Last Thursday young people were handing out leaflets to passersby in the streets of ancient Kamianets. “Don’t forget to light a candle in your window!” the leaflets read. People hurrying past, preoccupied with their errands (or those who cared?) stopped to talk with the young men and women. They listened and talked.
The young people handing out these printed reminders are students at Kamianets-Podilsky State University. “As future journalists, they are drawing public attention to the fact that our city still does not have any memorial to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor,” said Professor Mykola Vaskiv, head of the Department of Theory and History of Journalism and Ukrainian Literature. He thinks that studying the life and work of James Mace has had an impact on his students. “It was Mace’s idea to organize the large-scale action ‘A Candle in the Window’ in 2003. Unfortunately, not everyone has heard his frank appeal,” Vaskiv continued.
The professor then mentioned the background to this issue. “The Day’s editor in chief Larysa Ivshyna visited our university in spring 2006. She found the time to attend a launch of the book Day and Eternity of James Mace, which was published as part of The Day’s Library Series, at a university located far from Kyiv. In her talks with the students and lecturers, she spoke about historical memory as the key to understanding what is happening to us.”
The book launch was a huge success. The participants showed their deep interest in the personality of Dr. Mace, the premier researcher of the Holodomor, and to The Day, where he used to work. “Our budding journalists, who are always faced with a choice concerning problems of professional ethics and life and professional priorities, picked up a lot from this meeting with The Day’s editor. That was when I enthusiastically accepted her suggestion to introduce a course that would help journalism students explore Mace’s scholarly and creative work. This is how An Introduction to Journalism appeared: it is a series of lectures and seminars on problems of journalism viewed through the prism of the life and activity of an American who was more Ukrainian than some of our fellow countrymen,” Prof. Vaskiv said.
On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor he organized a roundtable talk on the “Role and Place of James Mace and The Day in the Informational Policy with Regard to the Commemoration of the Victims of the Holodomor.”
WHY JAMES MACE?
Mykola VASKIV: “I am grateful to Larysa Ivshyna for her advice to introduce the life and journalistic activities of James Mace into the course Introduction to Journalism. Unfortunately, to this day no curriculum or textbook devotes attention to this.”
Yulia HALIUK, student: “After reading James Mace’s articles in which he revealed the terrible truth of the Holodomor that had been hushed up, I became fascinated by what he had written and felt the deepest respect for him. A citizen of the happy United States opened the eyes of the international community and arguably those of many Ukrainians to the horrible truth of 1932-33. He became a true citizen of Ukraine through his spirit and work for its wellbeing. Mace’s journalistic work in our country convinces us of this.”
Lilia MOSHKINA, student: “James Mace is the first foreigner that I know who devoted his short life to exposing the most terrible page of Ukrainian history. He revealed the horrible truth that Stalin and his henchmen committed a crime against the Ukrainian nation. Mace’s research is being continued: in 2003 the Institute of Ukrainian History at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine produced a huge joint research work entitled The Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine: Causes and Consequences.’ This is a large-format volume, with two chapters out of 58 written by Mace. Therefore, we must be aware of Dr. Mace’s place in the context of Ukrainian history.”
Elnara CHAIKOVSKA, student: “Mace’s legacy is indisputably large. In studying it, we are learning lessons in patriotism, humanism, and journalistic adherence to principles and sense of dedication. This is very important for our formation as professionals. The study of the life and work of this scholar and journalist is a practical introduction to such subjects as journalistic ethics, theory of journalism, and journalism in general.”
Nastia SIMASHOVA, student: “Back in 2001 James Mace delivered a speech at a solemn ceremony to award the winners of the 1st National Children’s Competition for Ukrainian Language Experts (now known as the Petro Jacyk International Ukrainian Language Competition). I was among those who received awards. Of course, at the time I did not fully understand with my child’s mind the greatness of the person that was standing in front of me. But his unusual accent and the profound look of sadness in his eyes have always stayed with me. Afterwards, there was an evening of mourning in 2004, when the news on television reported that James Mace had died. Those same eyes were on the screen. We are strange and difficult to understand: we bid our final farewells to politicians who promoted anti-Ukrainian ideas, yet remain indifferent when people of Mace’s caliber leave us. This is the bitterest loss.”
EXPLANATIONS FROM AN AMERICAN
Maryna DILMANBETOVA, student: “James Mace explained what happened to us. He coined the following definition of our state: a post-genocidal society. In the Introduction to Journalism course I found the answer to the question about Mace’s action: what made him leave the ‘sated’ US and come to Ukraine? Not many Americans are like him. After learning about the truth of the Holodomor, this man with his acute sense of justice could no longer live a peaceful life. I think that every time someone lights a candle in the window such a person is aware of what Mace has done for Ukraine.”
Mykola VASKIV: “Some of you have rightly noted that it is important not only to familiarize yourselves with a certain amount of information about the ‘American Ukrainian’ and his published work. It is of vital necessity to consider the life and the scholarly and journalistic principles of this extraordinary man. There are two aspects that are inseparably linked with each other. On the one hand, Mace can be a wonderful example of the human aspiration for justice and the quest for truth. At the same time, he has become, without declaring this in his statements, an ideal of the sincerest love for Ukraine and Ukrainian history, culture, and, finally, its nation. This is something worth being learned (if one can learn from this) by all our fellow countrymen without exception, not just by the journalists of today and the future. On the other hand, Mace is very interesting for us as a journalist and author of articles on journalism, and its foundations and principles. I remind you that the basic principles for him were, above all, freedom of speech and absolute objectivity aimed at defending those who are socially and nationally oppressed.”
Olia HARUK, student: “Journalism is one of the most interesting professions in today’s world. It has its advantages and hidden dangers. When choosing their occupation, university entrants often dream about fame, a certain level of wellbeing that may be given by working in the mass media. Young and inexperienced people see everything through rose-tinted glasses and think that justice, objectivity, and humanism will certainly lead them to triumph in the sphere of journalism. They do not think that everything is not so simple in life. Gaining a real understanding of the sense of journalism is the aim of our studying the work of the outstanding journalist James Mace in the course Introduction to Journalism. Studying his articles enables us to rethink the whole complexity and most important principles of a journalist’s work, using concrete examples. Through his articles he encourages us to seek answers to the question, have I chosen the right profession? Mace teaches us to engage in self-sacrifice, to understand the goal, to formulate principles for ourselves, which must be maintained. The article “A Tale of Two Journalists” is a classical example proving that sooner or later justice will triumph. However, we are forced to admit that sometimes justice triumphs very late, sometimes even when the journalist is no longer alive, as it happened with Gareth Jones. During his life he had neither fame nor money; he only had a clear conscience, while his competitor Walter Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize with the help of a downright lie.”
Inna SVYNARYK, student: “I share Olia’s opinion. But we should also not forget about the article “Freedom of Libel or Libel against Freedom.” Referring to American history, Mace recounts the difficult but irreversible formation of freedom of speech in his country. Ukrainian realities come next. Mace is skeptical, but he is an optimist. Ukrainian society, as well as the American one, will sooner or later come to the same standards of democracy and freedom of speech. Of course, it would be better for this to happen as soon as possible. But one should not put the blame on circumstances and wait until somebody shows an example. Every journalist has to feel his or her ‘messianic nature.’”
Tetiana LYKHODEN, student: “I think that the two articles that were just mentioned are of key importance for our professional development. But the other articles that are included in Day and Eternity of James Mace are examples of how one should write, which principles one should retain while shedding light on facts or phenomena. A year has passed since we first studied Mace’s articles. I don’t remember many details, but essential things remain in my consciousness and have marked my world outlook.”
THE IRREVERSIBILITY OF THIS COOPERATION
Maryna DILMANBETOVA: “ The Day has done a lot to popularize James Mace’s scholarly and journalistic work; this paper became a refuge for him. Every ordinary Ukrainian citizen should know about Mace and his work.”
Mykola VASKIV: “I have another question: was the encounter between Mace and the staff of The Day an accident or inevitability? Could they not have met?
Oleksii YELENKOV, student: “I think that your question is a rhetorical one. They say that man does not walk alone, but is guided by destiny. Mace had an alternative and he made his choice. Clearly, Mace’s encounter with The Day was inevitable. Here I should mention this newspaper and our domestic periodicals in general. Each periodical is distinguished by a particular theme and readership, most frequently taking financial prospects into account. The Day is oriented at the intellectual reader and it has its own special niche: to recreate the forgotten or half-forgotten pages of the Ukrainian past, present the achievements of our national culture from the hoary past until the present. I think that this is done not with the aim of drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that ‘wonders are nearby.’ Unfortunately, you can’t increase the newspaper’s press run this way. Instead, there is a noble intention: to renew our national self-awareness and dignity. This was Mace’s aim. That is why Mace and The Day could not have avoided encountering each other.”
Mykola VASKIV: “This very much resembles Gareth Jones’s choice.”
Oleh BARYSHEVSKY, student: “I was an intern at The Day this year. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the editorial staff for its assistance and valuable advice, and the fact that from the very first day at the newspaper I did not feel like a stranger. I did not feel any arrogance from the experienced journalists with achievements behind their belts toward a second-year student from the provinces. The Day’s employees are high-trained professionals. Oleksii has called the culture-historical orientation the newspaper’s particular niche. This is true. It is also true that you don’t derive much profit from this kind of orientation. It is only the high professional and scholarly level of The Day’s employees and their freelance contributors that enable The Day to remain one of Ukraine’s leading newspapers.”
Tetiana OLIKH, student: “I would like to draw your attention to one more aspect that makes our communication with The Day necessary. The problems that are connected with the theory and practice of journalism are constantly discussed on the pages of this newspaper. It familiarizes readers with innovations in the activity of the Ukrainian and foreign mass media. Issues pertaining to freedom of speech as well as journalistic objectivity and solidarity are constantly discussed in this newspaper. This convinces me that Mace could not have avoided becoming associated with this paper.”
Mykola VASKIV: “Note that The Day was the first paper to devote articles to the subject of the Holodomor, and it is tirelessly continuing to highlight this sorrowful topic. Finally, official Kyiv has gotten involved. The interview with President Viktor Yushchenko, which we read in The Day, states that ‘we have to accept the whole burden of the past years, all the outrages that were committed against our nation as our personal drama, and to feel in this the need for the organic, cellular unification of Ukraine.’ The president said: ‘This history should be conveyed. If we learn it, we will record it in a book, a program, a monument, the name of a street.’ This serious publication teaches us this. The next step was the book Why Did He Destroy Us? Stalin and the Ukrainian Holodomor, which was published in September 2007 as part of The Day’s Library Series.”
PROLOGUE
This roundtable conversation went beyond the limits of the designated topic. The participants noted that the ancient city of Kamianets-Podilsky still does not have a memorial to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor. Meanwhile, those who organized the horrible “harvest of sorrow” are honored in street names and monuments. They did not neglect to mention the fact that few people are aware of the number of victims of the Holodomor in Kamianets-Podilsky, in the raion, and region. So they decided to appeal to Kamianets-Podilsky with a leaflet. Everything in this leaflet, which was distributed by its authors, meets journalistic requirements. It contains a reminder: “Don’t forget to light a candle in the window,” a goal, “to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor,” and an explanation of why and for whom this needs to be done. “These are the lessons that were learned in the school of James Mace,” Prof. Vaskiv said, commenting on the results of the launch of Day and Eternity of James Mace at Kamianets-Podilsky State University.
