[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING UKRAINIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY 2010

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                           HON. MIKE QUIGLEY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. QUIGLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay homage to the 10 
million innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in the 
Ukrainian genocide of 1932-1933. As a result of Joseph Stalin and the 
Soviet government's brutal economic policies, peasants were stripped of 
their land, herded onto collective farms, and all the food that was 
produced was property of the state. Due to this deprivation of food and 
aid, masses of Ukrainian people began to starve in what is now known as 
one of the greatest atrocities known to civilization: an intentional, 
manmade famine intended to defeat all resistance and break the will of 
the Ukrainian people.
  The Soviets, however, failed to account for the resilience and 
unbreakable spirit attributed to the people of this nation as the 
Ukrainians proved their strong will in emerging from an overtly 
oppressive regime to form a strong democratic nation. The Orange 
Revolution and the people of Ukraine are a true testament to the world 
of how a nation in dire straits can triumph over its oppressor to build 
a sovereign democracy.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
Ukrainian Genocide Remembrance Day 2010, as we shed light on the 
horrific effects of group-targeted acts of violence and commemorate 
those who suffered. It's important not to fall into the line of 
retroactive thinking and dismiss these instances of the worst type of 
groupthink as issues from the past. Regimes in power with the desire 
and intent to destroy national, ethnic and religious still exist in 
many countries around the world. The divisive will of these people is 
only strengthened if we choose to ignore their presence.

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