Death By Hunger

I came into work this morning to learn that we were taking a field trip today. We, being the staff of the library. It doesn’t happen often that the whole staff exits and walks down the street together, but today was one of those occasions. Today is the day to remember the victims of the “Holodomor” (Ukrainian for “death by hunger”) which is yet another thing I never knew about before coming to this country. 

A midday reflection of the sun through one of the famine memorial monuments in the city. This one stands in Kiev on the grounds of St. Michael's Cathedral. 

It was a time between 1932-33 when Stalin used his power to kill approximately ¼ of the population of Ukraine (including 3 million children) by cutting off food supplies. There are some disturbing photo documentation of this time period where people just expired on the streets while others just walked past, seemingly oblivious/unaffected. Stalin's motives and methods can be seen on the websites linked below, as me trying to explain the hows and whyfors of this genocide could not do it justice. I write today to document the Razdol’noye Holodomor Memorial Day. We left the library around 8:45 to head over to the church. The memorial was not held inside the church, but in the patch of land behind it, between the church and the cemetery. We arrived along with about 100 others representing different departments in town. 

Some of the library staff waiting for the service to begin

Listening to the priest deliver his remarks

There was some chatter amongst the audience, but nothing inappropriately loud. There were two, boy/girl couples dressed in traditional Ukrainian garb each holding a flower arrangement in silence. As if standing at attention, their stoic, expressionless faces underscored the solemnity of the gathering. 

They held the arrangement for several minutes before placing it on the monument

Around 9:05 six people, including the church officiant, entered the audience area. In tow were four women each of different generations, who turned out to be a cappella hymn singers, and a man who appeared to be the mobile-podium carrier and incensory holder and preparer. 

The priest remembering the victims

A hush fell over the crowd as the priest read some prepared remarks and made a few passes of the giant cross monument with the smoking incense. His remarks were punctuated by some wonderful three part harmonies and a lot of moments for people to cross themselves. The service ended ten minutes later with the man picking up and carrying off the podium followed closely by the singers. 

At that moment the bouquet holders set their burden down at the foot of the churchyard cross, opening up the floor for attendants to set their individual flowers on the multi-purpose monument (since there is no plaque on the pedestal, the cross can be used for multiple memorials during the year). 

On the way out, the priest had stopped at the exit to make himself available for individual blessings to those who wanted. Within moments the audience had dispersed making their way down the street in much the same way as they had arrived. The chatter grew the farther they got from the memorial site. 

You can learn more about this tragic event here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor and here http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm