Ukrainian-Canadian parishioners hold special memorial for countrymen
EDMONTON – Parishioners gathered at St. Anthony’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Callingwood on Sunday to honour the lives lost in the uprising in Ukraine.
Father Patrick Yamniuk blessed the kolachi, three woven loaves of bread, which would later be served to members of the congregation.
“Ukraine has suffered this type of turbulence for almost their whole history, it’s full of this type of suppression and oppression and so we remembered them today in the memorial,� he said.
Parishioner Nadia Struzhko, who moved to Edmonton in 2003, lived through some of that strife and still has friends in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.
“One reason (I left) is people had less and less power to speak, less opportunity to work,� she said. “They wanted to free themselves.�
Other Edmontonians are also closely watching development from Ukraine.
As protesters took control of Kyiv on the weekend, Olenka Pryshliak watched with a mix of pride, worry, sadness and joy.
“It’s bittersweet,� said the 25-year-old stay-at-home mom who has been keeping one eye on her baby boy and the other on the laptop tuned to an Espreso TV live stream of the momentous events in Kyiv.
One of more than 300,000 Albertans of Ukrainian heritage, she moved from Lviv, Ukraine, to Canada in 1998 with her mother but most of her family remains in Ukraine. One of her cousins is among the citizens standing guard at the parliament.
“It’s been a flood of emotions,� Pryshliak said.
“Thirteen men from my city of Lviv were killed in Kyiv. It’s not only worry about my family, but everybody in Ukraine because we are all the same people.�
After a week that left scores dead, Saturday saw President Viktor Yanukovych flee the capital and denounce what he called a political coup.
Pryshliak looks forward to presidential elections expected in May but said the deaths of protesters have muted any sense of celebration.
“I don’t think there is such a thing as excitement because of all the loss that we have experienced.�
She is also worried about the state of the economy in the country of 46 million after months of turmoil. “My mom just called my auntie and my auntie said they’re not paying anybody. My grandmother has no pension. Nobody has any money. How is she supposed to feed herself and buy her medications?�
Emil Yereniuk, second vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress National Executive, said there is cautious optimism both in Ukraine and in Edmonton.
“I talked to my friend in Kyiv and he was exuberantly happy that we got rid of the man but things still have to get done and they’re worried about Russia coming in possibly and is there going to be a split in the country,� Yereniuk said.
Parishioner Harry Nichiporik fell into the same camp.
“Being aligned with the European Union doesn’t mean you won’t have further corruption,� he said. “They need a leader there that can unify the interests (of east and west).�