It was with outrage and disgust that Ukraine and the international community learned about the desecration of the statue at the Holodomor Memorial in Kyiv on Aug. 21. The bronze statue Bitter Memory of Childhood represents the memory of millions murdered in Joseph Stalin’s act of genocide, the Holodomor, and those who survived, and is dedicated to the most vulnerable victims of starvation – children.
We should be clear – this was not just an act of vandalism or hooliganism.
It was an outright message of denial and provocation consistent with many attempts over 85 years to eradicate this horrific episode in history.
The planning and timing around the 29th Anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence were, on one hand, to distract and on the other, to send a message. It failed miserably on both accounts. It only increased the resolve to Ukrainianize Ukraine, remember, and respect. It also exposes the fifth column working within Ukraine.
The statue will be repositioned within a noticeably short time. It will again rise and be the symbol of remembrance and hope.
Those responsible for the action and the planning behind this need to be found and feel the full brunt of the law. Anything less would be unacceptable. The president and the government must act to show that not only do we remember the Holodomor, but anyone who walks over the corpses of those perished will be severely punished. The law under which those responsible are tried should not stop at vandalizing public property, but condemn this as an act against the Ukrainian nation
Having been actively involved in the planning and the monitoring of the construction of the Holodomor Monument during the presidency of Victor Yushchenko as the chair of the Ukrainian World Congress Holodomor Committee and co-chair of the Joint International Committee with Ivan Vasiunyk, then deputy prime minister, the intention of erecting this monument was based on the motto we devised and continue to use today – Ukraine Remembers, The World Acknowledges.
I clearly remember the lengthy discussions within the committee with folk artist and designer Anatoliy Haydamaka about the conceptualization, design, and significance of the statue of a young girl holding wheat – remembrance and hope. The vandals have endeavored to trash both.
The reaction within Ukraine and in the international community to the disgusting act of desecration shows that the motto over the past years has raised awareness and garnished support to have the Holodomor, those who perished and those who survived, respected and entrenched in the nation’s and the international community’s psyche and spirit.
This entrenchment will be solidified by the building of the International Holodomor Museum currently being erected. A joint project by the government of Ukraine, civil society in Ukraine and the diaspora through the Ukrainian World Congress.
It should be noted, the Kyiv Holodomor vandalism is only one part of a concerted international campaign vandalizing monuments and structures internationally that represent Ukraine’s struggle against Russian imperialism. Defacing of monuments to the OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – Ukrainian Insurgent Army), the Halychyna Division, and historical leaders who led the charge has become more prevalent in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Why? An attempt to denigrate, put down, cast shadows on Ukraine’s legitimacy in its struggle against Russian imperialism and German fascism.
There is no doubt that the spreading of anti-Ukrainian propaganda disinformation, slandering of Ukrainian community organizations and its leaders is a concerted and planned campaign by Russia and its international moles. The net is closing in to expose those responsible.
Ukraine, Ukrainians, the organized Ukrainian community is united and resilient and these attacks on the Holodomor, on our symbols and monuments solidifies the Ukrainian community and its resolve to not only combat these attacks but promote the truth.
These acts, publications are the same old, same old then Soviet, now Russian propaganda strategies and tactics.
The Ukrainian World Congress has called on the president of Ukraine, the interior minister, and the minister of culture to act swiftly and decisively in bringing the perpetrators of the Holodomor vandalism and those who undermine and operate as the fifth column to justice.
Why? Out of respect to those who we remember and to those who will be the future.
Stefan Romaniw is the first vice president of the Ukrainian World Congress and chairman of the Ukrainian World Congress Holodomor Coordinating Committee.
(Note: On July 21, 2020, the Holodomor National Awareness Tour (HNAT), a project of the Canada Ukraine Foundation, launched an innovative campaign to get the term Holodomor included in all major English language dictionaries. Ukrainian World Congress supports this campaign and urges everyone to sign the petition to include the term Holodomor included in all major English language dictionaries. More information about the campaign and the petition can be found here at deeptruth.ca
