[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

 IN RECOGNITION OF THE OPENING OF THE CONSULATE OF UKRAINE IN MICHIGAN

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
important event that will be occurring in my home State of Michigan 
this weekend. On Saturday, hundreds of individuals will gather to 
celebrate the opening of the Consulate of Ukraine in Michigan. This 
consulate will be located at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, 
MI.
  For a millennium, the Ukrainian people have successfully fought to 
maintain and preserve their unique culture, language, religion and 
identity. Such resiliency and perseverance stands as an inspiration for 
free people everywhere, and bears witness to the depth, character and 
vibrancy of Ukrainian culture.
  During the course of the past one hundred years, Michigan has become 
home to a vibrant Ukrainian community that currently numbers over 
200,000 people, the vast majority of whom reside in the Detroit metro 
area. Many of the Ukrainians who moved to Michigan came here in search 
of freedom and the opportunities provided by our nation. The Ukrainian 
people who came to the United States left behind the horrors of Czarist 
Russia, the famines of 1932 and 1933, Nazi encroachment and Communist 
rule, but they did not leave behind their love for the nation and the 
culture they left behind.
  These immigrants played a vital role in the development of Detroit 
and our nation. Ukrainian-Americans worked in the plants and mills that 
made Detroit the Arsenal of Democracy. While some Ukrainians served the 
cause of freedom at home, others have fought bravely in our nation's 
military to preserve our freedom. Ukrainian-Americans have contributed 
greatly to the prosperity of this nation, while maintaining ties to 
their culture and heritage. The Consulate of Ukraine in Michigan will 
enhance and expand the ties which unite the United States and Ukraine. 
It will serve the people of Michigan, and will lead to increased 
social, cultural and economic interaction between the two nations.
  Many people worked hard to make this Consulate a reality. In 
particular, I would like to thank Borys Potapenko and Bohdan Fedorak 
for their efforts to make the opening of this Consulate possible. I am 
sure that my Senate colleagues will join me in celebrating the opening 
of the Ukrainian Consulate in Michigan.

                          ____________________