On November 18, 2021, the Global Holodomor Descendants’ Network, in collaboration with the Holodomor Descendant Networks in Canada and the United States, held an inaugural webinar on the long-term effects of the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine – Holodomor and the Nation: Multigenerational Effects. The virtual event brought together more than 500 participants who had the opportunity to hear leading experts from Ukraine and Canada and ask questions.
The webinar, dedicated to the 88th anniversary of the tragedy, began with a moment
of silence in memory of the victims of the Holodomor.
“We now know that the Holodomor-Genocide has had long lasting psychological and physiological effects on generations of Ukrainians as well as on our culture and evolution as a nation. We must raise the awareness among Descendants of Holodomor victims of the long lasting effects of the Holodomor Genocide that have an impact on our lives and our nation in order to understand and heal. That is one of the key goals of the Holodomor Descendants Network which seeks to unite Holodomor descendants globally to honor and memorialize their family experience during the Holodomor, raise awareness of the long lasting effects on generations and dispel disinformation about the Holodomor spread by its deniers”, said Olya Soroka, Chair of the Global Holodomor Descendants’ Network.
During the opening of the webinar, Stefan Romaniw, First Vice President of the UWC and Chair of the UWC
International Coordinating Committee for Holodomor Awareness and Recognition, addressed all present.
Reports on the expansive consequences of the Holodomor were presented by Anton Drobovych, Chair of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory; Brent Bezo, PhD and Professor of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa; and Ivan Petrenko, PhD in History and Deputy Director of the Holodomor Research Institute.
During the webinar, Anton Drobovych spoke about the importance of understanding the history of the Holodomor tragedy and explained how circumstances left unspoken during the Holodomor, as well as fear, shame, and death, still leave a certain sense of alienation in Ukrainian society. According to Ivan Petrenko, during the Holodomor genocide, Ukrainians suffered not only enormous human losses but also irreparable psychological and cultural damage. There was a disfigurement of Ukrainian culture and consciousness.
“The Holodomor of 1932-1933, which claimed millions of lives of Ukrainians by forced starvation, still exerts substantial effects on generations born decades later. The intergenerational impacts seem to vary among Ukrainians living in Ukraine and Canada,” said Brent Bezo, summing up the results of his extensive research.
“Only when we understand and come to terms with our past will we be able to build our future. We, the children and grandchildren of Holodomor survivors, have a duty to tell their stories and ensure that this unspeakable tragedy of the Ukrainian nation is not forgotten,” said Kateryna Yushchenko, webinar moderator and Ambassador of the Holodomor Descendants Network.
