Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union News
International Torch Relay Commemorating 75th Anniversary of Stalin's Genocide Against Ukraine to Arrive in Chicago
CHICAGO, May 9 PRNewswire — An International Holodomor Remembrance Flame commemorating the 75th anniversary of Stalin's genocide against Ukrainians is scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Saturday 10 May 2008 11:00 am at Millennium Park's Wrigley Square (corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph).
The International Holodomor Remembrance Flame left Australia last month on a worldwide tour. It will travel through 33 countries, including 23 cities in the United States, before reaching Ukraine in November 2008 to be part of the official state commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Ukraine's Genocide of 1932-1933.
The torch relay was organized to help raise awareness of the forced famine in Ukraine in 1932-33, during which 10 million innocent victims were starved to death in a deliberate Soviet policy to crush the nationally conscious and independent-minded Ukrainian peasantry, at a time when the USSR was aiming to rapidly collectivize its agriculture.
Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, which in 2007 provided over one million dollars of financial as well as in-kind support to Chicago's Ukrainian-American community is proud to be a part of Saturday's observance.
Background:
At the height of the man-made famine, Ukrainian villagers were dying at the rate of 25,000 per day, or 17 per minute, resulting in one of the worst cases of man's inhumanity towards man, and perhaps the most extreme example of the use of food as a weapon. The genocide is known in Ukrainian as Holodomor — murder by starvation.
"The International Holodomor Remembrance Flame torch relay provides the Ukrainian American community with an opportunity to continue reminding the world about Stalin's attempt to eradicate the Ukrainian nation by starving its people," said Michael Sawkiw, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and chairman of the National Committee to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-33. "More than 20% of the population died as a result of the famine. At least three million of the victims were children," he said.
Escorted by Ukraine's Ambassadors and Consul Representatives, the International Holodomor Torch arrived in the United States from Canada on May 4, 2008, and is making its way to 23 US cities before heading to South America on May 31st. During its journey through the United States, the Torch will visit various cities where sizable Ukrainian American communities reside, including: Seattle, WA; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI; Cleveland, OH, Pittsburgh, PA; Buffalo, NY; Rochester/Syracuse, NY; Hartford, CT; Boston, MA; Yonkers, NY; Binghamton, NY; Albany, NY; Middlefield, OH; Ellenville/Kerhonkson, NY; South Bound Brook, NJ; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; and, Washington, DC.
The International Holodomor Remembrance Flame torch relay also serves as a reminder that genocides are still occurring around the world today. "As citizens of a free society," noted Sawkiw, "it is our duty to recognize,
acknowledge and promote the truth about the Holodomor, so that such atrocities against humanity are never repeated." he said.
Despite strenuous objections by the government of Russia, the successor state to the USSR, the Holodomor has been officially recognized as genocide by a number of countries.
For more information please visit: http://www.ukrainegenocide.org National Committee to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-1933 203 Second Avenue * New York, NY 10003 Tel (212) 228-6840 * fax(212) 254-4721 Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union 2332 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 773-328-7540 773-328-7553
SOURCE Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union
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