Commemorating the Holodomor in Washington



I took part today, December 4th in Washington DC the ground breaking ceremony of the Holodomor Memorial. Following is my speech I gave at the  ceremony: 

Every human being has a right for life, liberty and security. Every human being should have the right to live in dignity.

We have gathered today to remember the Holodomor, the tragic time in Ukraine history that stands as a reminder to us all that history is not to be forgotten and we have to speak on behalf of those who can’t speak themselves. World was silent in 1933 and nobody spoke on behalf of millions of Ukrainians and other nations.

As a Nation, Estonians experienced similar events 20 years later, although on a lesser scale. Together with Ukrainians, Lithuanians and many other nationalities we shared the sad history of being under totalitarian regime for more than 50 years. Therefore, we know what that meant to the Nation and its people.

The Holodomor is and will stay in our minds as a warning. We have to remember what horrific effect totalitarianism has had and still has on people, what suffering it has brought. And we still have to take efforts to avoid the recurrence of similar catastrophes in the future.

I have visited the Memorial to the Victims of the Holodomor in Kiev. I will never forget the sculptures of grieving angels and the girl with spikelet. I will never forget the heartbreaking stories told by survivors. I had the opportunity to listen to Holodomor survivor and teacher NICHOLAS MYKOLA LATYSHKO who has written a poem about Holodomor dedicated to his Mother. I would like to read some lines from the poem:

And after all the aches and torment
We came to life again once more
Our Ukraine again had risen
We shall not suffer any more

Dear friends, I would like to thank and recognize the Embassy of Ukraine, the US Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness for the initiative and hope that soon we can gather here at the Holodomor Memorial to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor.

I would like to light the white candle remembering all the victims, because
UKRAINA PAMJATAE, SVIT VIZNAE - Ukraine remembers, the world acknowledges.

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