Thread by @nicoleviscek

This tweet comes a little late but here it is nonetheless. The fourth Saturday in November, we remember the lives lost in the Holodomor, The Great Famine killing millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933 in Soviet Ukraine under Stalin.
thepostmillennial.com/remembering-th…

Both born in 1924, my Ukrainian great-grandparents lived through this time period in Soviet Ukraine. It was in the late 40s that they finally fled to Germany and then boarded a ship to Canada to start a new life.

I was extremely fortunate to have my great-grandparents both alive and well throughout my entire upbringing. For me, it was the blessing of a third set of grandparents. They imparted much of their Ukrainian culture on me -from the Ukrainian food to the Ukrainian treasures...

to taking us to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and celebrating Ukrainian Christmas and Easter. They instilled the values of hard work, resilience and the love of family. I know I would not be who I am today without the love and guidance of my Didi and Baba.

Fun fact: my Twitter banner photo is an old picture of mine...of their backyard, a place I spent much time growing up. My Didi had every fruit tree imaginable back there and a garden that could supply an entire grocery store I’m sure.

While they loved to spend time with the family, talking for hours, the one thing they never spoke of was their upbringing in Soviet Ukraine. Not to me, not to my mother, not even to my grandmother.

I know they harboured painful memories from that time and I often wonder of the things they experienced, of the things they saw. It saddens me to know how lonely it must have felt keeping those parts of their life hidden from us, not wanting us to know these details.

These days, with my Didi since passed on and my Baba in LTC (I wish Covid wasn’t a thing), I find myself yearning to know more of this past and of history. I read and read and as upsetting as it is, it’s so important to read of the struggles of those who came before us.

Quoting from the above article, “It is incumbent upon every modern individual to study and understand the horrors of the 20th century. Many countries deny the Holodomor, as do many academic communists. This denialism is not unlike Turkey's denialism of the Armenian Genocide, or..

neo-Nazis denying the Holocaust. It is not only a travesty to the memory of those who suffered, but surely to those who are yet to come. We must remember history, as not to repeat it.”

And to all those who suffered and lost their lives in the Holodomor, I say “Vichnaya Pamyat” meaning Eternal Memory🙏 .

#HolodomorMemorialDay #Holodomor #HolodomorRemembranceDay