Undoubtedly, the unveiling of the Holodomor Memorial honoring innocent Ukrainian victims of the 1932-33 artificial famine, which was held lately in Washington, the capital of the world’s most powerful nation, is a major, memorable event. We in Ukraine appreciate greatly the political, economic and moral support provided by the US, which is truly important as we fight to protect our independence amid the Russian aggression and an acute economic crisis. It is imperative to understand that without the knowledge of the causes and course of the terrible tragedy of the early 1930s one cannot fully comprehend the nature and origins of the current problems facing Ukraine. Then, the Western world did not understand what actually happened in our country, even though it was genocidal in nature. “Europe was silent,” as Oleksandr Oles famously wrote, and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose to officially establish diplomatic relations with the USSR exactly in 1933. This must not happen again, even more so that the Putinist regime is by all appearances intending to carry out a new physical, linguistic and ethnic genocide of the Ukrainians in the occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, and not only intending, but also acting accordingly.
Photo courtesy of the press cervice of the President of Ukraine
It is important that the unveiling ceremony of the Memorial had James Mace’s name read out, for he was the first to tell the world the truth about the scope and causes of the terror famine which the Kremlin staged in Ukraine. It is important for our newspaper, because Mace worked for Den/The Day for many years and dedicated his entire energy to researching the horrible genocide of 1932-33. It is important for doing justice, for all of us living and acting now “stand on the shoulders” of our predecessors – giant predecessors, and, of course, Mace was one of them.
