ACTION UKRAINE HISTORY REPORT (AUHR)
Washington, D.C., Sunday, February 22, 2009

 
TO:  HOLODOMOR WORKING GROUP
    Ukraine: Holodomor, Genocides, Crimes of Communism
DATE:  Sunday, February 22, 2009

RE: ELEVEN ARTICLES

1.  UKRAINE FILM DIRECTOR OLES YANCHUK WINS FIRST PRIZE IN
VINCENNES CINEMA FESTIVAL FOR HIS FILM FAMINE-33.
UNIAN News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, February 17, 2009

2. NEW BOOK ABOUT REACTION OF POLAND'S UKRAINIANS TO
HOLODOMOR 1932-1933 PUBLISHED IN LVIV
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 

3.  CRIMES OF TOTALITARIAN REGIME, HOLODOMOR, HOLOCAUST,
GULAG ON UKRAINIAN LAND HAVE NO RIGHT FOR REPETITION 
Viktor Chukhlib, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, December 12, 2008 

4. TESTIMONY OF A HOLODOMOR SURVIVOR, ANASTASIA OSTAPIUK
Delivered at Westminster Central Hall, London, UK, 22 November 2008
Ostapiuk testimony read by Maria Mikulin in the absence of Mrs Ostapiuk
Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Holodomor
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), London, UK, Wed, Nov 26, 2008

5. BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER, GORDON BROWN, HONORS MEMORY
OF THOSE WHO PERISHED DURING THE HOLODOMOR
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), London, UK, Wed, Nov 26, 2008

6.  UNITED KINGDOM'S NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF THE 75TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLODOMOR HELD AT WESTMINSTER CENTRAL
HALL AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, (AUGB), London, UK, Wed, Nov 26, 2008

7.  NICK LAJSZCZUK'S PRIDE AT RECEIVING UKRAINE HONOUR
By Lisa Campbell, Keighley News, Keighley, UK, Friday, February 20, 2009

8.  UKRAINE: KHARKIV HONORING SEVEN COMPATRIOTS
WHO SAVED JEWS FROM FASCIST GENOCIDE
UkrInform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 25, 2008 

9.  UKRAINE COMMEMORATES HOLOCAUST VICTIMS 
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, January 28, 2009

10. "HOLODMOR: REFLECTIONS ON THE GREAT FAMINE OF
1932-1933 IN SOVIET UKRAINE," BOOK STILL AVAILABLE
Professor Lubomyr Luciuk, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Wed, Feb 11, 2009

11. LAND OF DILEMMAS: WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE TO SAVE YOUR ENEMY?
By Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor, Action Ukraine Report (AUR)
Washington, D.C., Sunday, February 22, 2009
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.  UKRAINE FILM DIRECTOR OLES YANCHUK WINS FIRST PRIZE IN
FRENCH VINCENNES CINEMA FESTIVAL FOR HIS FILM FAMINE-33.

UNIAN News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb 17, 2009

KYIV - Ukrainian film director Oles Yanchuk has won the first prize of Henri-Langlois (the European nomination) for his film Famine-33 at this year’s Vincennes Cinema Festival in France on February 3.

O.Yanchuk claimed this to a press conference in UNIAN, adding that Famine-33 was the first feature film, which raises the topic of the Great Ukrainian Famine – the Holodomor, and was produced in Ukraine.
According to him, Famine-33 was included into the school program in Ukraine. Besides, he said, the film will be translated into several languages, including Russian.

2.  NEW BOOK ABOUT REACTION OF POLAND'S UKRAINIANS
TO HOLODOMOR 1932-1933 PUBLISHED IN LVIV

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 

KYIV - A book by Yaroslav Papuha, entitled “West Ukraine and Holodomor 1932-1933: Ethic-Political and Financial Assistance for the Victims” that came off the press at Lviv's publishing house Astroliabia is dedicated to one of the most tragic pages in the history of Ukraine.

The research work reflects a community response of Poland's Ukrainians to the nationwide tragedy in Ukraine, analyzes the process of dissemination of information about the Great Famine outside the USSR, efforts to save those suffered and protest actions against genocide.

A special attention is paid there to the activity of Western Ukrainian socio-political organizations and manifests of mass local movement. The book also includes documents from archives of Ternopil, Lutsk, Lviv, Rivne.

FOOTNOTE: For books about the Holodomor, Ukrainian magazines and other materials write to ArtUkraine@voliacable.com. 

3.  CRIMES OF TOTALITARIAN REGIME, HOLODOMOR, HOLOCAUST,
GULAG ON UKRAINIAN LAND HAVE NO RIGHT FOR REPETITION 

Viktor Chukhlib, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, December 12, 2008 

KYIV - “Holodomor, Holocaust, GULAG - tragedies of the 20th century in the Ukrainian land, have no right for repetition. Crimes of the totalitarian regime against the Ukrainian people and humanity” - this is the name of the educational project launched by the charitable foundation Dar (Ukraine), DAAR charitable foundation (the US), the Jewish Studies Institute (Kyiv, Ukraine).

The presentation of the project took place in the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine, UKRINFORM correspondent reports. Opening the exhibition, head of the museum's department Halyna Bolotova noted that the exposition presented with posters telling about the tragic pages of the Ukrainian history will contribute to understanding between people, tolerance and ability to develop humanistic principles. “The last century was not merciful to human life. The way the present one will be like depends on us,” she noted.

According to director of the Jewish Studies Institute Yulia Smilianska, the present exhibition was launched last year in Ivano-Frankivsk. It was successfully presented in Kolomyya, Ternopil, other western Ukrainian cities. Now Kyiv residents will be able to familiarize with its exhibits. The exhibition aims to “form the civil society realizing the danger of totalitarianism both for the particular person and for the humanity in general.”

The initiators of the exhibition plan to hold seminars for teachers of history and students. Kyiv senior pupils work as guides at the exhibition and successfully fulfill their tasks.

4.  TESTIMONY OF A HOLODOMOR SURVIVOR, ANASTASIA OSTAPIUK
Delivered at Westminster Central Hall, London, UK, 22 November 2008

Ostapiuk testimony read by Maria Mikulin in the absence of Mrs Ostapiuk
Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Holodomor
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), London, UK, Wed, Nov 26, 2008

LONDON - I was born into a village family. I was 10 years old when the Holodomor took place in 1933. I remember 1932 well and the years before. My father was a bookkeeper in the collective farm and village council.

He counted the work days, when people came with information about what they had done in the fields, how much they had reaped or whatever, then that was translated into a working day or one and a half days, and that determined the amount of bread you received. Then the famine started in the village. They didn’t give bread any more.

This was the beginning.

People began to fall ill from hunger. They ran away, they didn’t know what to do, they ate everything they had in the house. And the brigades came to search the houses, to see if there was anything left in storerooms or somewhere else, if you had a religious picture or a cross on the wall. The brigades did what they wanted with the people and no-one punished them… they searched the houses once a week.

If they found something cooking on the fire, some soup or borshch, then they took it and poured it away on the ground. It was as if we had to die, as if we were marked out for death. This was in 1932-33.

Later in 1932 my father died. First he became very thin. None of us had enough to eat, father worried and his lungs became inflamed. The hospitals didn’t even take people in so he died at home. He called me and said, “Daughter, you’re the oldest, look after the little ones…” I was the oldest in the family. Then there was Ludmila, who became blind and died from hunger.

Then there was Sonya. Sonya survived and Yevhen, the youngest, survived. My mother went around the garden and picked horseradish, because it was spring and green leaves were coming out. She took the horseradish, cleaned and grated it, then she took leaves from a tree – mother knew what could be eaten – dried the leaves, mixed them with the horseradish and baked biscuits or pancakes. She gave them to us to eat and went to
work.

Our neighbours were called Khomenko and they had a full house of children. I saw with my own eyes how each morning a waggon would come to collect the dead from houses. So Khomenko, the father, died. The mother ran from the house and said, “Wait, don’t take him, because my son will be ready tomorrow. Let them at least lie together.” Because they threw all the dead into a single grave. You know, there was such misery that it’s impossible to
describe.

When it was harvest time, it was a real tragedy. Many ears of wheat lay in the fields. We would go along the paths and hide in the bushes. When we saw there was no-one around, we would collect the wheat in our aprons and run home quickly. Because every field had two guards on horseback with sticks. If they caught anyone, they would beat them…

Mother would stand the four of us in a line each morning, then she would take a small  religious picture – where she hid it, I don’t know. But she would put it out, and we would repeat “Our Father”. Mother told us all, “For the fear of God never tell anyone at school that your mother has taught you this.”

I remember when I went with my aunt Olha to another village to see if we could get something or trade something. When the train stopped at the station, there were children lying all around near the tracks and begging but those in the train had nothing to throw them through the window.

There was a good, big harvest in 1932-33, but when the grain was collected in the storehouse, they said that the government needed help and then they loaded wagon after wagon with sacks of grain, placed a red flag and went to Novohrad to hand everything over to the government. So the harvest didn’t help anyone, because nearly everything went somewhere, for someone, while people were suffering from hunger. It was impossible, but see – God is good and we survived.

The communist government was so terrible, they wanted to break the Ukrainian people so that they wouldn’t believe in God, but only in Stalin. Such a government – may God never allow the same in any other country… because its horrific… They spoke so nicely at the meetings – that everything would be better, that it would be heaven – but it was very different.

Famine scythed down everyone who lived on Ukrainian land – Poles, Germans, Russians. In our village, I think about three-quarters of the people died… this is God’s truth.

LINK: http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/0-speech-of-survivor-ostapiuk.pdf

5.  BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER, GORDON BROWN, HONORS
MEMORY OF THOSE WHO PERISHED DURING THE HOLODOMOR

Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), London, Wed, November 26, 2008

LONDON - In a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has reiterated the UK Government's positive position on honouring the memory of those who perished during the Holodomor and encouraging the promotion of its remembrance.

Significantly, the Prime Minister recalls the UK's support of statements at UNESCO and the OSCE and he reaffirms that "wherever possible, we will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to raise the Famine of 1932-33 in other international fora".

The separate visits to Kyiv of the Foreign Secretary and HRH The Duke of York earlier this year where they laid a wreath and commemorative candles at the Holodomor memorial are also highlighted in the letter.

In conclusion the Prime Minister says:  "I hope the ceremony on 22 November will pay fitting tribute to those who suffered during the horrific events of 1932-33 and help ensure there can be no repetition in the future.  I regret I am unable to attend the ceremony myself, but the UK will be represented, and I am pleased to send a written message, a copy of which I enclose, to mark this important occasion".

For the full text of the letter, please click here: http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/0-the-prime-minister-pdf-2.pdf.

For the written message referred to in the Prime Minister's letter, click here:
http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/1-ukprimeministerholodomormessage-2.pdf/.

LINK: http://www.augb.co.uk:80/news-page.php?id=55

6.  UNITED KINGDOM'S NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF
THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLODOMOR HELD AT
WESTMINSTER CENTRAL HALL AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, London, UK, Wed, Nov 26, 2008

LONDON - Around 2,000 people attended Saturday’s National Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor at Westminster Central Hall and Westminster Abbey.  Among distinguished guests were representatives of HM Government, Embassies, Churches, various organisations,  MP’s and MEP’s, representatives of local governments, relatives of Malcolm Muggeridge and Gareth Jones.

In his address, the Ambassador of Ukraine, Dr Ihor Kharchenko, called on all present to proclaim the truth about the Holodomor to the world
(http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-ambassador.pdf.)

Highlighting the terrible losses suffered by Ukraine 75 years ago and recalling significant events of the past year that have helped to raise public awareness about the tragedy, Dr Kharchenko made particular reference to the agreement between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Yushchenko (15 May)
(http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page15556,) the resolutions of the Town Council of Keighley (4 September)
(http://www.augb.co.uk/news-page.php?id=34) and of Rochdale Borough Council (10 October) (http://www.augb.co.uk/news-page.php?id=42,) and the Torch Relay. 

Dr Kharchenko also read out a message from the President of Ukraine
(http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-president.pdf.)

Tim Hitchens, representative of HM Government, said that the Holodomor was one of the largest catastrophes of the Ukrainian nation in modern times.  It is important that we remember not only the disaster itself, but the causes. It was not a natural disaster, but a man made one which makes the suffering endured by so many people so much more difficult to comprehend.

“We must learn that democracy and respect for human rights is the best guarantee of the security of ordinary people. The Holodomor is a stark reminder of this.  It was a tragedy not just for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe and Europe and the world has a collective responsibility to remember.” 

Mr Hitchens also reiterated that the Prime Minister had agreed that the United Kingdom would work closely with Ukraine to promote remembrance and increase British public awareness of the Great Famine (http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-tim-hitchens-2.pdf).

Gordon Brown’s message to the people of Ukraine was read out
(http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/1-ukprimeministerholodomormessage-2.pdf.)

Mr Hitchens also added that representatives of the British government and the Royal Family have also commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor during their visits to Kyiv this year. The United Kingdom has supported Ukraine's efforts to raise awareness of the Holodomor at the UN and the OSCE.

HOLODMOR: THROUGH THE EYES OF UKRAINIAN ARTISTS
And in London, the exhibition "Holodomor: Through the Eyes of Ukrainian Artists" is currently being displayed in Parliament and was officially opened by the Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague earlier in the week.

Rev. Benjamin Lysykanycz read out a joint declaration of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in Great Britain to mark the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor.  In it, the faithful are called upon to ensure that future generations are made aware of the events of 1932-33. 

"Christian Truth calls upon us to make efforts to spread the knowledge of this tragedy. We all must be informed about this act of genocide, in order that history may never be repeated and that this horrific act may never again be committed against any member of the human race... Although we cannot turn back the pages of history, we can still work towards a brighter future. Only faith, hope and overwhelming love will help to build a worthy future and prevent the errors of the past." (http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/joint-declaration-of-churches-2.pdf.)

The AUGB’s Chief Executive, Fedir Kurlak, drew attention to the human toll of the Holodomor and the bravery of Malcolm Muggeridge and Gareth Jones who risked their lives to report truthfully on the systematic annihilation that they had witnessed in 1932-33.

“How appropriate that governments of the world were now sustaining the writings of Jones and Muggeridge...” with the European Parliament, for example, adopting a resolution calling the Holodomor a crime against Ukrainian people and against humanity.  Paraphrasing the words of T. Shevchenko, Mr Kurlak called on each and every person to ensure that everyone “knows”, “mourns” and “recalls” the Holodomor and its victims
(http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-fedir-kurlak.pdf.)

MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE - GARETH JONES
During the programme special posthumous awards were presented by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the son of Malcolm Muggeridge, Leonard, and to the niece of Gareth Jones, Margaret Siriol Colley.

In his vote of thanks Mr Muggeridge said that he counted it a great privilege to be present at the commemoration and to share in the tragedy that Ukrainians endured.  He paid tribute to his father, calling him a brave journalist, like the Mr Valiant-for-Truth character in John Bunyan’s work, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”  Mr Muggeridge also paid tribute to the “people of Ukraine, who against incredible odds, stood up against that brutal dictatorship, tried to defend themselves and suffered tremendously” (http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-leonard-muggeridge.pdf).

Margaret Siriol Colley said that she was very honoured and privileged to receive the posthumous award on behalf of her uncle, Gareth Jones.  She remarked how proud Gareth Jones’ parents, Major and Mrs Edgar Jones, would have been to know that such a prestigious tribute of recognition had been granted.  His endeavours to tell the world about the devastating Great famine, the Holodomor, in Ukraine were not in vain. 

Mrs Colley cited a very poignant extract from the writings of her uncle which very vividly captured the horrors of what he saw:  “Fear of death loomed over the cottage, for they had not enough potatoes to last until the next crop. When I shared my white bread and butter and cheese, one of the peasant women said, "Now I have eaten such wonderful things I can die happy." I set forth again further towards the south and heard the villagers say, "We are waiting for death." (http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-margaret-colley.pdf)

A witness of the Holodomor, Rev Mychailo Hutornyj, movingly spoke of his personal experiences during the Holodomor
(http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/speech-of-rev-hutornyj.pdf) and Maria Mikulin read out a written account of another survivor, that of Anastasia Ostapiuk (http://www.augb.co.uk/admin/project/uploaded-media/0-speech-of-survivor-ostapiuk.pdf.)

A minute's silence was impeccably observed at 2.00 pm, coinciding with the minute’s silence being held in Ukraine and many other parts of the world.

During the 80 minute programme, the Bulava Chorus, conducted by Myroslav Buczok, performed the National Anthems of the United Kingdom and Ukraine, Psalm 102 (“Bless the Lord, O my soul”) and the Beatitudes.

Maria Kinash and Yarema Gaunt brought tears to many eyes with their joint recital of “A prayer” in Ukrainian. Also taking part was the Manchester and Bradford Girls’ Chorus, conducted by Halyna Zamulinska, singing “How will we live?” and “Lord, have mercy on us”. The commemoration at Westminster Central Hall ended with a "Prayer for Ukraine" led by the Bulava Chorus.

LINK: http://www.augb.co.uk:80/news-page.php?id=57. 

7.  NICK LAJSZCZUK'S PRIDE AT RECEIVING UKRAINE HONOUR

By Lisa Campbell, Keighley News, Keighley, UK, Friday, February 20, 2009

KEIGHLEY, UK - Nick Lajszczuk has spoken of his pride at receiving the Ukrainian President’s Service Medal at a ceremony held in the Ukrainian Community Centre, in Keighley. Mr Lajszczuk is one of only three people in the country to receive the honour, equivalent to the British OBE.

He told the Keighley News he was proud and delighted to be given the medal and he dedicated it to the people who helped him get recognition of a state-imposed Ukrainian famine in 1932/3 as genocide.

Keighley Town Council was the first council in the country to recognise the Holodomor — ordered by Stalin — as genocide and Mr Lajszczuk arranged for the “Torch of Remembrance” to visit the town on its journey around the world last year.

Community figures and town councillors attended the ceremony and listened to a speech by Mr Lajszczuk in which he said he was honoured and moved to receive the award. He said: “I don’t feel worthy to receive the award because anything which I did I did as a result of the love I have for the Ukraine, something which my late parents instilled in me from an early age.

“Indeed, it is the duty of every son and daughter of the Ukraine to do everything possible to defend the Ukraine, its name and culture.” He thanked people in the town for their support.

LINK: http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/4138651.Nick___s_pride_at_receiving_Ukraine_honour/

8.  UKRAINE: KHARKIV HONORING SEVEN COMPATRIOTS
WHO SAVED JEWS FROM FASCIST GENOCIDE

UkrInform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 25, 2008 

KYIV - Kharkiv Regional Governor Arsen Avakov on Wednesday presented Orders of Merit to seven compatriots who saved Jews from fascist genocide during the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War), an UKRINFORM correspondent reported. Participants in the award ceremony included the heroes of the day and those residents of Kharkiv region who were rescued by them.

According to Holocaust Museum in Kharkiv, around 90 compatriots currently residing in Kharkiv region (East Ukraine) were recognized as righteous gentiles for assistance they rendered to the Jewish people during the Second World War. These international ranks are conferred by Yad Vashem's special commission operating in Jerusalem.

Holocaust Museum is the first and only museum storing over 5,000 items of evidence about the Holocaust, including archive documents and the personal clothes of genocide victims.

9.  UKRAINE COMMEMORATES HOLOCAUST VICTIMS 

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, January 28, 2009

KYIV - On January 28 Ukraine has commemorated the Holocaust victims within the events arranged by the Jewish Foundation of Ukraine. Kyiv hosted a memorable action “Six Million of Hearts” attended by schoolchildren, teachers, veterans and former prisoners of concentration camps and ghetto.

According to leadership of the Jewish Foundation of Ukraine, the “Six Million of Hearts” action dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust victims, will become traditional in Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly declared January 27 as the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust that is marked annually.  “The Holocaust that led to the elimination of one third of Jews and numerous victims of the representatives of other minorities will always serve for other nations a warning against dangers containing hatred, fanaticism, racism and prejudice,” the document reads.

10. HOLODMOR: REFLECTIONS ON THE GREAT FAMINE OF
1932-1933 IN SOVIET UKRAINE, BOOK STILL AVAILABLE

Professor Lubomyr Luciuk, Kinston, Ontario, Canada, Wed, Feb 11, 2009

KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada - A limited number of copies of the book, "Holodomor: Reflections on the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Soviet Ukraine," are still available. See order form attached to this e-mail. Thanks. 

FOOTNOTE: For additional books about the Holodomor, Ukrainian magazines and other materials write to ArtUkraine@voliacable.com. 

11.  LAND OF DILEMMAS: WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE TO SAVE YOUR ENEMY?

Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor, Action Ukraine Report (AUR)
Washington, D.C., Sunday, February 22, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - "Land of Dilemmas," a feature length documentary by filmmakers Olha Onyshko and Sarah Farhat, is currently in production. The film features the recollections of four World War II survivors of different ethnic and religious backgrounds: Polish, Jewish and Ukrainian. The release of the documentary film is projected for the fall of 2009.

This documentary film explores the survivors choices and attempts to answer why some people risk everything to save the lives not only of strangers, but also members of an ethnic or religious group perceived to be their enemy.  Would you risk your life to save your enemy?

The film began in 2006, when Olha Onyshko went back to her hometown in Western Ukraine. With a digital camcorder in hand, and an interest in hearing people’s stories, she discovered that 87 percent of the 850,000 people who occupied her hometown were completely wiped out during the Nazi and Soviet occupation between 1939 and 1947. The fate of the rest of that region, known as Galicia, was not much different.

From the beginning of the century onwards, Galicia’s population was approximately composed of three major ethnic groups: Poles, Jews and Ukrainians. During World War II, thousands of people from these groups were manipulated by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which resulted in the instigation of ethnic and religious crimes. Entire villages and towns were destroyed and thousands of people from all sides were massacred because of their faith or ethnic background.

Today, more than 60 years later, the memories are still vivid and the pain very deep. Many of these ethnic groups refuse to discuss what happened during this period, and as a result, many stereotypes continue to emerge or are present in today’s society.

Olha felt it was time to do more to bring change. It was time to engage in a constructive dialogue and reach out to these communities to initiate healing and reconciliation. In one interview, renowned historian Norman Davies asserted: “In that particular part of the world, no one suffered more and no one suffered less. Everyone suffered the same.”

In the summer of 2008, Olha and Sarah went back to Ukraine and Poland to continue filming these communities and their stories.

For these two filmmakers, the film represents more than just a specific ethnic and religious conflict. It is an exploration into why certain people risk their lives to reach out and help individuals or groups considered their “enemies.” It is also an intimate look into understanding how compassion and heroism emerge in the face of oppression and prejudice.

Olha and Sarah believe that history should always be remembered in order for it to never to be repeated. This film will remind us that even under the worst circumstances, human beings are fundamentally the same regardless of race, ethnicity or religion (www.landofdilemmas.org)

THE STORIES

AHARON
Aharon was six years old when his Jewish family understood survival meant hiding form the Nazis who had entered their village.  His mother decided to ask Yulia, their Ukainian neighbor, to hide them in her basement even though Yulia's own son was a Nazi policeman.  Aharon remembers how his family spent 22 months in Yulia's basement.  Once they got out, they showed their gratitude by agreeing to help the person they hated the most. 

OLHA
Olha was a young mother who went into the Ukrainian insurgent army to fight both the Soviet and German occupation with two infants on her hands. After
many extraordinary adventures, she was eventually caught and sentenced to spend 25 years in the worst political prison in the Soviet Union. She tells her story, how she got into the resistance, how she lost everything and was separated from her children, and how a KGB officer in prison eventually helped her to get her children back.

SUZANNA
Suzanna lives today in the parish of a Polish priest who has taken upon himself to restore Ukrainian churches that were destroyed during the Ukrainian
Polish conflicts. At first sight, she may look like a typical grandmother. As she casually prepares coffee and puts cookies on the table, she talks about how she held  arms to defend her village, how she fought Germans, Soviets and Ukrainians and how she was eventually saved by a Ukrainian man.

THE FILMMAKERS

OLHA ONYSHKO
Olha Onyshko has fifteen years of relevant experience implementing communications programs, producing creative content, and broadcasting. She has
worked for non-profit organizations, political think tanks, TV and Radio stations, corporations and international development agencies.

She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University in Washington D.C. She has completed and worked on several documentary and narrative films. Her short documentary "Where Do the Children Play" has won a Telly Award.

SARAH FARHAT
Sarah Farhat has been involved in filmmaking for the past six years. She has directed and produced five short films between documentary and fiction. Several of those films have broadcast on local and regional Arab Television networks.

She has also worked as a freelance editor and cinematographer on many independent projects. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University in Washington D.C. where she was awarded a Hall of Nations Fellowship.

PRODUCTION STATUS
The film has been in production since 2006. In the spring of 2007, a video installation with the same theme was created. It received critical acclaim and won the award for Best Installation at the 2007 Visions Festival in Washington, D.C. It was screened at film festivals, art exhibits and community events in Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia and Lviv, Ukraine.

In the summer of 2008, Olha and Sarah traveled to Ukraine and Poland where they filmed more than 150 hours of interview and actuality footage. The filmmakers are currently editing the available material and also fund-raising in order to cover the costs of post-production and distribution. The release of the documentary film is projected for the fall of 2009.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), Washington, D.C., (www.usukraine.org) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1991 to facilitate democratic development, encourage free market reform, and enhance human rights in Ukraine.  USUF is providing fiscal sponsorship to the program and is collecting donations for the program.

BUDGET
So far the filmmakers have been able to raise and invest 190,000 USD. In order to cover post production and distribution costs, another 100,000 USD need to be raised.  A detailed budget is available upon request.

PARTNERS
The filmmakers would like to thank all the individuals and organizations for their financial donations, in-kind contributions,consultations and volunteering. Because of this collective effort, the world will have the opportunity to witness these amazing stories. They are very happy that the community built around
this project is still growing every day. They would love for you to be part of it!

Some of the organizations who have provided support for the documentary program include the: U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (www.usukraine.org), DAAR Foundation (http://www.daarfoundation.org), U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (www.usubc.org), Lviv City Administration, American University, Kino Film Project, Security Service of Ukraine, Happy Camp, Museum of Political Prisoners - Ternopil, Lviv City Archive, State Archive of Lviv Oblast, and the Liberation Movement Research Center-Lviv and Tkuma.

Support from individuals have included: Yaroslav Onyshko, Darrin Hartzler, Yurko Dudam, Yuri and Inna Deychakiwsky, Andrej Sadovyy, Vadim Rzhatkevich, Mark Aguirre, Julia Ames, Patricia Aufderheide, Rob Benica, Oleh Bereziuk, Natasha and Michael Bleyzer, Inci Bowman, Mapi Buitano,
Maggie Burnette Stogner, Regan Carver, Carl Cordell, Maria and John Corso, Petro Didula, Heather Danskin, Magdalena Dembinska, Serge El Helou,
Larry Engel, Pamela Fernandez, Garry Griffin, Svetlana Herus, Leena Jayaswal, Karin Jue, Yuriy Karnaphel, Laura Klos Sokol, and Marina Kokuba.

Individual support has also been received from: Mykchaylo Komarnytsky, Andrew Kotliar, Christina Kotlar, John Kubiniec, Irena and Vasyl Latsanych, Vitaliy Leskiv, Yevhen Lunyo, Andriy Maksymovytch, Lydia Martynec, Larissa Shevchuk Matthews, Petro Mavko, Ihor Oleshchuk, Orysia Oleksyn, Bohdan Pechenyak, Valentina Podgornaya, Irena Podoliak, Yehven Ravski, Marzena Shemaly, Andriy Shutkak, Ustyna Soroka, Motria Spolsky, Stanislav Stempen, Halya Tereschuk, Lydia Tomkiw, Motria Tomkiw, Jim Tretick, Dennis Vaclavskyi, Oleg Voloshyn, Sergej Volvatch, Waclaw Wierzbieniel, Morgan Williams, and Lidiya Zubytska.

TAKE ACTION: Seven ways you can help

If you believe in the ideals the filmmakers are trying to promote with this documentary film. If you feel that those incredible stories should not be left unheard here are seven ways you can help and become an important part of a broad community of organizations and individuals supporting this work:

1. DONATE: Make a tax-deductible donation to the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF). You may donate online by going to the website www.landofdilemmas.org to make your contribution online. When making a donation, please put  FILM PROJECT in the space that says NAME OF SPECIFIC PROGRAM.  Please donate now!

You can also mail your check directly to the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) at 1701 K Street NW, Suite 903, Washington, D.C. 20006, USA; specifically mentioning FILM PROJECT on the check. Please include your name and address and a receipt will be mailed to you. Please donate now!

2. VOLUNTEER: Help to translate from Ukrainian, Russian or Polish into English one of the many incredible stories that have been captured on tape.

3. ORGANIZE: Fund-raise an event, party or reception to help generate the funds necessary to complete the movie.

4. REFER: Refer the two filmmakers to individuals/organizations that might have the commitment and the financial means to back up this important endeavor.

5. SHARE YOUR STORIES: Share with the filmmakers your related stories or those of your family.

6. CONTACT THE FILMMAKERS: The filmmakers would love to hear your suggestions or comments. E-mail: lanofdilemmas@gmail.com

7. READ & PARTICIPATE IN THEIR BLOG: The blog is one of several tools that will be used to build a community around the film and allow people to engage in a dialogue around the issues raised. It will also be used by the filmmakers as a platform while they are filming in Ukraine and Poland in order to share stories of the road and provide updates about the progress of the film. The blog can be found on the website, www.landofdilemmas.org.