Over 18 million Ukrainians live outside Ukraine. They have cultural ties with their homeland. In fact, the Ukrainian diaspora constitutes one-third of Ukraine’s current population. The Ukrainian state, therefore, should pay due attention to Ukrainians who for some reason found themselves abroad. Ukrainian leaders are doing just that. When on business trips abroad, they declare their support of the Ukrainians abroad. In most cases it all ends with their meetings with representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora and the unveiling of Taras Shevchenko or Holodomor monuments.
On June 18, President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, during a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian ethnic community in Novi Sad, also assured them that support of Ukrainians abroad has been and will remain one of his priorities. He stressed that the Ukrainian state is prepared to help Ukrainians who are permanent residents of various countries to receive education in their mother tongue and have access to Ukrainian culture. However, it remains to be seen whether the head of state specified the budget appropriations for these purposes. What role does the Ukrainian diaspora play in Canada and Hungary? How can this diaspora help Ukraine and what kind of help does it need? More on this below.
How Ukrainian Hungarians preserve their ethnic identity and help us do the same
In June 2006, the International Institute for Education, Culture, and Contacts with Diaspora launched the project “Discovering Ukrainian Diaspora for Ukraine.” It was based on the results of a poll that showed that the general public in Lviv knows little if anything all about the activities of ethnic Ukrainian communities and individuals living abroad. The Ukrainian diaspora is considered to be an integral part of Ukrainian society, and its history, cultural, and science are an inalienable part of those of Ukraine.
YOU HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT TO EXIST
In a foreword to a collection of verse by Sandor Petofi in Ukrainian and Taras Shevchenko in Hungarian, President Laszlo Solyom of Hungary notes, “Since the time Ukraine won independence the historical and cultural ties between the Hungarian and Ukrainian peoples have grown stronger. There are studies underway that are aimed at jointly analysis of certain past events, and publications are coming off the presses. Memorial plaques and monuments perpetuate the memory of outstanding historic events and personalities in the other country.” Viktor Yushchenko writes in the same foreword, “I am sure that the publication of poems by two brilliant national poets, a Ukrainian and a Hungarian, as one book will mark a festive event in the cultural life of Ukraine and Hungary and will serve to continue our nations’ good tradition of learning more about each other.”
In the cultural dialog between the two countries over the years of Ukrainian independence the voice of the ethnic Ukrainians in Hungary has always been loud, clear, and confident. These people are the mouthpieces of the Ukrainian interest in the country of residence, the carriers of Ukrainian spirituality and culture, people’s diplomats, and a source of knowledge about Ukraine. Without a doubt, the ethnic Ukrainian communities of Hungary, united into the Society of Ukrainian Culture in Hungary and the State Self-Government of Ukrainian Hungarians, cultivate Ukrainian songs, dances, vechornytsi (traditional evening gatherings of youth), and celebrate Christmas and other holidays. This is an opportunity to demonstrate their ethnic Ukrainian identity and thus occupy a separate place among the versatile cultures of other ethnic communities (Ukrainians are the sixth largest ethnic minority in Hungary). However, all these activities are only a small, albeit important, part of the daily life and work of our fellow countrymen there.
In 1998 the Ukrainian communities nominated candidate deputies to national self-governments, aware that this would offer fresh opportunities of work, considering that the Hungarian law on ethnic minorities provides for a broad range of rights for the ethnic communities, from the erection of monuments to information programs on the government-run radio and television. The state self-government authority was instituted on Jan. 24, 1999. Fifteen deputies were elected from Budapest, Szeged, and Komarom, and the formation of a solid ethnic Ukrainian self-government system was completed. Now Ukrainians could act on a new quantitative level (the number of ethnic Ukrainian self-government authorities had reached 12 and their geography had considerably expanded), as well as qualitative level. Jaroszlava Hartyanyi, chairperson of the European Congress of Ukrainians and president of the State Minority Self-Government of Ukrainian Hungarians, notes that “over the ten years of activities of these bodies we have succeeded in accomplishing an amount of work that could be compared with decades of activities of some other Ukrainian communities abroad; not all of them have such effective organization structures.” Their projects are now better financed; they run a bigger office, with a small staff; they could afford adequate office equipment, musical instruments, and office furniture. The next step was mastering the information space; every month video materials are prepared for the program Rondo and every week there are radio broadcasts in Ukrainian.
“Thanks to this, the Hungarian public opinion about the Ukrainian community has changed for the better,” Hartyanyi said at a round table at Lviv Polytechnic Institute, “as there are an increasing number of publications about Ukrainians and Ukraine.”
“NOT SAD EYES, BUT THE HANDS OF THE WORKER BRING HOPE”
A Ukrainian ranking official once said during a television program in Ukraine that, instead of protecting the rights of Ukrainians when crossing the border and coping with visa problems, we keep unveiling monuments to Shevchenko and Holodomor memorials in this country. The question is why “instead of…”? Is this proof of the absence of thinking worthy of a real statesman or just lack of understanding of the need to assert our presence in Europe and the world? It must be reaffirmed using various means and methods, including monuments, memorials, books, and placing Shevchenko next to Petofi, and thus introducing our culture into the European context. This way we will let the world learn more about us. No one will do this for us. Unlike people who wield power in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Hungarians are well aware of this. That was why both presidents took part in the ceremony of unveiling a monument to Taras Shevchenko in Budapest in 2007. Addressing the festive gathering, President Laszlo Solyom spoke highly of the national identity of the Ukrainian diaspora in Hungary and noted, “This monument must be a symbol of friendship between Ukraine and Hungary.”
By erecting monument and memorials in the country of residence, the Ukrainian Hungarians are not only opening the Ukrainian world to the Europeans, but also encouraging us to learn more about our national history and culture, thus becoming involved in the process of formation of historical memory. Do many people in Ukraine know that the almanac Rusalka Dnistrovaia (The Dniester Nymph), which was destined to open a new epoch in the national and cultural life of Western Ukraine, was first published in Budapest? “If it’s impossible to print a Ruthenian book in Lviv, then we will take it to Vienna, and if they don’t let us publish it there, we still have free Hungary,” said young Markian Shashkevych who understood only too well that you have to be different to exist and learn foreign languages and cultures for the sake of your own Ukrainian culture.
It was thus Rusalka Dnistrovaia came off the presses in Buda with an epigraph by Jan Kollar, one of the most spectacular figures in the Czech and then overall Slavic national revival movement: “Not sad eyes, but the hands of the worker bring hope” This hope came true in 1998 when the Society of Ukrainian Culture in Hungary unveiled a memorial plaque on a wall of a building in this historic district of Budapest, in place of the former Royal Print Shop Orszaghaz, in conjunction with the almanac’s 160th anniversary. Could any of the Rusalka’s authors have foreseen that so many years later Jaroszlava Hartyanyi, the leader of the ethnic Ukrainian community, would declare during the ceremony of unveiling the memorial plaque: “I am greatly honored to have lifted this light golden silk veil off the plaque in an instant. This silk veil is preserved at the Ukrainian Cultural Center as a historic relic. It is covered with signatures by almost all those present at this festive ceremony.” The ethnic community also reverently preserves one of few copies of the Rusalka almanac that have survived the ravages of time.
Our compatriots in Hungary have discovered another place of Ukrainian presence for us and the rest of the world. It is in Tokaj where Hryhorii Skovoroda stayed in 1744–51 as a member of a commission to purchase Hungarian wines for the royal court. In March 1998 ethnic Ukrainians arranged for a memorial plaque dedicated to this Ukrainian philosopher and writer to be ceremoniously unveiled in this world-known wine-making town. Other places visited by Skovoroda in Hungary remain to be discovered by Ukrainian researchers. Projects organized by ethnic Ukrainian communities are invariably attended by Hungarian officials on various levels. This is definite proof of deep respect for our compatriots, recognition and appreciation of their work. The top Hungarian leadership was present during the ceremony of unveiling a Memorial of the Victims of the 1932–33 Holodomor in Ukraine. It was anything but simple to carry out this project. In 2003, after long preparations, 347 members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary unanimously voted for a resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the man-caused famine in Ukraine. The National Assembly resolutely condemned all totalitarian regimes that deprive citizens of their dignity and inalienable right to freedom, and qualified the 1932–33 Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Janos Gargytai of the Fidesz (Fiatal Demokrat k Sz vets ge, Alliance of Young Democrats, which is currently known as the Hungarian Civic Union), noted: “I remember when Mrs. Jaroszlava Hartyanyi, head of the National Ukrainian Council in Hungary, applied to the Committee in this matter. Several Assembly members immediately voiced their support, stressing that it should be carried out on the highest possible political level. We had to struggle to have this resolution passed because certain Assembly members wanted the event on a smaller scale. In the end, Hartyanyi succeeded in pushing through this resolution. I believe that the National Assembly of Hungary can be proud of it, while I am personally proud that we could cooperate along these lines.” Under the Hungarian law, the State Self-Government of Ukrainian Hungarians is at present the only legitimate representative on the intergovernmental commission on the protection of rights of ethnic minorities. A lot has been accomplished due to its constant participation in the meetings of the commission, including a new Ukrainian-Hungarian dictionary, a Ukrainian library, and several periodicals. Ukrainians in Hungary also remember to study the Ukrainian language, culture, and traditions. Every year youth camps are organized. This list could be continued. Ukrainian Hungarians are a living organism that takes a active, clear-cut stand aimed at asserting a positive image of Ukraine within the European community of nations, maintaining and furthering the cultural dialog between the two countries. The success of this project largely depends on the community’s leader Jaroszlava Hartyanyi who is an effective captain of her team, skillfully guiding it in the right direction in the intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian environment. Hers is an example of a competent, businesslike, and dedicated public figure. She has succeeded in getting her people organized and aiming them at the successful completion of their projects.
UKRAINIANS ABROAD
Hartyanyi’s performance is highly praised by the world Ukrainian community (she is the president of the European Congress of Ukrainians and first vice president of the Ukrainian World Congress), as well as in Hungary and Ukraine, as evidenced by prestigious Hungarian and Ukrainian awards she has received.
Regrettably, there is still a lack of understanding in Ukraine that this cooperation should be regarded as a national strategic trend that does not depend on government rotations. As it was, such active cooperation, aimed at supporting Ukrainians abroad, had hardly started when it once again slowed down. There is no budget money for the implementation of this program, just as there is no understanding that the role of the international Ukrainian community must be enhanced and aimed not only at preserving cultural values, but also at building a positive international image of Ukraine. In fact, the Ukrainian diaspora is building a Ukraine of its own outside Ukraine, accumulating considerable potential in all spheres of politics, economy, culture, and law, acting as Ukraine’s economic, political, and cultural outposts abroad. The International Institute for Education, Culture, and Contacts with Diaspora (MIOK) at Lviv Polytechnic Institute is the initiator of the project “Discovering the Ukrainian Diaspora for Ukraine,” and its mission is to facilitate the unity of Ukrainians within and outside Ukraine. After all, Ukrainians constitute one of the largest diasporas of the world, numbering between 10 and 20 million. Our task is to familiarize Ukrainians with the life of their compatriots abroad.
Whereas the Ukrainian diaspora has been genuinely concerned about Ukraine and its joys and sorrows and has done a great deal for its independence, the general public in Ukraine knows too little about this diaspora. MIOK’s efforts are aimed at the development of Ukrainian school system; revival of Ukrainian culture, spirituality, and traditions; establishing contacts with ethnic Ukrainian associations, communities, educational establishments, etc. We hope that our project will spill over the boundaries of Lviv oblast and will confidently spread across Ukrainian cities and villages. In the spring of 1046, the future Hungarian king Andras (a.k.a. Andrew I the White or the Catholic) came to Hungary from Kyiv with his wife Anastasia, daughter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Andras founded an abbey in the town of Tihany near Lake Balaton and allocated a parcel of land for the Eastern Orthodox nuns Anastasia had brought with her from Kyiv. A monument to King Andras and his wife, the Ukrainian princess Anastasia, stands on the top of a mountain in Tihany, overlooking Balaton.
This monument was erected by the dedicated efforts of the Tihany self-government authority and the State Self-Government of Ukrainian Hungarians with the assistance of the Ukrainian embassy. This sculptural composition bears a legend in Hungarian and Ukrainian. Ukrainian Hungarians initiates a tradition for young couples who are getting married to put flowers at the foot of the monument, precisely at the feet of the Ukrainian queen.
