N i k o l a y e v - o n - t h e -A mur.""But, complain," she w ritessarcastically. "They took care of me andprepared me for this journey. In ninemon ths, I had third-degree hypertonia...Now for me to spend the winter here islike asking an untrained sportsman toclimb Mt. Everest."She also writes about the problemsshe has with her pension. It has yet tocome through. Food is also a problem.Fruits and vegetables are non-existent.This season she has received onlypotatoes and fresh cabbage. Milk, shewrites, is available, although not in thewinter.Ms. Meshko says she has to becaref ulwith her diet because of her diabetes andreports that her rheumatism has flaredup again.H er son, O leksander Serhiyenko,who is also in exile, brings firewood forthe house. Ms. Meshko mentions that

O ksana Meshkohis wife is very after her last pregnancy. But she also shares the fact thatb e s i d e s h e r 1 0 - y e a r - o l d g r a n d s o n ,Yustym, she now also has a grandd a u g h t e r , O l e n k a , b o r n M a r c h 2 8 ,1981.

She ends her letter by saying that atthe moment her son is chopping woodfor the stove which gives off warmth.Although the roof leaks, he patches itup; the house has been white-washed,and Ms. Meshko rejoices that she doesnot have to sleep surrounded by cementwalls.

Religious leaderreported arrested

ELK H A R T, Ind. - V ladimir tsenko, a leader of Leningrad's 300-member congregation of the unregistered Baptist C hurch, was arrested onD ecember 8, 1981, reported the International Representation for the C ouncilof Evangelical Baptist C hurches of theSoviet Union, based here.Mr. Protsenko's home had been thesite of church meetings since 1973. TheLeningrad unregistered Baptists separated from the official body in 1961, an dthe congregation is the only one notaligned with the Soviet government inthis city of 4.5 million people. There isalso one official Baptist church.The international representation alsoreported that the KGB has recentlyconducted m ass searches of C hristianhomes in Tula, Kharkiv and Lviv. InKharkiv, police have reportedly interro

gated small children in the absence oftheir parents. Many of them have beenforced to sign declarations against theirmothers and fathers.It is not known if a trial date has beenset in the Protsenko case, the international representation reported.

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No. 6 ^ THE UKRAINIA N WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 , 1 9 8 2 3

Public and editorial response to Polovchak ruling is mixedCHICAGO - Public and editorial reaction to theD ecember 30 Illino is A ppellate Court ruling that 14-year-old Walter Polovchak should not have beenmade a ward of the state, a decision that opens thedoo r for grantingcustody o f the bo y to his parents, runthe gamut from praise to strong disapproval.D espite the court's ruling, Walter, who ran awayfrom his parents' ho me 18 mo nths ago rather thanreturn with them to the U S S R, is currently the objectof four separate suits in Illinois courts, and the legal

battle may drag on for years. The Justice D epartmentis arguing that W alter's po litical asylum supersedes theIl l ino is court ruling, whi le the American Civi llib erties Unio n, w hich represents' Walter's parentsnow back in the Soviet Union, maintains that thefederal go vernment had no business getting mixed upin what it sees as a family matter in the first place.In a January 6 editorial; Trie N ew Yo rk Timespraised the court's decision and the A CLU's efforts onthe parents' behalf. It argued that government officialshad " no business intervening in family life,"and (hatthe.Polovchak affair should have remained a purelydomestic one. . -- ."By continuing to defend Walter Polovchak,"TheTimes said, "the Reagan administration appearsmore interested in. shallow chauvinism" than familyvalues.Responding to the Times editorial. Rep. Peter A.Peyser (D -N .Y.), in a letter to the editor datedJanuary 6 and published January 11, disagreed withthe paper's assertion that the case is solely a domesticmatter."The important issue at this point," wrote Rep.Peyser, "is no t whether the court's ruling in Illinois wascorrect or not. What is important is what will happento Walter if he is forced to return to the Soviet Union."A ccording to the congressman, Walter faces the realrisk of being labelled a "traitor" in a society which do esnot differentiate between minors and adults in the areaof serious crimes. . '--.,.-.`"For Walter this would mean being placed in aninstitution for 're-education purposes,"trainingpurposes' or "psychiatric help,' " said Rep. peyser.'The congressman went on to urge the justiceD epartment to issue a departure-contro l o rder which

would bar anyone from skirting Walter out of thecountry without his co nsent. "` `In a January 20 letter to the Times, attorney HarrietF. Pilpel argued that the paper, the Illinois court andthe` A CLU have put too much emphasis on parentalprerogatives and not enough on children's rights.Citing the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court hasestablished the co ncept o f the "mature minor" inseveral cases involving children under the age of 18,Ms. Pilpel wrote: "The Polovchak case must be viewedagainst this factual and legal background -and notagainst the wishful thinking of the Times. O f coursethe government should not step in unless there issubstantial disregard by the parents of the child's bestinterests. I believe that the Polovchak case presentssuch a situation."She went on the say: "Can anyone question that 14-year-old Walter is not likely to live in 'peace andharmony' in the Soviet Union now that he has soopenly 'defied' both his parents and the state? To

permit him to stay here with family members...wouldbe just an application of the well-established rule thatwhere parents act in a manner detrimental to the bestinterests of the child, and especially where the child isold enou gh to understand the issue and disagrees withthe parents' actions, the government will step in toprotect the child."In the same issue of the Times, Jerome M. B alsam,Mark Tobak and Curt Rogg-Meltzer, in a joint letter,found the paper's position "perplexing in its shortsightedness and alarming in its attitude to ward humanrights."The trio argued that, regardless of his age, Walterwould likely face obstacles should he return to theUS S R, and "insuperable" barriers should he desire toleave in the future; "the Helsinki Acco rds notwithstanding."The letter continues: "More disturbing, however, isyour flippant disregard of human and constitutionalrights. Ado lescence is not a bar to the exercise ofindividual rights in our nation; the Supreme Court, inTinker v . D es Moines Independent CommunityS choo l D istrict, pronounced the First AmendmentRight of students age 13, IS and 16 to wear armbandsto school in protest of the Vietnam War."In addition, the authors adduce an eloquent dissentby the late S upreme Court Justice William O . Douglasin Wisconsin v. Yo der, dealing with the religiou s rightsof children: "Where the child is mature enough toexpress potentially conflicting desires, it would be aninvasion of the child's rights to permit such animposition'without canvassing his views."The letter concluded that returning Walter to theSoviet Union against his will "would be an unforgivable act and an insult to our constitutionaltradition."Writing in the January 13 issue of the Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Roger Simon, in a piece titled"Where liberals falter over W alter," confessed thatdespite his well-known support for liberal causes, hecould not go along with the ACLU in its decision topress for Walter's return to the Soviet Union.A l luding to the January 6 New York Timeseditorial, Mr. Simon said the paper was wrong inasserting that the government's decision to stick byWalter was emblematic of "shallow chauvinism."Mr. S imon wrote: "I see it (the Polovchak case) as acase of human rights. I see a person, an intelligent,thinking human being, who desires such basicrightsaslife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."He added: "I know that is corny. It may be shallowchauvinism. But I am hooked on the Constitution...That is why I disagree with them (the A CLU) no w."Mr. Simo n po oh- poo hed the oft-heard no tion that ifWalter was legally allowed to defy his parents, it wo uldset a dangerous precedent which would allow childrento run away and becom e wards o f the state if their -parents decided to move from one state to anotheragainst their wishes." This is no nsen se," said Mr. Simon. "WalterPolovchak is claiming religious and political asylum.He is claiming that in the United States he will havefreedoms that he would not have in the Soviet Union."Expanding on his theme, Mr. Simo n continued:"Can a chi ld from Chicago c laim rel igious andpolitical asylum in Los Angeles? A re there greater civil

liberties in Los A ngeles than in Chicago? O f course not.The Pol ovchak case will have no affect o n children andtheir parents in this country."Mr. Simon concluded that the ruling againstWalter did much to validate the notion that childrenare the property of theic parents, and have few rightso ftheir own.Syndicated colunist Jack Anderson chose a differenttack in approaching the Polovchak case. In hisJanuary 27 column, he examined the Polovchaksituation in a human context, bereft of all the legalentanglements, providing a glimpse of the domesticsituation.Mr. A nderson's information was gleaned fromfamily letters shown to his reporters, Viki Warren andSharon Spivak.It seems that the Polovchaks` decision to emigrate tothe United1 States was based partly on informationprovided by M ichael Pol ovchak`s sister, A nastaziaJunko, who owned two houses in the United Statesand, promised that he and his family wife A nna;daughter N atalia; and son s Walter and Michael, 7, -could live in one of them.

Within weeks of their arrival in the United States inJanuary 1980, the Polovchaks became disillusionedwith life in A merica. The sister had sold one o f thehouses. Instead, she gave them money for a crampedapartment in a Chicago neighborhood with noUkrainians.A former bus driver, Mr. Po lovchak became ajanitor during the day, while his wife worked nights asa cleaning woman.By May 1980, he had enough, and decided to seekpermission to return to the Soviet Union.Yet, according to Mr. Anderson, Mr. Polo vchakwas far from the upright, hard-working family man heappeared in court. A co usin, writing to Mr. Polo vchak`s sister from the Soviet Union, called him "aplaybo y" who "always went around with vodka in hispocket."His wife would be foolish to return with him, wrotethe cousin. " He will go on drinking and carousing if hehas the means. If she returns, she will have the samelife."A s it turned o ut, it was Walter who cho se not toreturn, and when he and his sister, then 18,-ran away totheir uncle, the event set off the complex chain ofevents the legal implications of which are still beingargued in the Illinois courts.In a concluding note, Mr. A nderson wrote thatWalter and his sister suspect that recent letters receivedfrom their father via the A CLU may have been"officially inspired.""For example, he used to begin his personal letterswith the salutation , 'Glory to Jesus Christ.' N ow they. begin, 'Greetings from the city of Lviv,` wrote Mr.A nderson. A s an officially atheist society, it is highlydoubtful that the So viets would allo w a letter to beginwith a reference to Jesus Christ.D espite o pinions bo th pro and con , the legal battlegoes on, and the 14-year-old litigant may have to waitmany more years before his case plows through thecourts. Most legal experts agree that if he manages tostay in the courts for another four years, when he willbe of legal age, then his chances of remaining in thiscountry are good. Until then, all Walter can do is wait.

Florio asks Reagan to admitPolish kids to U.S. for treatment

OUN assembly holds meetingW A S H I N G T O N - ` Re p. J a me sFlorio (D -N .J.) has asked PresidentRonald Reagan's help in an efforttoget11 Polish children who have congenitalheart disease to the D eborah Heart andLung Center of B rowns Mills, N .J.The Polish youngsters'lives are ingreater danger because all flights fromPoland were cancelled by the presidentin response to imposition of martial lawby the Polish government."These children should not be deniedthe chance for life-saving surgery atD eborah," said Rep. Florio, a D eborahtrustee. "They are not involved in thepolitical tragedy in their country.Politics must no t be allowed to co ntribute to their possible early deaths."With the assistance of Pope John

11,- the N ationaUnstitute of Cardiology: in Warsaw signed a historic agreement last March permitting the youngpatients to receive treatment end surgery at Debo rah.S ince admitting its first patient under, this program last June, D eborah hassuccessfully, performed surgery on 26Polish youngsters with congenital heartdisease. y ,Eight Po l ish physicians have observed D eborah's expert surgeons andhave returned to Poland with their newmedical knowl edge. Like all of D eborah's patients, the cost of treatingyoung patients from Poland is beingprovided by contributions to the D eborah Hospital Foundation.

JERSEY CITY, N . J . , - The sixthSupreme A ssembly of the O rganizationof Ukrainian N ationalists (revo lutionaries) was held in the fall of last yearwith the participation of official delegates and summoned participants,including many young activists, takingpart in the proceedings, reported theassembly's presidium.The Supreme A ssembly of the O UNis the highest source of authority andthe highest legislative body o f the O UN ;its purpose is to rule on all questions o fideology, program, liberation strategy,external and internal policy, to determine the O UN `s cultural and academicpolicies- and the educational programfor youth and cadres, and to establishthe general directives of the revolutionary, national liberation struggle andthe com mo n front .o f the subjugated.Rations, according to a press release

from the assembly presidium.The Supreme Assembly also electsthe members of the O UN executiveorgans. A t the 1981 meetings the assembly elected Yaroslav Stetsko chairmano f the O UN . A lso elected were membersof the O UN Leadership, the chairmanand members of the O UN Council andthe chairman and members of the O UNauditing and arbitration boards, whosenames were not released.The O UN Supreme Assembly reviewed the current political situation in..the world, in the Russian empire andparticularly in Ukraine. A mo ng theissues discussed during the delibera-t tions were: the threat of thermonuclearwar, Russification po licies which are anattempt to destroy all facets of Ukrainian life, and the need for continuedactions throughout the world in defense

( C o mbi ned o n page I S )


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4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1982 No . 6

Ukrainian Independence DayNew Jersey Pennsylvania

New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean signs the Ukrainian Independence Dayproclamation.TREN TON, N.J. - New Jersey'snewly inaugurated Gov. Thomas Keansigned his first official proclamation, adocument commemora t ing the 64 thanniversary of the re-establishment ofUkrainian statehood, on January 21.Gov. Kean, who was inaugurated onJanua ry 19, met with over 40 representatives of the New Jersey Ukrainiancommunity in the State House. The

ceremony was organized by theNew Jersey state UCCA branches,under the coordinat ion of AndrewKeybida.After signing the proclamation thegovernor expressed his understandingof Ukrainian aspirations.Gov. Kean was presented with theEnglish-language Ukraine: A Concise(Continued on page J4)

by Victor LapychakTRE NTO N, N.J. - The New Jersey

State Legislature, acting on the last dayit would be in session, Monday, January 18, passed resolutions pro claiming January 22 Ukrainian Independence Day.The Senate and Assembly resolutions, passed during the legislative rushin the waning hours of the Byrneadministration, demonstrated that thesenators and assemblymen could taketime out from the harried scramble oflegislat ing last-minute laws to pay.tribute to a worthy event such as thehistoric re-establishment of Ukrainianstatehood 64 years ago.Sponsored in the Assembly by Raymond Lesniak and Thomas Deverin,both of Elizabeth, and in the upperhouse by Sens. Joseph Hirkala ofPassaic and John Caufield of Newark,the resolution praised the Ukrainiannation for its endless pursuit of freedomand the Ukrainian community in New

OopsIn the photo caption story about theWhippany, N.J., concert in commemoration of Ukrainian IndependenceDay, the title of former mayor wasmistakenly given to Henry Btekicki,who is in fact the present mayor ofMorris Township, N.J . The formermayor in the photo is Arthur Albohn ofHanover Township, who is now a NewJersey state assemblyman.

Jersey for living up to these ideals.In addition to asking all New Jersey-ans to join their Ukrainian neighbors incommemorating the event, the resolu-.tions asked the incoming governor,Thomas,Kean, to continue the work ofthe outgoing Byrne administration inseeking t o elim inate distortions of historyand discriminatory passages related toUkraine and Ukrainians from elementary and high-school textbooks. Whilepraising the Department of Educationfor doing such in the past, the resolut ions" requested the De partm ent ofHigher Educa tion to do the sameregarding the study of Ukraine andother captive nations in college curricula.On the floor of the lower house,Assemblyman Lesniak addressed hiscolleagues. "Such a resolution becomesparticularly important because of thecrisis in Poland. While aspirations offreedom are being manifested in placeslike Gdansk (Poland) and 5 Kabul, (Afghanistan), it is important not to forgetstruggles of independence that are notalways on the front page. The events inPoland illustrate the resistance of allnations affected by Soviet repression.The Solidarity movem ent is no differentin spirit from the Ukrainian HelsinkiMonitoring Group and other human-rights groups behind the Iron Curtain",he said.Assemb lyman Deverin. then paidtribute to the Ukrainian people, who, hesaid, "are the m ost fiercely independentpeople in the world ." .(Continued on page 12)

NOTICE TO OUR CONTRIBUTORSA l l m a t e r i a l s - br ie f n ew s s to r ies , p ho to s , cap t io n s . - o n U k r a i n i a nI n d e p e n d e n c e D a y c o m m e m o r a t i o n s m u s t b e r e c e i v e d b y T h e W e e k l yed i to r ia l o f f i ces b y F e b r u a r y 1 5 . A n y mater ia l s r ece i v ed a f t e r t ha t d a tew i l l n o t b e p u b l i s h e d i n T h e W e e k l y . T h e r e w i l l b e n o e x c e p t i o n s .

- E d i t o r s

Pennsylvania Gov. Richard Thornburgh signed a proclamation designating January 22Ukrainian Independence Day in th e Keystone State on January 19 in the presence of adelegation of Ukrainian community representatives. Seated from left are: Dr. Peter Stercho,Philadelphia UCCA branch president; Gov. Thornburgh ;and Ulana Maz urkevich ; standing: Dr.Mykola Cenko, Stephanie Wochok, Charles Bojanic, chairman of the Governor's-HeritageAffairs Advisory Commission; and Louis Skeparnias, executive director of the commission.

Maplewood, N.J.

Mayor Robert Grasmere of Maplewood'greeted a large delegation of Ukrainian communityactivists at the regular meeting of the Maplewood Township Committee on Tuesday, January19 , during w hich he signed the U krainian Independence Day proclamation. After reading theproclamation, M ayor Grasmere presented a copy of it to Andrew Keybida, coordinator of theprogram. Also present were Vice Mayor Robert Klein, Township Committeemen Ed Barroneand Michael DeCico and the Rev. John Nakonachny.

New CityrN.Y.

The Rev. T aras Galonzka, visiting priest on weekends atSs. Peter and Paul Ukrainian CatholicChurch, Spring Valley, N Y . , speaks at ceremonies held in County Legislature Chambers inNew City, N.Y., on Sunday, January 24, to celebrate-the 64th anniversary of Ukraine's'independence. Sharing th e dais are Clarkstown S upervisor T heodore Dusaneriko, left , andJoseph Brega, representative of the local Ukrainian Am erican Veterans Post 19. A legislativeproclamation was presented naming Friday, January 2 2 , asUkrainian Independence Day.The" actual Ukrainian and Am erican flag-raising ceremony w as held on Friday, January 22 ; atth e Ne w City county government buildings.


5/16

N o ! THE UKRAIN IAN W EEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1 9 8 2 5

UNA convention siteboasts A-l fadlit ies

JERSEY CITY, N . J. - The Ukrainian N ationalA ssociation 's Supreme Executive Com mitteeofficially announced on January 2 that the 30thRegular UNA Convention will take place inRochester, N.Y., at the Holiday Inn-GeneseePlaza, 120 Main St. E., the week of May 23-29.The UN A has already made reservations for 300rooms in this hotel, beginning Sunday, May 23.That evening a pre-convention banquet will be heldin the hotel.Of the 300 rooms reserved, SO are king-size. Allthe room s have col or televisions, are air-co nditioned, and all have double beds for either single ordouble occupancy.The price of one room for one person is S42; theprice for do uble o ccupancy is S24 per person, or S48total.The hotel is lO minutes away from the airport viaa free hotel-airport bus. A parking garage is alsoavailable free of charge for hotel guests with cars.A ll the convention facilities are located on onefloor, where the main hall can accommodate 1,000people .The hote l a lso has good dining faci l i t ies ,including B arnaby's restaurant, which is open from6:30 a.m. to midnight. Entertainment is providedTuesday through Sunday night. In the immediateneighborhood, guests can also find many otherpleasant restaurants and foo d shops, if they desire achange of pace.

I S S S S ^" ^ ` n ! ! ISSH"wenq ^^^ S c " f ' i i i e w 22223" ^ .. ISSSlSss l l l l - s lSSSSiSS!H a a a a S 3 3 3 3 2 S 2 E , l l , 4 5 W ' w u u

The Geneiee Plaza Holiday Inn will play host to the 30th Regular Convention of the Ukrainian National A ssociation.

The Holiday Inn-Genesee Plaza Hotel is o ne ofthe biggest convention and meeting centers inRochester. It is 15 stories tall and has 467 guestrooms. The hotel has 15 meeting rooms whichoccupy 16,000 square feet of space.The hotel is located in downto wn Rochester. It is

easily accessible Jo Interstate 90, via Route 490,which is two blocks away from the building.A main shopp ing area is also only a block and ahalf away from the h o t e l for any c o n v e n t i o nparticipants w ho wish to spend some time browsingaround.

C hicag o U N A ers honor branch secretaryCHICAGO - On Sunday, January17, while a blizzard was raging in thiscity, there was 'a very warm, co zy,pleasant atmosphere and a deliciousluncheon at the Little, Kiev Restauranto n the south side of Chicago, wheremembers of UNA Branch 259, HolyVirgin Society, paid tribute to theirbranch secretary of 30 years, JuliaGuglik.Stephanie Majioris, branch president, welcomed all the members presentand asked the Rev. Michael Stelmach ofthe N ativity of the B lessed V irgin MaryChurch to offer the invocation. S tephanie La`Pointe then took over asemcee.A lter the luncheon, every officer ofthe branch remarked on some of thebranch activities and the work that theirsecretary has been doing as a dedicated,devoted UN A 'er. "Mno haya Lita" wassung for her.Then Mrs. Majioris and Mrs. Olekpresented Mrs. Guglik with a beautiful

plaque for her dedicated work.Seated from left are: S tephanie Majioris, Julia Guglik ,Ro se S ypko; standing are:J. Focia, John Guglik, P. Sullivan, M. Lazuka, Helen Otek and R. Pitula, all

officers of UN A Branch 259.Fraternal Communicators Program outl ines new goa ls

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Last year theU N A ' s F r a t er n a l A c t i v i t i e s O f fi ceundertook a nationwide project initiated by the N ational Fraternal Co ngress of A merica, an organization thatunites fraternal organizations througho ut the country.In 1981 the project - dubbed theFraternal Communicators Program -outlined two tasks designed to informthe public about the benefits offered byfraternal organizations.A " fraternal com municator" (or ateam of fraternal communicators) wasdesignated by the UN A 's FraternalA ctivit ies O ffice to implement thecom municato rs pro ject and to representSoyuz in as many states as possible.This year, the N FCA 's FraternalC o m m u n i c a t o r s ' C o m m i t t e e is encouraging participating organizations, , , . . , . . , ,.. -,, to implement another project inorderThe UN A s fraternal communicator in Missouri, Jaroslawa WBUams, poses with ? a w a r e n e s , ' s o f f r a t e r n a l-the state's Fraternal Communicators' Program Coordinator Fred Rottraan at the Missouri Fraternal Co ngress Co nventio n. L ' C o n ? ^ i , ( ? ' W U ? , , - . l

Committee postponesbo w ling tou rnament

by Helen OlekCHICAGO - A special m eeting wascalled to order in Parma, Ohio , onFriday, N ovember 16, 1981, at St.Josaphat`s Church Hall, by Helen B.O lek, supreme advisor, of Chicago.A bout 20 peo ple were present includingsupreme officers of the Ukrainian National A ssociation, B ohdan Futey andTaras Szmagala of Cleveland, GenevieveZerebniak of A kron, Ohio,and AndrewJula of A mbridge, Pa.The purpose of^this meeting was toinitiate the 17th A nnual UN A B owlingTournament in the Cleveland area.Mrs. O lek presented the entire bo wlingtournament rules and after some discussions, questions and answers, JohnJacubic, John Sawchak and LarrySawchak volunteered to take the tournament in hand and together with localUN A secretaries and bowlers to makeevery effort tomake this tournament asuccess.However, after checking all accommodations necessary in the Clevelandarea for this tournament, and thentaking a poll among the bowlers of thethree Chicago Ukrainian bow ling leagues, Mrs. Olek, as chairman of theNational UNA Bowling Committee,decided that this tournament should bepostponed due to the economic condit ions exist ing today, inf lation, unemployment, etc.A s a matter of fact, at the last bowlingtournament held in Chicago , at the verylast moment, cancellations were received because of the cost of transportat i o n . Furthermore, the next UNAConvention will be held in Rochester,N. Y., just a week prior to the date set forthe tourney and the Rochester bowlersprobably would not be able to participate in the tourney, she noted.Chicago bowlers are planning to holda lo cal to urnament during the MemorialDay weekend, and they hope thatbowlers throughout the country willmake similar plans in order to keep intouch and look forward to the nexttourney in .1983, i ( ( t u i , .


6/16

6 THE UKRAIN IAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 , 1 9 8 2 No. 6

U k r a i n i a n W e e r lDrawing a blank

Perhaps the biggest bugabo o o f all jou rnalists and edito rs, one thatmay even supplant the hellish nightmare of libel or slander suits (or theprospect of having one's newspaper bought out by Rupert Murdo ch),is the frantic search for an ellusive editorial topic.You see, the news itself is not the problem. For example, this weekwas brimming with interesting and newsworthy items of concern, to .our dear readers in the Ukrainian co mm unity. B ut, here's the rub. F o ra plethora of reasons, none of them warranted editorial comment atthis time.Here's a for-instance. Gro undho g D ay passed without incident savefor the sad fact that the early-February winter doldrums will last atleast ano ther six weeks. N o grist for the edito rial mill there.What abo ut current events, you say? Well, the Madrid Co nference isstill without a modus vivendi, the aftershocks of the Polish putschcontinue to wrack that country, the Polovchak case is still mired in thecourts, our community is st i l l hopeless ly split as "po l it ical" factionsremain at lo ggerheads, and the V ashchenko case continues to bedevilA merican off icia ldom. A s we said, a lot is happening.

Trouble is, over the last several weeks, we gamely put ink to paperand addressed all these issues in this very space.The burning issued of "mixed marriages" offers no succor. Fo r us,the endo gamy debate is a sticky wicket, and w e discreetly let our readersbandy that hot po tato aro und on o ur pages .O ther newspapers, particularly the general-interest dailies; have iteasy. O n slo w days, after offering a co uple o f quicky editorials on theproblems of mass transit or , say, corruption in the sanitationdepartment, they fill in the space with cutesy, homespun yarns aboutthe com ing o f spring, vignettes abo ut the city (The N ew Yo rk Timesgets a lot of mileage out of this genre), or humorous t idbits on thehuman condition rife with clever bon mots.Unfortunately, we have neither the time, the wit nor the inclination

to go that ro ad. We are sure our readers in O ntario o r N orth D ako ta,let alone Munich, would much care for featury editorials waxingwinsome about the wintery landscape of downtown Jersey City fromthe perspective of a harried Ukrainian pedestrian. Would you?Well , enough of these f luffy explanations . N ext week, wel l be backwith the same two-f isted hard-hitt ing commentary you've come toknow and love. Until then, have a nice week wherever you may be.

TO THE WEEKLY CONTRIBUTORS:W e g reat l y app rec i a t e t he mat er i a l s f eat u re ar t i c les , news s tor i es , press

c l i ppings , l e tt e rs t o the edi t or , and t he l i ke w e rece i ve f rom our readers .I n orde r t o fac i l i t a t e prepara t i o n o f The U kra i n i an W eek l y , we ask t hat t he

g u i d e li n e s li st ed b e l o w b e f o l l o w e d . N ews s t or ies shoul d be sent i n not l a t er t han 10 days a f t er t he occur rence o f a

g i ven event .

I n f o r m a ti o n a b o u t u p c o m i n g e v e n ts m u s t b e r e c e i v e d b y n o o n o f t h e M o n d a ybe f ore t he da t e o f The W eek l y ed i t i on i n whi ch t he i n forma t i on i s t o be pub l i shed.

A l l mat er i a l s must be t yped and do u b l e spac ed.

N e w s p a p e r a n d m a g a z i n e c l ip p i ng s m u s t b e a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e n a m e o ft he pub l i ca t i on and t he dat e o f t he edi t i on .

Phot og raphs submi t t ed for pub l i ca t ion must b e b l ack and wh i t e ( o r co l or w i t hgo od cont rast) . They w i l l be re t u rned onl y w hen so requ est ed and acco mpan i edb y a s t a m p e d , a d d re s s e d e n v e l o p e .

C or rect Eng l i sh- l angu age spe l li ngs o f names must be pro v i ded .

o M A T E R I A L S M U S T B E S E N T D I R EC T L Y T O : T H E U K R A I N I A N W E E K L Y , 3 0M O N T G O M E R Y S T . , J ER S EY C I T Y , N . J . 0 7 3 0 2 .

Thank you f or your i n t erest and cooperat i on .

Book notesBasi l ian S isterscompi le h istory

P H I L A D E L P H I A - " V e ss el s o fElection," a history of the Basi l ianSisters compiled in commemoration ofthe 16th centenary of S t. B asil the Greatin 1979, has recently been released.the history was compiled by SisterM. O lha of the Sacred Heart Provincein Philadelphia.The 191-page book, which includesmany historic photographs and illust r a t i o n s , c o n t a i n s a r t ic l e s ' in b o t hEnglish and Ukrainian highlightingvarious aspects of the holy order, abranch o f w hich was first established inUkraine in 1037 when Prince Yaroslavthe Wise founded the Monastery of S t.Irene in .Kiev. ' /D uring the first quarter o f the 20thcentury, the order spread out fromUkraine. The first Basilian foundationoutside Ukraine was created in 1911 inPhiladelphia. In 1917, a branch wasestablished in Yugoslavia, and in 1921,

one was established in Czechoslovakia.That same year, sisters from the Philadelphia monastery went to Clevelandand established what was to become theUniontown Province.In 193S, a foundation was establishedin Hungary, and four years later inA rgentina.A ltho ugh the monasteries in Ukraineand Hungary were closed by communist authorities by the end of WorldWar II, the order now has monasteriesin Italy, Po land, B razil and A ustralia inaddition to those in the United States,Yugo slavia, A rgentina and Czechoslovakia.

A long with histories o f the orders'monasteries around the glo be, the boo kcon tains 16 pages on the 1979 com memoration of 1,600th anniversary of St.B asil's birth, sto ries on the ord ers'educational and social role in Ukrainian community life, including briefhistories of Manor Junior College, theS t. B asil O rphanage and schoo l, and S t.B asil A cademy.The book also includes photographsof the 19 elementary and high schools

under the direction o f the B asilianorder, as well as a list o f contributorsand benefactors.

Directory l istspol i t ical pr isonersB A LTIMORE - "Ukrainian Political Prisoners in the US S R: A D irectory," which lists the names, labor-camp or exile addresses, sentences andother statistical data concerning Ukrainian political prisoners, was recentlypublished here and in Toronto bySmoloskyp Publishers.Information for the 203-page, U-krainian-language pamphlet was compiled by Marta Harasowska. The preface was written by O syp Zinkewych, aSmoloskyp editor.N et roya lties will be used in theinterest of Ukrainian political prisoners in the USSR, according to thepublishers.A copy of the directory may be o btained by sending a donation to Smoloskyp, P .O . B o x 561, Ellicott City, Md.2 1 0 4 3 . In Canada; the address is:Sm olo skyp, P.O . B ox 153, Station "T",T o r o n t o , O n t ., C a na d a M 6 B 4 A I .

Letters to the editorHigh marks forMaday articleD ear Editor:I had the pleasure of reading acomm entary by A ndrij Maday withreference to "The state of contemporaryUkrainian church art and architecture."The commentary appeared in TheUkrainian W eekly dated S unday, Dec .20, 1981.Mr. Maday is to be commended forhis wisdom and enlightenment on theaforementioned subject. The necessaryingredient that will produce icons andchurch buildings to reflect the image ofGod is a constant growth and perfectionof the Ukrainian community's spirituallife. A s Mr. Maday put it, "believing inGod and attending church is notenough."More articles of this nature; ourUkrainian people desperately needthem. Eugenia WasylenkoPhiladelphia, Pa.

Mixed marriages:another reactionD ear Editor:It is sad and sometimes even a tragicevent when families of our children, ouryoung adults, are confronted with amixed-marriage situation. I use theword " confronted" with more than onemeaning in m ind, because it is basicallya serious confrontation during which,more often than not, harsh words areexchanged, feelings are hurt, dreamsand expectations are shattered.

Watching it happen to other people'or just hearing about it one can say: no ,it will never happen to me, after all I wasa "better" parent, I used strictly Ukrainian at home, went to church, involvedmy children in "Ridna Shkola," Plast,SU M-A , etc. B ut it may and, in fact, hashappened to many who least expect it.Many letters have been written andpublished in various ethnic papers,including The Ukrainian Weekly. Manyfacets of the topic have been mentioned,various opinions have been expressed,but some problems or possible problems have been bypassed. S o let memention those in brief, as I feel this typeof newspaper discussion, especially inan English-language publication, isbeneficial,and the English language, likeit or not, is preferred by the majority ofour young people.First and fo remo st, l et's make it clearthat as a rule it is not a question ofethnic o r racial bias, since .we as Ukrainians are a true minority in all aspects.Rather it is a question o f ethnic andcultural, and sometimes even nationaland religious survival, and it is mostserious. We are slowly being suppressed, denationalized, robbed of ourculture, tradition, language and heritage here and in Ukraine.We still have to fight for recognitionof the fact that "Ukraine is not Russia,"even among the most learned" peoplein the news media. O ur students havedifficulties when taking geography orworld histo ry. O ur Catholic priests arenot considered true Catholics becausethey marry (though there are manyimportant differences, they are stillCatholic). O ur O rthodox Church is- labelled Russian. GUI' "varenyky" arePolish "pierogi," "borshch" is Jewish,and "holubtsi" are who knows what,and on and on.

(Cont l iuiedcnpagclS) - ,


7/16

No. 6 T H E U K R A I N IA N W E E K L Y S U N D A Y . F E B R U A R Y 7, 1982 7News and viewsAnti-Semitism and Ukrainophobia: roadblocks to progress

by George WoioshynA number of developments over thelast three to four years bo des well for thefuture of Ukrainian-Jewish relationsand leads one to believe that the cycle ofrecrimination and bigotry will bebroken.In Ukraine, both Ukrainiansand Jews appear to have foundco mm on ground in a mutualstruggle against Soviet tyranny. Slavelabor camps and asylums are excellentbreeding grounds for men o f hono r andgood will to come together to recognizetheir common humanity and respecteach others' aspirations. Here in theUnited States, the unprecedented increase in Jewish-Ukrainian contactsand joint activities is a welcome andlong-overdue phenom enon.On the other, hand, the revival of no tions of Ukrainian anti-Semitism in theaftermath of the "war criminal" triajs hasresulted in a marked setback.The question of "Ukrainian anti-Semitism," and its counterpart "Ukrainophobia" canno t be breezily dismissedby bland denials or simply by listingatrocities perpetrated by the "otherside." Both Ukrainian anti-Semitismand Ukrainophobia are very real andabiding manifestations among certainUkrainians and Jews, respectively.While it is entirely accurate to takethe position that Ukrainians have beencharged with greater crimes and with amuch higher level of anti-Semitism thanis objectively and h istorically the case, itis absurb for us to insist that someUkrainians were not responsible foranti-Semitic outbreaks. Conversely, it

would be equally absurb for Jews todeny their participation in many of thetragedies that have befallen the Ukrainian peo ple. There were and are Ukrainian an ti-Semites just as there were andare Jewish Ukrainophobes.The, fact that the world knows onlyone side's position does not change the

essential validity of that statement.However, to conclude that Ukrainians are anti-Semitic or that Jew s areUkrainophobes is the type of generalizat ion that should be emphatical lyrejected. Despite so me lingering distrustthat both parties have toward eachother, only very tiny fractions of bothpeoples have either participated in oreyen bee,n, inched towards any overtactions against each o ther. Such "anti"feelings and "phobias" that may existare a (regretfully) natural and com mo noccurrence whenever two basical lydistinct groups, each with zealouslyenforced religious beliefs and harboringethnocentric viewpoints, live on thesame land.Ukrainians fall prey to the verycommon error of stereotyping Jewsbased on the actions of the few. Jews,despite their reputation for toleranceand civil libertarianism, are equallycapable of such outrageously biasedstatements as that rendered by a Jewishhistorian on Petliura: "Ukrainian anti-Semitism flows with the mother's milk."What, then, should our own p ositionbe? In the first place, we m ust recogn izethat there is no such thing as "The Jew."There are many Jews some good,some bad, but all essentially concernedwith surviving in what they perceive as ahostile and alien w orld. There are some

who exploit and torment their fellowman - and this type of person has notbeen known to discriminate among hisvictims. It could be a Ukrainian to day, aJew tomo rrow, or a Filipino the nextday. (If we but take note of the surnames of KGB tormentors of our ownpolitical dissidents, it should be quiteobv ious that there is no scarcity of suchhuman debris even among our ownpeople.) While some Ukrainians canrecollect individual Jews who had beeninstrumental in terroristic actions, howmany more were there of Russians,Armenians, yes, even Ukrainians, whoparticipated with them?

Furthermore, we should not overlook the much larger number of Jewswho suffered alongside their Ukrainiancompatriots or even helped them atgreat personal risk. Those who tookpart in anti-Ukrainian activities are nomore representat ive of the Jewishpeople than those U krainians who too kpart in anti-Jewish activities are of theUkrainian peo ple.Secondly, we must bear in mind thatthe perception of Jews as a powerful,conspiratorial world force is vast lyexaggerated. Anybody who has olvserved the internal dynamics of theJewish community knows that they areas deeply factionalized as we are. Bothin and outside Israel, there exist deepsplits and disagreements on how to besthandle the very serious problemsconfronting them. Hence, we need notbe o verly concerned abo ut the "Jewish"attitude towards Ukrainians, for there isno single attitude. Although the U-krainophobic faction does seem to be(Condoned on page 16)

Two co m m unit ies: similar, yet wo rlds ap ar tby J.Y. Hamulak

One can no t say with all certainty howmany Ukrainians live in the UnitedStates. However, we can cite statisticson church aff i l iat ion given in J.P.Kennedy Publications. There are 244,641Ukrainian Catholics, while there are283,685 Carpatho-Rusyn Catholics. Inaddition, it has been estimated thatthere are over 230,000 Orthodox Car-patho-Rusyns, while Orthodox Ukrainians probably do not exceed 200,000.Adding the abo ve figures, we can seethat in the United States there are moreCarpatho-Rusyns than Ukrainians.These two co mmunities wh o speak,pray and sing "po nashomu " - liveworlds apart , not showing nearlyenough interest in each other eventhough, if we ask ourselves that twoethnic gro up are the mo st similar to eachother, we w ould arrive at the conclusionthat the answer is Carpatho-Rusyns andUkrainians.This situation was created long ago.It is a "s ituat ion in which RusynAmericans and Ukrainians live basicallyin the same places but have little or nocontact with each other," says Prof.Paul R. Magocsi in his reply to Prof.Vasyl Markus published in the Suchas-nist journ al. (Excerpts in English translation were also published in the Carpatho-Rusyn American, fall 1981 issue.)"It is unfortunate, but true, that thepsychological gap between the twogroups is de ep. . . ," but "Rusyn andUkrainian immigrants and their descendants in the U.S.A. should notremain separated to the degree that theyhave in the past and are still at thepresent," writes Prof. Magocsi . Toovercome this separat ion "mutualrespect on both sides has to be the basic

precondition," he says.The Ukrainian community, atleast through its leading publications,i.e. Svoboda, America, The UkrainianWeekly, Suchasnist, should inform itsreaders of events in the Carpatho-Rusyn community, especially if, intheory, they co nsider the group part ofthe "larger Ukrainian ethos."We, Ukrainians who are so involvedin our internal problems oftenmaking them seem bigger and moreimportant than they really are have) "room" for the m any important newsitems and events, such as the activitiesof the Carpatho-Rusyn community.This should definitely be changed, if wewant to act like a mature and serious-thinking peo ple.Cracks in the wall

In my conversation w ith a Carpatho-Rusyn community member, he statedthat a big wall was erected betweenCarpatho-Rusyns and Ukrainians. Anycrack in this wall should be utilized tobuild bridges between both communities, which may lead to a completedisappearance of that wall. Perhaps thiswall is a superficial mo nster created byour mutual enemies?Another Carpatho-Rusyn, in a discussion, saidr"Up to now we have beenworking for separation between twocommunities; from now one we shoulddo the reverse, work for unity."Both statements came from the Carpatho-Rusyns who do no t oppo se closercooperation between our two communities. These statements may not reflectthe thinking of all Carpatho-Rusyns,however, they do reflect some or themajority of them.We Ukrainians have to understand

that many Carpatho-Rusyns are highlyeducated and qualified professionals.They can app ly their talents and qualifications for any Am erican comm unity orbusiness. In my contact with them, Istrongly felt that they stand ready tohelp the comm on causes of Carpatho-Rusyns and Ukrainians. And we have lotsof these common causes, for example:preservation o f our Churches, museums,schools , tradit ions , our heritages .Working together we will feel stronger,we will eliminate a lot of confusion forourselves, for our children and grandchildren.Coo peration: what it actually means

"Mutual respect, however, precludesput-downs about the so-called Rusynlack of national consciousness or incorrect use of Ukrainian. It requires,instead, understanding and an effort atlearning and teaching each other,"writes Prof. Magocsi.Let us, Carpatho-Rusyns and Ukrainians, sing our songs, let us dance ourdances at various festivals. We can evenstage a festival for both comm unities -the songs could be Ukrainian, Rusyn orjust plain "ours."(Continued on page 15)

Courts not incatharsis business,columnist aversPHILAD ELPH IA - Philadelphia Inquirer columnist DorothyStorck, who se January 19 column onthe denaturalization trial of Serge

Kowalchuk (The Ukrainian Weekly,January 31) voiced doubts about theuse of Soviet evidence in such proceedings,reported n her January 26column that she has received numerous letters criticizing her stance, mostof them from Jewish organizations.In the original piece, Ms. Storckexpressed concern about the atmosphere of "residual hate" which seemed to shroud the proceedings, notingthat certain Jewish spectators openlythreatened Mr. Kowalchuk in thecourtroom. She went on to say that itseemed regrettable that the "residueof hatred " will probably be passed o n.to future, generation s o f Uk rainiansand Jews.Defending her pos i t i on , Ms .Storck, who covered the trial for fourdays, noted that, despite JewishDefense League claims to the contrary, Mr. Kowalchuk is "innocentuntil proven guilty" and his rightsunder the American legal systemought to be respected.She added: "It seemed to me thatthe issue of the innocence or guilt ofKowalchuk was subordinated to the40-year-old hatreds handed dow nfrom generation to generation - ofpeople w ho have made areligionoutof revenge in the name of justice."Addressing the JDL and otherJewish agitators in the courtroom,

Ms. Storck wrote: "The epithet-hissers in the courtroom, and themembers of the Jewish DefenseLeague who hassled his (Mr. Kowal-chuk's) children and who demonstrated in front of his house, seem tohave forgotten" the fundamentalnot ion of innocent unti l provenguilty.Quoting from a letter from RonaldL. Kaiserman, who said that the trialis a "catharsis" for the families ofHolocaust vict ims, and that theactual innocence or guilt of Mr.Kowalchuk seems less germane than"official recognition that a terriblewrong has occurred," Ms. Storckargued that such a position runs

contrary to the American legal system."1 don4 believe that the Americansystem of justice should be in thebusiness of providing catharsis," Ms.Storck responded. "Theexaminationof guilt or innocence puts enoughburden on it as it is."Ms. Storck ended her piece on aphilosophical note: "...if 'catharsis'was what I was seeing in that courtroom, with spectators urging theirsmall children to hate, then I have towonder if its benefits aren't outweighed by its strain on the humanspirit."

R e m e m b e r o u r b r o t h e r s i n n e e dHave you contributed toward the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchs' fund to helpour needy fellow Ukrainians in Poland?You may forward your donation to your pastor, to the P hiladelphia UkrainianCatholic A rcheporefiy, 815 N. Franklin S t., Ph iladelphia, Pa. 19123; or to theUkrainian National Association, 30 Montgomery St., Jersey City, N.J. 07302.


8/16

8 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 , 1 9 8 2 N o. 6

U k rainian pro hock ey update I f eb y Iho r N . S telm ach . - ^ ^ X

Smyl `steam'-roils overCanuck foes

It is said that you often cannotmeasure the value of a player by hispoints, and it is so. Ukrainian StanSmyl scored only 38 points in his rookieseason, 78 and 63 in his next two, andwas never in contention for Rookie ofthe Y ear honors or M V P, but theVancouver right winger led his side inplus-minus ratings and was in the top 10in the league.Sho rt, yet sturdy at 5`8" and 190poun ds, the young ster plays w ithpower and defenses foes determinedly.He hits with shattering impact and wasone of the few who played with passionfor his side last season and early thisseason. He sets an example for olderplayers with his hustle.C anuck coach Harry Neale says: "Heis the kind of kid you want to bring newblood to a team ." General managerJake Milford says: "I wish we had 10more like him. I guarantee you wed wina heck of a lot more games than we'vebeen winning. He goes all out and givesyou a good game every game."Smyl, w ho pronounces his name"Smeel," says: "I'm small, so I have tobe aggressive to make up for it. I'mhusky, can take a certain amount ofpunishment, and don't mind the hardgoing. It's my game to go for the body. Iguess I'm the kind of guy who makesthings happen. When I get in a game, Itend to stir things up."In one of his team's scrimmages attraining camp, Smyl smacked toughteammate Harold Snepts with a body-check so heavily it slammed him into theend boards and dislodged a couple ofpanes of the protect ive glass . H isreputation was made at that point.He carried his heavy hitting into hisrookie regular season and also scored 10points in his first 11 games, but then, onNovember 1, in C hicago, he took a hitinto the boa rds which bruised his collarbone.Smyl missed 17 games that ye ar, butcame back fearlessly, hitting hard, andtotalled 14 goals and 24 assists in the 62games he played. In his two subsequentseasons he improved to 31-47 for 78 and25-38 for 63 points. Neale says: "Youhave to look past his points. He heldfoes to less points. He seldom lets hiswinger get away. He's up and down allnight, checking closely.""I was taught to play that way and it'sin my nature to play all out. I'm not themost talented player who came into thisleague and IVe got to go to get the mostout of myself and make a place formyself up here," Stan says.Smyl was born in Glendon, Alta., inJan uary 1958, the son of Ber nard,proprietor of Smyl Motors car dealership in St. Paul, and was the third offour sons and three daughters. An olderbrother, D anny, played junior , whileyounger brothers Harvey and Jeff areamateurs now."When you have a large family,especially Ukrainian, it's hard to leavehom e," Stan says. "I was just a kid whenI went to play hockey. I went to Belling-ham, where I boarded with anotherplayer at a family house. I was scared.Soon, I was homesick. But I stuck itout. Then I went to New Westminsterand a place was found for me withanother family."The teams pay your room and boardand you get S20 every two weeks. Youget some good meals and we had a car forsix of us. I went to school and dated alittle, but you can do much without much

money. After awhile, if you're lucky,you meet a nice girl or two and go tosome dances, but you miss your friendsat home. It's hard being away fromhome."However, Sun played so well, he ledNew Westminster to the Mem orial C upfinals four straight years. He averagedbetter than 30 goals and close to 200minutes in penalties a season and wasthe most valuable player of the 1978playoffs w ith 14 goals and 21 assists in20 games."Stanley the Steamer" was, becauseof his hustling style of play, consideredthe most popular player the team hashad. But, because he was not a superiorskater, most teams passed on him in thedraft that summer and when Vancouvertook him in the third round , he was onlythe 40th player picked.

Jack MacD onald and other scoutsrecommended him because of the leadership qualities, dedication to hockey,and dependability they saw in him. Hedid not let them down and was one ofthe bright spots in a gloomy C anuckcampaign. Three years hence, he's stillstruggling to get the club going."When you've been with a winner, asI was in New Westminster, it lets youdown when you land with a loser, butwe have a lot of young players and Ibelieve we're going to get better," hesays.The problem with that is that teamswith young players always expect toimprove, but if the young players aren'tgood enough they're not going to getbetter.Stan Smyl is one of the good ones.Still a bachelor, who loves to water ski

and play baseball back in St. Paulsummers, he takes time to lift weights tobuild his stocky body to strength for thewinters. Ifhecanpickuphisscoringjusta bit, hell be one of the players arounr"whom Vancouver can build a winner.Smyl carefullyweighing his options

This season, however, it isn't the costof groceries or high interest rates whichare weighing heavily on the mind ofStan Smyl these days. It's the cost ofplaying out one's option.Smyl is presently going into hisoption year and his agent is negotiatinga new deal with the Vancouver C anucks. While the C anucks have appreciated his services for the three yearshe's played, they've come pretty cheaply.Smyl signed a three years and an optioncontract when he came out of juniors.Of course, in his second and thirdyears with the club, he was the leadingplus-minus player and in his secondyear he led the club in goals, assists,points and penalty minutes, the onlyman in the league to lead his team in allthree categories.Last year, Stanley, like the entireclub, slipped a little in the second half ofthe season and his stats slowed slightlyover the previous season. It was badtiming for negotiations bound to start.Now they are reaching a crucial point,and Smyl is finding out how tough it isto dig in your heels as a NationalHockey League player.With the possibility of a whole yearw ithout a contract and even morehassles to come next year, plus theproblem of compensation, it's going tocost Smyl at least 540,000 to play out hisoption.On his old contract, he's making justover 560,000 and will this year again ifhe doesn't sign what general managerMilford has offered him. Milford is

talking in the neighborhood of SI 10,000as a base salary for a two- or three-yearcontract, so if Smyl doesn't sign it, hellbe losing 40 G's right off the bat. Even ifhe is able to successfully neg otiate a newdeal next year for what he's asking now- around S 150,000 it does not take agenius to realize that it will take himnearly two years to make up what heloses this year.Is all this hassle worth it? Milford istrying to talk him into signing andcutting his losses, and chances are, thatis what will eventually happen. ButSmyl is not going to go down withoutsome sabre rattling."I'm prepared to play it out, I reallyam," says Smyl with some reluctance."They have to realize that my servicescame pretty cheaply the last couple ofseasons. I wasn't complaining about itand I w on' t complain about i t thisseason. But IVe got to be happy with mycontract. I know that and what they'reoffering me right now will not leave mehappy. It's not that I want to be thehighest paid player on the team oranything, nothing like that at all. ButIVe got to be happy."C a n u c k c a p t a i n K e vi n M c C a r t h yrealized the cost of playing out theoption, and ended up signing."I wasn't really happy with what Igot," says McC arthy. "But theyVe gotyou. You lose so much in playing it out.P l u s t h e p r o b l e m s w e ' v e g o t w i t hsettling on compensation. WeVe allseen what has happened with the baseball strike and nobody wants that forhockey. WeVe almost completely ruledthat out as an alternative."Stan ' s agent , a north V ancouver

lawyer named Ron Perrick, knows fullwell all the ins ami outs, and says hellstart putting on the public heat if theC anucks don 't soon improve their offer."I haven4 played dirty in any of thisbusiness yet , and I don ' t think the

C anucks have gone as far as they will,"he says. "But the way things are going,something's got to give. TheyVe gotsome momentum here in town with thenew C zechs and new Swedes and apublic hassle with a player of Stan'spopularity might hurt."Indeed, Smyl is a crowd favorite, andif anyone on the roster deserves a raise,i t ' s Smyl. To have received performances like he's given out for only560,000 is the GM's dream, from whichMilford is now slowly awakening."I must admit , my contract w asbothering me a bit last year,"says Smyl."I tried not to let it, but it seems to get toyou subconsciously. All I know is thatI'm putting it right out of my mind thisyear no matter what happens. If I sign,fine. If I end up playing out my option,that's okay too."Perrick`s lines like: "Tiiereare 10menin that front-office over there, and noneof them have scored a goal yet" don'tendear him to the club, but he says hedoesn4 have to worry about long-termgood will toward s the clubs like some ofthe other big name agents do."That's why I need the law practice aswell," says Perrick. "What am I going totell Stan? 'Go on sign, I have to makemy rent payments soon!' I can wait outthe Canucks."Will the Steamer get his raise? Staytuned, if you can bear it.SM Y L, STA N LEY PH ILLIP (STA N )Born: Glendon, Alta., Janua ry 28,1958. Right wing, shoots right. 5'8", 200 lbs.(Vancouver's third choice, 4 0th over all, in 1978 amate ur draft)Season

1978-791978-791979-801980-81

C l u b LeagueD allas C H LVancouver NHLVancouver NHLVancouver NHLNHL Totals

G P3627780219

G114312570

A1244 738109

PT S PIM2 938 8978 20463 171179 464

G P G A PT S 12 1 1 24 0 2 23 1 2 39 2 5 7

' I M014014

Ukrainian headlinersW ire service headlines of hockeye x p l o i t s b y U k r a i n i a n N H L s t a r sgathered from around the country.

Hawerchuk powers JetsUPI - When opportunity knocks,Winnipeg's D ale Hawerchuk answers."My biggest asset is puck-handling,"said Hawerchuk, who scored two goalsand added two assists to boost theWinnipeg Jets to a 5-3 victory over theHartford Whalers. "I'm an opportunist.""It 's always good to get a littlerevenge over a team that beat you,"saidH a w e r c h u k , r e f e r r i n g t o t h e J e t s 'snapping a six-game winless stretch,including a 6-1 drubbing by the Whalersat Winnipeg. "This was an importantwin for us because we're fighting for theplayoffs.""D ale's biggest asset is his quickness,"said Winnipeg coach Tom Watt. "He'snot a free flowing skater, but rather adarter."

Ukrainian playerof the week

TOM LYSIAKC hicago Black HawksBy scoring two goals and assisting onthree others, Tom Lysiak is honored as

our weekly star.RUNNER-UP: St. Louis' Mike Zukehad a big scoring week (3G-1A-4PTS),including a pow er play and short -handed effort.

Tom Lysiak


9/16

No . 6 THE UKRA INIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1982 9

P a n o r a m a o f U k r a in i a n c u l t u r e i n t h e B ig A p p leby Helen Perozak S mi n d a k

The trio of cellist N estor Cybriwsky vio linist Helen Strike and pianist Thom asHrynkiw performs to day at the Ukrainian Institute of A merica.You can never have enough of a goodthing, the saying goes.-The Ukrainian Museum, which hascompleted its first five years with flyingcolors, has just announced its springprogram workshops, a benefit concert, an Easter egg exhibit and otherplans. The Ukrainian Institute of America, enthusiastically set on its newmission of becoming the embassy ofUkrainian culture, continues its secondyear of the U krainian C omposers Serieswith a concert by an instrumental triothis afternoon, and is busy setting upcour s es in af f i l i at i on wi t h H ar var dUniversity and Hunter C ollege.Now there is word tha t there will soonbe another center of Ukrainian culturei n t he Bi g Appl e. The ShevchenkoScientific Society, until now located onWest 13th Street in a decaying section ofGreenwich Village, plans to move inton ew q u a r t e r s o n F o u r t h A v e n u e , ablock or so north of the prestigious

C o o p e r A v e n u e ( w h e r e A b r a h a mLincoln made the speech that led to hisnomination for the presidency). Thebuilding, a former bookstore, is solidlybuilt to hold the society's archives andthousands of books, is within a fewblocks of the Big Apple's Ukrainianenclave in the East Village - LittleUkraine, and is close to public transportation (IRT and BMT subway stations).According to D r. Jaroslaw Padoch,the society's president, the new "Houseof Ukrainian C ulture" will concentrateits work on lectures, book publishing,collections of paintings and old maps,and other scholarly pursuits.D r . Padoch and D r. Roman O s in-chuk, head of the building committee,along with engineers and other advisors, examined 27 buildings in the LittleU k r a i n e a r e a b e f o r e s e l e c t i n g t h eFourth Avenue locale. Although manybuildings were attractive, they wereeither too high-priced or physciallyunsound to accept the weight of all thebooks which the society owns.Several months of interior and ext er i or r enovat i on wi l l be needed t oprepare the building for occupancy, but

the society has promised to provide aphotograph of the building as soon asthe facade is ready.Put them all together - museum,institute, scientific society, .Ukra inianAcademy of Arts and Sciences, Schoolof Bandura, choruses and dance groups- and you've got Cu lture with a capitalC !Concerts and courses

The third concert of this season'sU k r a i n i a n C o m p o s e r s S e r i e s a t t h eUkrainian Institute of America willpresent violinist Helen Strike, cellistN estor Cybriwsky and pianist ThomasH r y n k i w . Begi nni ng at 3 p.m., t heprogram will offer som e lovely treasuresof Ukrainian music Vasyl Barvin-sky's Trio in A minor, Victor Kos-senko's Sonata for violin and piano,and two grand work? by Nestor Ny-zhankiwsky.The January program featured worksof Barvinsky and Stanislav Liudkevychperformed by Mr. Hrynkiw and Mr.C ybriwsky. Mr. Hrynkiw provided aski l l ful l r ender i n g of Li udkev ych'sElegy with 18 variations in flat minor,a work composed in 1917 on a popularGalician theme and first used by theRev. O. Zaklynsky in an elegy titled"W here t he C hor nohor a." Toget her ,the artists performed Barvinsky's Variations on a Ukrainian theme for cello andpi ano.The institute recently added a newtype of membership intended to appealto students and young people. For S25 ayear and occasional volunteer services,a s s o c i a t e m e m b e r s m a y a t t e n d a l l

events and meetings (although they donot have voting privileges).The board of directors, which meetsevery week, is presently involved indiscussions and plans for numerousa c t i v i t i e s . G r e a t a s s i s t a n c e h a sbeen given to this endeavor by GeorgeMartynuk, assistant director of corporate comm unications at Turner C onstruction C o., who is making arrangements for the institute to resume offering educational courses in affiliation

w i t h H u n t e r C o l l e g e a n d H a r v a r dUniversity.Mr. Martynuk was introduced as anew member of the institute's publicrelations committee during a dinnermeeting on Janua ry 29 at the Brooklynresidence of D r. Rostyslav S ochynsky,who heads the committee. Two othern e w m e m b e r s , a l s o p r e s e n t ' a t t h emeeting, were Roman Czajkowsky, aN e w Y o r k - b a s e d w r i t e r , a n d A l e xHeiko, president of the Fifth Avenuefirm of Heiko Graphics, Inc.

D r. Sochyn sky rep orted tha t officialsof t he i nst i t ut e and The Ukr ai ni anMuseum, which is seeking larger quarters, had explored the possibility ofmoving the mus eum exhib its and officesto the institute. However, no agreementcould be reached since the museumwould require all the institute space forits needs. He said "the door for positived i a l o g u e i s a l w a y s o p e n " a n d t h a tspecial exhibits might be mounted bythe museum at the institute.According to D r. Sochynsky, thebasic mission of the Ukrainian Instituteis to "assume an important role in thedevelopment, sponsorship and promotion of educational activities which willacquaint the general public with theculture, art and music of the Ukrainiannation." These aims are to be accomplished through exhibits, concerts andlectures that will focus on the history,her i t age and ar t s of t he Ukr ai ni anpeople. The institute Will also sponsorand develop craft workshops and library facilities.

Hatching exciting eventsT h e U k r a i n i a n M u s e u m m a y b ehaving trouble with crowded facilities,but it appears to have no lack of ideasand plans for activities.With Easter only weeks away (eightweeks for some people, nine weeks forthose who follow the Eastern Orthodoxchurch calendar), it's not too early tothink of Easter eggs and egg-decoratingworkshops. The museum has alreadyhatched plans for such events.Here are the details: An exhibit ofUkrainian Easter eggs (pysanky) will bedisplayed from M arch 6 to May 16, withmore than 400 superbly crafted pysankyfrom the museum's collection presenting a spectrum of color and design.How-to demonstrations are scheduledfor M arch 6 and 7 and April 10, whileworkshops for children and adults willbe held on weekends from March 13 toApril 10. For further informa tion callthe museum at 228-0110.

A benefit concert in aid of the mu-suem will bring two bright stars of themusic world soprano Iryna Wel-hasch and pianist Juliana O sinchuk -to the stage of New York University'sEisner and Lubin Auditorium on March28.The spring calendar of events inc l u d e s i n c l u d e s a n e m b r o i d e r ycourse directed by Lubov Wolynetzandwoodcarving classes taught by IvanS y m c z y k a n d s u p e r v i s e d b y m a s t e rs c u l p t o r a n d w o o d c a r v e r Mycbaj loCzereszniowskyj. The first sessions wereheld this w eekend, but it is still possibleto join by calling the museum this week.Registration fees are very reasonable,and young sters under 16 years of agemay attend free of charge.Further along the spring horizon is anexhibit w hich will focus on the architectural riches of Kiev which have beendestroyed. "The Lost Architecture ofKiev" will be shown through plans,drawings and blown-up photographs,together with a slide show and commentary. Titus Hewryk of Philadelphia iscurator of the exhibit, set to run fromMay 29 through July 27.As a member of the New York C onvention and Visitors' Bureau, the museum is listed in the bureau's QuarterlyC alendar of Events for 1981-82 and inthe Visitors' Shopping Guide to NewYork C ity. The calend ar includes acolor illustration of one of the Ukraini an r i t ual cl ot hs i n t he museum'scurrent exhibit.

Bread and PuppetOne of the mem bers of the cast of The

Bread and Puppet Theater Co mpany,now playing a three-week run at theTheater for the New C ity, 162 SecondAve., is 25-year-old Michael Romany-shyn. A native of Vermont who hasbeen performing with the troupe forseven years, Mr. Romanyshyn is ofUkrainian stock (his Ukrainian fatherand Polish mother migrated to thiscountry from western Ukraine). Thegroup's artistic director, George tenieff, also claims Ukrainian nationality, since his father was born in Kherson. D uring the past week, the companypresented "The Story of One Who SetOut to Study Fear," a Grimm fairy taleturned into a parable about the apocalypse, a play in which the troupe'spuppets resemble iconographic figures.New York Times reviewer Mel Gussowfound an evening in the theater "pertinent as well as palatable" because of the(Continued on pate 14)

A scene from the Bread and Puppet Theater Co mpany's presentation o f "The Storyof One Who Set Out to Study Fear."


10/16

10 T H E U K R A I N I A N W E E K L Y S U N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 7 , 1 9 8 2 , ESS

'Th e Helm of Destiny": a film in the making

Filmart productions crew shooting the Svobo da press for the UN A Dim, "The Helm o f D estiny." Crew members, left toright: Barbara Becker, sound engineer; Slavko N owytski, pro duc er/d irecto r; Yur i Denysenko , cameraman; T omAnderson, assistant cameraman. Seen on the left is Svoboda pressman S tas Ma gin.

To make any film takes much time,effort, talent and money. To make adocumentary film on the Ukrainianexperience in the United States, fromthe first immigrants to the present, is amonume ntal task. The UN A decidedsuch a film is needed, and committeditself to financing it. The actual task ofputting the whole project together fell toDirector/ Producer Slavko Nowytskiand his company, Filmart Productions,I n c .It was decided tha t the film w ould betold mainly by Americans of Ukrainiandescent who would tell that segment ofthe story which they themselves experienced. A narra tor would fill in otherinfor ma t ion, es pecial ly of the ear lyperiods of Ukrainian immigration, towhich no witnesses are alive today.The film does n ot duplicate any of theexcellent written material on the subj ec t , s i nce i t i s pr imar i ly a v i sualmedium, and speaks directly to theemotions. Research led to the discoveryof rare photographs and old motionpicture film. Other archival materialsused were drawings, etchings, paintingsand maps.The English-language film (Ukrainianversion may follow), will tell the story ofUkrainians who they are, where theycame from, why they came to America,and what contributions they and theirchildren made to this new land. Evenwith only the most prominent Ukrainian-Americans featured, it was impossible to list a ll those who con tributedto the American way of life in such areasas science, sports and the arts.As a non-partisan film, it does notdeal with the various political groups,but rather presents the goals common toall political and social organizations.The f i lm 's r es t r i c t e d f r amew orknecessarily omitted many Ukrainianevents and institutions. It is importantto realize, however, that it is not thefunction of the film to docu men t allUkrainian-related activities, but ratherto present to the public at large enoughof the f lavor of the Ukrainian experience to acquaint them with a smallbut important segment of their society.The emphasis is on people and theculture they are nurturing, preservingand adapting to the American environment.

Preliminary research and scriptwrit-ing began in early 1980. Since the filmwas aimed primarily at the non-Ukrainian-speaking audience, Mr. Nowytskih i r ed award-winning wr i t e r LanceSherman Belville to write the script. Mr.Belville, who is playwright-in-residenceat the M innesota Playwrights Lab andwrites historical plays for the GreatNorth American History Theatre, hasnot only a strong professional background in history (incidentally, he isdescendant of the Civil War's GeneralSherman), but also a good knowledgeof the Ukrainian community throughhis many years of associat ion withmembers of the Ukrainian community,especial ly in New York Ci ty. Mr.Belville has also worked with SlavkoNowytski on other award-winning filmprojects.The actual f i lming began whereUkrainian life in the United States ofAmer i ca began: i n t he coal -miningareas of eastern Pennsylvania. Early inOctober 1980, Mr. Nowytski'sfilmcrewwas led by the UNA'S Stefan Hawryszthrough various raining communities,

retracing the steps of the early pioneers.The crew consisted of: Mr. Nowytski,producer /di rector ; Yur i Denysenko,cameraman; Barbara Becker , soundengineer ; and Ma r t a Kichorowsky,production assistant.In the following week many pioneersand

the ukrainian weekly 1982-06

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