More than 450 primary school students from Ukrainian schools in the city will gather at Queen's Park at 10:30am today to commemorate 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian genocide known as Holodomor, or extermination by famine.
An estimated 10 million Ukrainian men, women and children were subjected to starvation and death in 1932-33 by the communist regime of Joseph Stalin as part of his effort to eradicate Ukraine as a country.
Famine survivors along with the students will deliver presentations reminding Canadians why it is important to remember and recognize the atrocity that occurred in Ukraine 75 years ago. Students will also lay wreaths at the event to which the Premier, opposition leaders and other Queen's Park representatives have been invited.
The event not only marks the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine but also comes at a time when a Bill to declare the famine as a genocide is in its second reading at Queen's Park. The Bill would allow the Ukrainian genocide to e part of curriculum studies in Ontario. The Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932-33 was recognized as genocide by Canada's Parliament on May 27, 2008.
Candles to light up Bloor Street West
A second commemorative event is scheduled on Saturday November 22, on Bloor Street West beginning at 5:00pm. More than 1500 people will form a living chain of memory in honor of Holodomor victims.
Candles will be lit by famine survivors, Ukrainians and other denominations at 5:00pm who will form a procession on the north side of Bloor from Kennedy Street west to Jane Street and from Jane east to Windermere Avenue in the city's west end.
The candle procession in Toronto will be part of similar ceremonies taking place in 32 countries on November 22 which has been declared a day of memory for victims of the Ukrainian genocide. The Toronto event is being organized by the Toronto chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
Federal, provincial and municipal officials are expected to participate.
What is the Holodomor?
In the early 1930s, in the very heart of Europe - in a region considered to be Europe's breadbasket - Stalin's Communist regime committed a horrendous act of genocide against up to 10 million Ukrainians. An ancient nation of agriculturists was subjected to starvation, one of the most ruthless forms of torture and death. The government imposed exorbitant grain quotas, in some cases confiscating supplies down to the last seed. The territory of Soviet Ukraine and the predominantly Ukrainian-populated Kuban region of the Northern Caucasus (Soviet Russia) were isolated by armed units, so that people could not go in search of food to the neighboring Soviet regions where it was more readily available. The result was the Ukrainian genocide of 1932-33, known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor, or extermination by famine.
For further information: Lydia Falcomer, (416) 473-6532,
Lydia52@rogers.com; Ihor Klufas, (416) 235-1543
