How Many Organizations Do We Need?

By Walter Kish

Since I first got involved with Ukrainian organizations some forty years ago, I have always been puzzled and somewhat dismayed by how many of them there are.  The proliferation of associations, federations, leagues, foundations, congresses, committees, clubs, brotherhoods, etc. etc. just boggles the mind.  The hoariest clich about Ukrainians is that wherever you find three Ukrainians, you will find at least five Ukrainian organizations.  I used to think that it was a Canadian-Ukrainian affliction, until I learned that the same disease is alive and well in the Homeland as well, as exemplified by the mind-boggling number of political parties that currently exist in Ukraine today.  We seem to have an inordinate proclivity when it comes to organizations to divide and replicate faster than a flu virus.

Now granted, there is a positive side to having a certain amount of variety and diversity; nonetheless beyond a certain point we pay a price as a community.  At a time when most Ukrainian organizations in Canada are struggling to maintain financial and operational viability, it is incomprehensible to me why more serious efforts are not being made towards merging existing organizations.  Surely, by pooling our assets, finances and membership resources, we would be better able to satisfy the educational, cultural, political and social requirements of the Ukrainian community.  Instead, year by year, we see more and more organizations and their branches disappear into history. 

Most of the Ukrainian organizations still in existence in Canada were formed many, many decades ago in the early part of the last century, usually on the basis of political beliefs or special interests whose relevance today is minimal.  The two largest, the Ukrainian National Federation and the League of Ukrainian Canadians with their youth group SUM coalesced, respectively, around the old world rift between the Melnyk and Bandera factions of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists). 

Aside as items of historical research and curiosity, those politics are of minimal relevance to the younger generations of Ukrainian Canadians.  Nonetheless, these two organizations continue to operate essentially in separate worlds, coming together only on rare ceremonial occasions.  At the ground roots branch level there are few touch points and there is little movement towards regular cooperation, never mind merging halls and resources.  We seem to be stuck in a kind of organizational inertia, recognizing that our existing organizational models are become increasingly irrelevant or impractical, yet lacking the initiative or motivation to do anything about it.

For the past three months or so, I have been working in Oshawa with a motivated group of people of my generation in a committee that planned a series of Holodomor commemoration activities that took place last week.  Although I was particularly gratified by the success of the events and the impact they had on the Ukrainian community in Oshawa, what pleased me more was the dynamic and spirit of our committee.  It was composed of representatives from all the major Ukrainian organizations and faiths in the area, including the UNF, League/SUM, the Catholics and the Orthodox.  It was no surprise to me that we shared similar interests, hopes, vision and dedication towards maintaining and developing Ukrainian culture and identity within the community.  What was surprising was the fact that this was the first time that all these different groups had cooperated to this degree in a major, united community effort.  It took the efforts of a couple of motivated individuals to bring everybody together and persuade them we all really share the same goals and interests, and that the organizational labels or prejudices that we may have accepted in the past should be archived as soon as possible. 

Aside from making the Holodomor commemoration program a success, I am hopeful that the exercise will also prove to be the first step in a coming together of all the existing Ukrainian “solitudes” in Oshawa into one united community.

Throughout Ukraine’s history, external forces have continuously sought to divide our people in order to keep us subjugated.  Over the past century, we were finally given the opportunity to determine our own fate.  We have had our “ups and downs” as historical and political forces sought to derail our aspirations.  With a free Ukraine, we now have a golden opportunity to achieve what our ancestors could only dream about.  It is therefore somewhat ironic that the forces dividing us today, be it in Ukraine or in Canada, are no longer primarily external, but internal.

Why do we still tolerate outdated and irrelevant divisions?  It is time to make more serious efforts at breaking down the political and religious barriers and becoming a more united and cohesive Ukrainian community.