UNWLA branch members meet, make plans

     The North Port Milena Rudnycka Branch 56 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America — UNWLA, commonly referred to as “Soyuz Ukrayinok” (Union of Ukrainian Ladies) — headed by Ann-Marie Susla of Englewood held its first post-vacation meeting last week. In addition to the customary reports of officers and committee chairs the meeting was devoted to planning the traditional and very popular fall picnic, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19.

    Another topic was the upcoming National UNWLA Board meeting, which will take place Sept. 19-21 at the Ukrainian National Association Estate “Soyuzivka” in Kerhonkson, N.Y. This will be the first meeting of the National UNWLA Board elected at the UNWLA National Convention in May. It will be chaired by UNWLA President Marianna Zajac.

    There will be three members from Florida attending that meeting: Lidia Bilous, branch 56 member, Social Welfare National Chair; Orysia Zinycz, branch 56 member, Co-Liaison for Branches at Large; and Olya Czerkas, branch 124 (St. Petersburg) member, Co-Liaison for Branches at Large.

    There are 18 UNWLA Branches at Large. Branches not affiliated with UNWLA Regional Councils, include branches 56 and 124 with more than 400 members.

    International Day of Peace

    This Sunday, Sept. 21, in addition to being the official first day of autumn, will be observed as the International Day of Peace. This Sunday at noon in every time zone, a moment of silence will be observed. There are many areas of the world where “peace” is an unknown commodity, including a large part of my native Ukraine.

    Since the Russian President Putin decided to ignore the international law and his country’s formal commitment to honor and preserve the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and blatantly violated the territory of Ukraine by annexing one part — Autonomous Republic of Crimea — and sending his agents and military units into other section of Ukraine, there are shootings and killings of both military personnel and civilians with no hope for real peace. After it was finally agreed to suspend the fighting, and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko ordered the Ukrainian Armed Forces to observe the moratorium, Putin’s agents, some masquerading as “separatists,” and Russian military units, continue to violate the agreed upon moratorium by continuously bombarding the Ukrainian positions and civilian objects.

    What is ‘Liberation ?’

    Seventy-five years ago, Sept. 17, 1939, in accordance with the agreement between Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Russia (masquerading as Soviet Union), Stalin’s Red Army attacked Poland from the East while Hitler’s Wehrmacht was moving from the West. As it is typical for the Russian propaganda which consists of lies and no real truth, the official version of Stalin’s propaganda machine was “the liberation of brotherly Ukrainians and Byelorussians from capitalist yoke.”

    This “liberation” ended in 1941 by another “liberation,” this time by the Nazi Germany, which then was followed by yet another “liberation” in 1944 by the Russian Army. As a result of these “liberations,” thousands of peaceful and innocent Ukrainians were executed (Russian KGB did it clandestinely; the Nazi Gestapo — publicly), hundreds of thousands deported, and several millions perished as a result of military operations.

    Atanas Kobryn covers the Ukrainian community for the North Port Sun. He can be emailed at atanask@aol.com.

Our Neighbors — The Ukrainians

 by Atanas Kobryn