Ukrainian Americans honor Chernobyl victims

 Last Sunday, the Southwest Florida Ukrainian American community commemorated, with Ukrainians in Ukraine and throughout the world, the 29th anniversary of the worst peacetime nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then known as Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, a de-facto colony of Communist Russia. The rulers of the then-Soviet Russia, masquerading as Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), were not anxious to divulge the fact of the explosion until Sweden and other European countries had discovered extremely high levels of radiation, and subsequently did their best to minimize the catastrophe and the loss of human lives resulting from it. The radiation resulting from the explosion was 300 times that of Hiroshima.

    The cost of the tragedy is being borne by Ukraine and will not be eliminated soon. As an example, the city of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, had to set aside 134 million hryvnyas for medical treatment of victims of Chernobyl and their children. Other localities are forced to do the same for their residents. And to complete the “sarcophagi” to cover Block 4 of the Chernobyl AES, now in progress, an additional 500 million euros are needed, which Ukraine does not have at this time.

    The commemoration in Ukraine took various forms, from the laying of flowers at the monument honoring the first responders (firefighters and military personnel without anti-radiation protection), to the “Chernobyl Waltz” by university students in Lviv, to a personal visit of President Petro Poroshenko to the Chernobyl plant and vicinity.

    The North Port and Southwest Florida Ukrainian American community commemorated the victims of the tragedy by attending a special prayer service, “Panakhyda” at the end of Sunday’s divine liturgy (Mass) at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. The service, sponsored by the Coordinating Committee of Ukrainian American Organizations in North Port and vicinity, headed by Roma Guran of Venice, was celebrated by the Rev. Dr. Severyn Kovalyshin, pastor; the Rt. Rev. Mitrate Archpriest Wolodymyr Woloszczuk, pastor-emeritus; and a visiting priest of Ansonia, Conn. The church choir, under the direction of Lubow Ingram, sang the responses, and representatives of all local clubs and organizations marched in and stood in the main aisle holding lighted candles. Leading the procession and holding the candles at the front of the group were representatives of the Ukrainian American Veterans Post 40, National Chaplain Marian Bojsiuk and yours truly (past national commander), representing post commander Col. Roman Rondiak, USA (Ret.), who was out of town.
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    Post 40 of the UAV will meet at 3 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Religious and Cultural Center (known as “the Oseredok”) in North Port. The meeting will be chaired by Post Vice Commander Col. Roman Synychak, USAF (Ret.).

    The Milena Rudnytska branch 56 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, known as “Soyuz Ukrayinok” (union of Ukrainian ladies), headed by Ann-Marie Susla of Englewood, will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Oseredok.

    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

 

Chernobyl disaster remembered

Twenty-nine years ago on April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl (or “Chornobyl”) nuclear power plant in Ukraine, officially known at the time as Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, exploded and covered most of the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the southwest part of Russia with massive deadly radiation. The puppet government of the Ukrainian SSR had control over neither Chernobyl nor any other nuclear power plants in Ukraine. The Kremlin in Moscow had full control of everything. If there would have been a way to control radiation from “escaping” outside of the Soviet Union (like it was pretty effectively done with news about the life of Soviet citizens), the world would have been unaware of this disaster. Unfortunately for Soviet Russia, high levels of radiation were discovered in Sweden and eventually also in other countries, and Moscow had to admit that there was an explosion and radiation was leaking.

    The actual number of victims of the disaster will never be known, because the official report stated that only a handful of responders were killed, and the number of individuals who died from radiation-caused illnesses was never reported. Many cause-of-deaths were listed as other than radiation.

    The nuclear disaster forced hundreds of thousands of people of this Kyivan Polissia region to leave their homes and villages.

    North Port branch 56 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, known as “Soyuz Ukrayinok” (union of Ukrainian ladies), headed by Ann-Marie Susla of Englewood, organized and presented a Chernobyl exhibit last Sunday as part of the Earth Day program at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey. The exhibit was set up by UNWLA members Neonilia Lechman and professor Vira Bodnaruk, both of Venice, with their husbands, Wolodymyr Lechman and Dr. Bohdan Bodnaruk, providing much-needed assistance. Many UNWLA members and guests came to the exhibit and assisted Neonilia and Vira, including Ann-Marie and John Susla, Areta and George Baranowskyj, Vira Hrabetz, Tania Silecky, Slawa Maluk, Lesia Popel, Christyna Bodnar-Sheldon, Lidia and Eugene Mychalowych, Ina Kolesnichenko, Bohdanna Bilowchtchuk and Iwanna Holowaty.

    This Sunday, immediately following the divine liturgy (Mass), there will be “Panakhyda” (special prayer service for the dead) celebrated for the repose of souls of all victims of the Chernobyl disaster. The service is sponsored by the Coordinating Committee of Ukrainian American clubs and organizations of North Port and vicinity, headed by Roma Harasymiak-Guran of Venice. Representatives of local organizations, including Cpl. Roman

G. Lazor Post 40 of the Ukrainian American Veterans, Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida and others, will hold lighted candles during the service.
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    The Chornobyl Songs Project Concert will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday in New York City at the Ukrainian Museum at 222 E. Sixth St. The ensemble “Hilka” and ethnomusicologist/ singer Maria Sovevytsky (of Bard College) will feature the polyphonic village singing styles of Ukraine’s Chernobyl region. The Yara Arts Group and Veveritse Brass Band will join the performance.

    The featured Chernobyl songs are part of the about-tobe released CD by Smithsonian Folkways, “Chornobyl Songs Project: Living Culture from a Lost World by Ensemble Hilka.”

    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

 

New leadership at ‘Oseredok’

    St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Religious and Cultural Center, known to Ukrainians as the “Oseredok” (center), the cultural, nonpolitical and nondenominational center of the Southwest Florida Ukrainian American community, held its annual membership meeting last month, 40 years after the first organizational meeting of 12 Ukrainian American families on Jan. 14, 1975, at the home of the late Vasyl and Tetyana Chubaty in North Port.

    The meeting was chaired by past president of the Oseredok, Roman Shramenko, who also presented a brief but very detailed history of the center, from the aforementioned first meeting through the growth of the community, construction of the building, blessing of the building by both Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox clergy who had relayed the blessings of two metropolitans, Mstyslav Skrypnyk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Myroslav Lubachivsky of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and development of various activities and programs that both united and still serve the Southwest Florida Ukrainian American community, including many Canadian Ukrainians who either settled here or visit the area regularly.

    Shramenko especially acknowledged the important role in the first several years of the organizational and construction activities of the late Canadian Federal Senator Paul Yuzyk, who visited this area every summer with his wife Maria, and the first president of the Oseredok, the late Volodymyr Riznyk and his wife Paulina. Yuzyk and Riznyk were natives of Canada and the United States, respectively, yet they were very active in the Ukrainian Canadian and Ukrainian American churches and organizations all their lives, and their contribution to the organizing of the Oseredok and establishing it as the center of the community were immeasurable.

    Following the mandated reports of officers and committee chairs, election of new Oseredok leadership for the year 2015-2016 took place. Elected were: professor Victor Lisnyczyj, president; Daria Tomashosky, vice president; Dr. Bohdan Bodnaruk, secretary; Mykola Kompanijec, treasurer; Klara Szpiczka, Membership Committee chair; professor Vira Bodnaruk and Halyna Lisnyczyj, Cultural Affairs Committee co-chairs; Maria Nikitin, Social Services; Eugene Tomashosky, property manager; and three members-at-large, Anna Macilienski, Orysia Swystun and Vladimir Szpiczka. Auditing Committee members are Mykola Weremijenko, Odarka Horbachevsky and Victor Kaplij.
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    Ukrainian Christians in Ukraine and many Ukrainian Americans and Ukrainian Canadians, including our Southwest Florida community, celebrated last Sunday “Velykden” (greatest day, as Ukrainians refer to Easter). In preparation for the holiday, there were traditional blessings of festive food baskets last Saturday afternoon at both North Port Ukrainian churches. Special services and a solemn divine liturgy containing resurrection canons and prayers appropriate for Easter took place last Sunday. After the church services, there were communal Easter dinners in the church halls for parishioners and guests who preferred not to have Easter dinner at their homes.

    My lovely and loving wife Katrusia, confined to a wheelchair, nevertheless decided to prepare both a food basket for the blessing (which I was happy to take to the church to be blessed last Saturday), and almost a full Easter dinner, which we enjoyed last Sunday at home with our visiting oldest son, Alexander Zenon Kobryn of Lakeland. Katrusia and I appreciate the generosity and friendliness of the local chapter of “Soyuz Ukrayinok” for a gift of Easter goodies, including “babka,” before the holidays.

    In Ukraine, both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are legal national holidays, and Easter Tuesday is also a holiday, with religious services only.

    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

Ukrainian American Club scholarship winner named

The annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon sponsored by the Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida, headed by Daria Tomashosky of North Port, held March 31 at Heron Creek Golf & Country Club was a resounding success. After welcoming and greeting members and guests, introducing several important guests, and conducting a brief business meeting, Daria asked the Very Rev. John Fatenko, pastor of Southwest Florida Ukrainian Orthodox faithful and the de facto Ukrainian American Club’s chaplain, to provide the invocation, then turned the meeting over to professor Victor Lisnyczyj, chairman of the Scholarship Committee. Over 70 members and guests then enjoyed a delicious buffet luncheon provided by Heron Creek’s catering service, with cake and coffee for dessert.

    Lisnyczyj introduced all members of the Scholarship Committee — Lidia Bilous, Ihor W. Hron, Christyna Sheldon, Katherine Steciuk and Eugene Tomashosky, then presented a slide show of all past scholarship recipients. Letters from the three scholarship recipients were read by Katherine Steciuk (2011 recipient Francesca Tebano), Ihor W. Hron (2012 recipient Kayley M. Taylor) and Lidia Bilous (2014 recipient Shaye W. McKee).

    The most important segment of the gathering, the presentation of this year’s Scholarship Award, followed. Lisnyczyj introduced the 2015 award recipient, Port Charlotte High School graduating senior Valerie Segebre, and her parents, and presented her with a $1,000 scholarship. After reading her winning essay, Valerie spoke briefly, expressing her appreciation for the award. The affair concluded with photographs of Valerie with her family and with the Scholarship Awards Committee.
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    The April monthly membership meeting of North Port’s Cpl. Roman G. Lazor Post 40 of the Ukrainian American Veterans at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Religious and Cultural Center (known as the “Oseredok”) last Friday was chaired by Post Commander Col. Roman Rondiak, USA (Ret.). After the traditional formalities (salute and Pledge of Allegiance, invocation and moment of silence for departed comrades), post finance officer Oleh Sawkiw presented his report, which was approved after a brief discussion. The minutes of the previous meeting, distributed via mail and email, were also approved.

    Members then discussed the plans for activities during the next three months, including the post’s participation in the Chernobyl disaster commemoration, Venice Memorial Garden’s Memorial Day program on May 22, “Panakhyda” (brief prayer service) May 26 for the repose of souls of all departed veterans, and the community Memorial Day observance at North Port’s Veterans Park on May 25, as well as May and June monthly membership meetings. The next meeting will be held at 3 p.m. May 1 at the Oseredok.
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    Ukrainian Christians in Ukraine and many Ukrainians, Ukrainian Americans and Ukrainian Canadians outside of Ukraine, including our community in Southwest Florida, will celebrate this Sunday the “Greatest Day,” or “Velykden,” as Ukrainians refer to the Easter holiday.

    The celebration on Sunday will be preceded by a series of Passion services today through Saturday. The blessing of traditional Ukrainian Easter food baskets containing babkas and paskas (special Ukrainian Easter breads), sausage, ham, cheese, butter, eggs and “pysanky” (artistically hand-decorated Easter eggs) and horseradish will be held Friday afternoon at both Ukrainian churches in North Port. 

 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