[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 15 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the ties between America's ethnic 
communities and their countries or regions of origin have enriched our 
foreign policy and our relationships with the world. Developments in 
their countries or regions of origin have special meaning for our 
ethnic communities, which draw on common traditions, shared languages, 
and family ties.
  Today marks the 100th anniversary of one of America's great ethnic 
organizations, the Ukrainian National Association which was founded on 
February 22, 1894, and had its origins, like other immigrant 
organizations of the day, as a fraternal life insurance organization.
  President Kravchuk's upcoming visit to the United States marks a 
further step in Ukraine's assumption of its place among the world's 
sovereign nations. It is fitting, as we celebrate Ukraine's emergence 
as a nation, that we honor an organization which kept faith with 
Ukrainian culture and language, and with the idea of a Ukrainian 
national identity during decades when many in the West were willing, 
intellectually and politically, to concede that Ukraine had been 
absorbed into imperial Russia and the Soviet Union.
  Through initiatives such as the Taras Shevchenko memorial in 
Washington and funding of research on the Ukrainian famine, the 
Ukrainian National Association raised consciousness of ``Ukrainian-
ness'' well beyond the Ukrainian community. With the Soviet collapse, 
the Ukrainian National Association transformed itself from a barrier 
against communism to a bridge between the United States and independent 
Ukraine. We wish Ukraine a bright future as a democracy with a thriving 
market economy. And we wish the Ukrainian National Association well in 
its efforts to help.

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