Ukraine: Yesterday and Tomorrow

By: Andrew D’Anthua

        Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, geographical and political changes on the vast territories formerly occupied by the Soviet Empire were rapid and inevitable.  Many new nations often hostile to each other emerged from the ruins of the unified and unbreakable state as the Soviet Union boastfully defined itself in its national anthem.  Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, Ukraine was not only a part of the Soviet Union, but besides Russia and White Russia it was a part of its core.  It was generally accepted as a final truth that the Soviet regime as we know it before 1991 was merely impossible without Ukrainian participation.  Of course, this participation was not voluntary in spite of close ethnic and religious ties between the two largest Slavic nations in Eastern Europe.

        There is little doubt about the fact that the territory of modern Ukraine in the early Middle Ages was a common cradle for a Slavic nation which statehood, pursuant to the ancient chronicles, was established by the Viking Prince Olgerd (Oleg in contemporary transliteration).  However, later led by Moscow rulers, northern territories of the Slavic state known under the name of Kievska Rus, formed their own kingdom, which became the Russian Empire, and eventually swallowed the mother Ukraine which by the time became weak and disintegrated.

        The History of Ukraine is a bitter lesson for nations whose independence was lost due to any reasons.  The beautiful Ukrainian language was reduced to the level of communication between uneducated peasants.  Generations of potential writers, artists, scientists, and politicians were dissolved in the Russian melting pot, and the territory of Ukraine for centuries was divided and tailored by neighboring empires.  Even now the difference between Eastern Ukraine which was under the Russian rule since the 17th century and the Western Ukraine, formerly part of Austria-Hungarian Empire and later Poland, is significant, and cannot be ignored.  But the worst happened in 1933.  In that year, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin organized an artificial famine in Ukraine in order to create a Communist agricultural system known as KOLKHOZ – “collective agricultural management.”  Death toll – 10 (ten) million of Ukrainian peasants.  No one called it genocide at the time.  No one has even been brought to justice for this crime against humanity.  Another monument to the Russian Rule in Ukraine is a nuclear plant in Chernobyl.  Due to the negligence of the personnel and irresponsible tinkering with the reactor, nuclear disaster happened there on April 26, 1986.  Now that area is dead.  Forever…alas…

        Ukraine got its independence in 1991 at the crest of euphoria after a botched August military coup.  It was like a gift of the Providence – without bloodshed and civil war, which are deemed almost inevitable during the agony of the Soviet monster, and did occur in other parts of the dying empire.  The price of the independence for Ukraine is economical decline, unemployment, lack of natural resources, and, of course, typical for Eastern Europe, mismanagement.  All these factors take together, brought Ukraine to the level of the poorest nation in Europe.  But for those who love this land, its unique culture and language, the most important thing is that Ukraine, as a sovereign and independent nation, does exist now and will exist in the years to come, unless future generations forget the lessons once taught by History.

The Traditional Vietnamese Woman

by: Hoang Lan

        The Vietnamese woman plays a very important role in the Vietnamese society.  The y have undeniable qualities and are highly admired by other people around the world for their gentleness, gracefulness and even shyness.

        When young and unmarried, a Vietnamese girl lives with her parents.  She would strictly obey her parents.  She is taught the four feminine virtues: Good Work, Good Appearance, Good Speech, and Good Conduct.  Good Work means she must be good at housework, she must know how to sew, cook, and do any work supposed to be done by women.  Good Appearance means she must have a feminine appearance and graceful manners.  Good Speech means she must speak a nice and gentle language, and she has to be brief and delicate in her speech.  Good Conduct means she must show good attitude and act in a proper way.  She must learn how to behave and react.  A Vietnamese woman is expected to have all those four virtues to be considered the ideal woman.  Woman’s beauty, according to Vietnamese, is usually based upon those four virtues rather than physical attributes.

        The Vietnamese woman is taught to adhere to three basic duties.  First, while she is still under per parents’ roof, she must obey her father.  Second, when she gets married, she is no longer under her father’s command, but she must be submissive to her husband.  Third, after her husband’s death, she will take over all responsibilities in the family, but she did has a grown up son, she has to follow her son’s opinions in conducting the family business.

        Divorce is almost an unacceptable solution for family problems.  It is unbearable for a woman to be divorced, and it is a social disgrace for her family.  In case of domestic conflict or family disharmony, the husband and wife should solve it in a peaceful way.  If the couple have children and have problems, the woman usually chooses to suffer herself in order to save the family.

        In Vietnam, the role of the woman was confined to the home.  While her husband works to provide financial support for the family, the Vietnamese woman is expected not only to serve her husband, take care of the household, bring up the children, but also to take care of her husband’s family as well.  Besides sending the children to school, she has to teach them about life and morality at home.  Whenever children do something wrong, their mother is usually to be blamed.

        Despite their limited rights and low status in society, the role of the Vietnamese woman is never underestimated.  Vietnam was at war for such a long time, men had to do the military service.  Household management and external business, therefore, were largely left in the hands of women, who proved themselves to be very capable.  They frequently made decisions for their families so that their men could just concern themselves with bigger national issues.

        Although they did not ask for equal rights, Vietnamese women are often respected for their particular virtues.  They have made a lot of sacrifices for their husbands and children.  They have demonstrated a great deal of courage, patience and willingness to suffer for their family happiness and social harmony.

Kosovo Albanian Refugee Crisis

By: Dr. Pary Karadaghi

This spring we commemorate the massive exodus of Kurdish refugees, which occurred after the Gulf War.  Two million Kurdish refugees took to the mountains fearing for their lives and their loved ones.  The current refugee crisis for displaced ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo arouse memories of horror for many Kurds.  Seeing the terror, fear and despair in the eyes of the Kosovo children brought tears to my eyes one morning while I was watching the news.  At a time like this we once again feel fear.  Loud sounds, sudden movements, certain smells bring back times of dread and anxiety.  Ethnic cleansing of Shiite Iraqis in the Marshes and Kurds living in Kirkuk, Khanaqin, and Mandali is still pursued by the Iraqi government.  Thousands of internally displaced Kurdish families are making homes out of the rubble of destroyed villages in the no-fly zone.  Thousands of Kurds in Turkey are being driven from their homes under the pretext of associations with so-called terrorist activities.   Seeing the Kosovo refugees in seeing Kurdish refugees fleeing to the mountains.  It is a time once again to ask:  Why can humans be so evil?  Perhaps the final question is about all of us.  Where is the seed within humans, … within everyone that moves some to kill and slaughter others?  What fears and evil intentions bring such evil out of its shell?  Can compassion and love, justice and human rights prevail?  We must answer YES or hope will become hopelessness.  Let us pray and commit our lives to Yes and to HOPE for all Kurds, Kosovo, Albanians and all humanity.

The People of Bosnia

by: Dr. Lynn Maners

Bosnians are the people of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often called just Bosnia.  Many Americans may recognize the name Bosnia from the news in recent years, and some may recognize the name of its capital city Sarajevo, as a site of the Olympic games, but in general Americans are not well-informed about Bosnia.  Bosnia is one of the six republics which made up the country of Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

The people of Bosnia are almost all descendants of Serbs and Croats, however those descendants who converted to Islam, have been identified in recent decades as Muslim rather than Serbian or Croatian.  Before the recent war, Muslims made up about 44% of the Bosnian people.  Serbians about 31%, and Croatians about 17%.  There were also small minorities of Roma (commonly known as Gypsies), Albanians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Italians.

The Bosnian sense of humor is greatly appreciated, and jokes about two peasants name Suljo and Mujo could lighten any situation. 

Bosnian family names generally end in “ic”, meaning child of, and are passed down from father to children.  Family names often indicate ethnicity, as in “Sulemanagic”, clearly a Muslin name.  First names of woman often end in “a” or “ica,” and first names sometimes express historical events or ideology.

The Bosnians are much like Western Europeans.  Even in the rural areas, homes generally have electricity and indoor plumbing.  Many have owned a small tractor, a VCR, and a car.  In the cities, Bosnians are bankers, engineers, librarians, linguists, merchants, and truck drivers.  Many families have members in the city and in the country, although Bosnian Muslims tend to be more urban.  Marriage mates are generally chosen for love, and family size has been decreasing.

One difference may be the access that women have had to careers, as women were guaranteed equality in the workplace.  (The equality does not necessarily extend to work in the home, however.)  Top