19 November 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
Remembering the victims of the Holodomor
On Saturday, 23 November 2013, the international community will pay tribute to the innocent victims of the Holodomor, the 1932-33 genocide of the Ukrainian nation.
Eighty years ago, in an attempt to silence the Ukrainian nation and quell its aspirations for independence, Stalin’s totalitarian regime sentenced millions of our people to death by starvation. “Ukraine is now of the utmost importance … If we do not deal with the situation in Ukraine, we can lose Ukraine forever …”, wrote Joseph Stalin in 1932 to the Secretary of the Communist Party, Lazar Kaganovich.
Despite the decades-long efforts by communist authorities, and attempts by other contemporary forces to disinform and erase from human memory the horrific experiences of the Holodomor, the world today knows the facts about this genocide.
Archival documents, scholarly research and testimonies by survivors have contributed to the recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian nation by 16 countries.
We must ensure that future generations continue to remember these tragic pages of our historyand that the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932-33 be widely recognized in the world.
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls upon its member organizations to continue raising awareness of the Holodomor and to work, specifically, toward inclusion of this topic in educational and scholarly programs in their countries of residence.
On Saturday, 23 November 2013, International Holodomor Memorial Day, the UWC calls upon:
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the international community to participate in commemorative initiatives scheduled in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor; -
all Ukrainian churches and community organizations to organize memorial servicesand commemorative initiatives, including the participation of not only the broader Ukrainian community, but representatives of government, non-governmental organizations and local residents; -
the international community to:-
remember the victims of the Holodomor with a moment of silence at 19:32 local time; -
light candles of remembrance in homes; -
participate in local commemorative events and memorial services.
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May our memory of the victims of the Holodomor-Genocide remain eternal.
Ukraine remembers – the World acknowledges!
Media Contact: Irene Mycak
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS
145 Evans Ave., Suite 207
Toronto, ON
M8Z 5X8 Canada
website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
