This year's SUSK Congress was held online and although we definitely missed getting to see our friends from the other USO's across Canada, our members had a great time getting to network, and learn from the other members of SUSK.
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Memories of Internment - Understanding Canada's Colonial History through our Shared Struggle7/24/2021 This summer, Canadians from all walks of life were reminded of Canada's dark colonial past and oppression towards indigenous people and minorities. It goes without saying that some Canadians found the reminder of their countries colonial and exploitary history hard to swallow. For those Canadians in particular, those who find it difficult to empathize with communities outside of their own, let us remind you, that this history is not new, nor is it unique to the indigenous experience (although in a contemporary context, they are by far the most impacted both in the past and in the present).
It might come as a surprise to many but Ukrainian Canadians also faced discrimination and persecution by the Canadian Government. From 1914 to 1920, the Government of Canada imprisoned over 8000 Ukrainian men, women and even some children in 24 internment camps located across the country. Another 80,000 were listed as "enemy aliens" and although they were not interned, they were obliged to regularly report to police and treated like second class citizens. For what crime were these people accused after. From our contemporary understanding of privilege, they were white yes, but they were also poor, they could not speak english, they worked the land and most importantly, they were "other". Having, only a decade earlier, been invited by the Canadian Government to settle in Canada, the onset of WWI proved to squash the dreams of many of finding a better life in Canada. Their new home, Canada, was fighting against the Central Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary. Despite not being Austrian themselves, many of the Ukrainian families that settled in Canada had emigrated from the province of Galicia, an area which was, at the time, under the Austrian Crown. Having the title of "Austrian" on their passports was enough to warrant them the label of internal spy. The Ukrainian Cultural Center here in Victoria British Columbia is home to a plethora of Ukrainian resources. They serve as the heart of our community hosting Ukrainian dance lessons through Veselka, Ukrainian Language Classes and especially, through their monthly Ukrainian Suppers that never fail to draw in a crowd. Perhaps less well known about the Center is their library. Located on the second floor of the building, the library boasts an extensive collection of literature, in both Ukrainian and English, that are available to the public. First established in 1970's The Ukrainian Cultural Center Library contains books from all genres ranging from history, to romance, Ukrainian Poetry. They even offer many Ukrainian Language resources for those of us looking to brush up on our Ukrainian. The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for all of. It goes without saying that the most memorable part about of our club is our community, getting to hang out with one another, and sharing in our culture. Unfortunately, COVID has made gathering together virtually impossible. As our executive team sat at home alone, missing each-other and missing our zabavas, we consoled ourselves the only way we knew how. With a warm bowl of borsch of course!
It was then that we were struck with an idea! Borsch is the quintessential heart of the Ukrainian Community, why not use it to bring us together once again! This past weekend we did just that. We hosted a very successful virtual borsch workshop hosted by our President Chase Gargus. Our members got together this past weekend for a socially distanced Beach clean up event. One of the best parts of our club is getting to meet and hangout with the other members of our community. It was definitely the aspect of club life that we missed the most since the COVID-19 pandemic has kept us all apart. It was great to get to see everyone and do something to benefit our community at the same time. We picked up a fair amount of trash from Arbutus Cove here in Victoria BC. We're so grateful to live in such a beautiful part of Canada and that we get to enjoy beautiful beaches all year round like to one at Arbutus Cove. Lets keep working together to preserve the beauty of our Island! This year’s annual Holodomor Awareness Week looked a little different than it has in the past. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we weren't able to host our usually information tables across campus and interact with students directly, but we weren't about to let that stop us from spreading awareness of the Holodomor and commemorating the lives lost. With a little creativity and some help from SUSK, we created a number of Holodomor installations around campus and downtown Victoria with information on the Holodomor. Maybe you saw them? One of the strongest organizations working to bring Holodomor Awareness to our communities has to be the Holodomor National Awareness Tour. Created through a coalition of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium and the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, the Holodomor National Awareness Tour works to raise awareness of the Holodomor while promoting Canadian values like human rights, civility and democracy. The Holodomor National Awareness tour operates a mobile classroom which they tour across the country to schools and communities teaching people about the Holodomor. This year, we were lucky enough to bring the Holodomor tour bus to the University of Victoria Campus. This was truly an amazing experience not only for our members but for the greater UVic student body as well. The mobile classroom was brought directly onto the UVic quad where hundreds of students were able to stop and speak with their educators. If you’re familiar with Ukrainian Culture here in Canada, you’ll know just how important of a role food plays in preserving our identity against the backdrop of the Canadian experience. As Ukrainians moved across the land, we brought with us our traditional culinary practices forever changing the landscape. No seriously! If you ever doubted how much we value our traditional food, go take a drive through Alberta. Ever heard of the “Giants of the Prairies”? We’ve immortalized our favourite treats has huge statues across the prairies. A giant kovbasa in Mundare, a colossal Vareniki in Glendon you get the idea.
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August 2021
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