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National Holodomor Awareness Week
November 16 - 23, 2008
"People were dying everywhere, even on our doorstep. If anyone was caught picking leftover grain, even if they were children, they were shot."
Natalia Talanchuk, Edmonton
Survivors of the Holodomor are sharing their horrific experiences with Canadians as the international community prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor - Famine-Genocide in Ukraine of 1932-33.
Holodomor - one of the most heinous crimes in the history of mankind, was the result of a deliberate political strategy masterminded by Stalin and his totalitarian communist regime.
In 2006, Ukraine acknowledged its history by officially recognizing the Holodomor as genocide. In 2008, Canada followed suit taking the lead among western nations. As a result, survivors, who for so many years shared the truth with no one - fearing reprisals, now speak freely of the terror which reigned in Ukraine in the thirties.
National Holodomor Awareness Week will annually unite all Canadians in remembering the victims and raising awareness of this tragedy.
On November 22, International Holodomor Memorial Day, Canadians will pause for a moment of reflection at 9:00 a.m. and light a candle of remembrance in their homes. On November 23, memorial services will be held in all Ukrainian churches throughout the country and church bells will toll 10 times symbolizing the 10 million victims.
For a listing of commemorative events taking place across Canada please go to www.ucc.ca. To interview a Holodomor survivor please contact Mr. Orest Zakydalsky at 416-966-1819 or 416-769-0662. For historical information contact Prof. Yuri Darewych at Darewych@yorku.ca or 416-736-2100 and The Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre at info@ucrdc.org or 416-966-1819.
Ukraine Remembers - The World Acknowledges
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