We remember, unite, and shall overcome
On November 25, 2023, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls upon the international community to unite with Ukrainians worldwide in remembrance of the victims of the 1932-1933 Holodomor, the genocidal famine that left a nation scarred but not defeated in its determination to live in dignity and freedom.
The Holodomor, a man-made famine planned and implemented by the Russian-led Soviet regime, aimed to annihilate the Ukrainian people as a nation and break their desire for freedom and independence. Having taken the lives of many millions, it remains one of the most horrific pages of Ukrainian history and the gravest crime of the Soviet regime.
As Joseph Stalin feared that Ukrainians could bring down the Soviet empire, Vladimir Putin today fears that Ukraine’s success as an independent democracy that respects the freedom and dignity of its people will bring down his own regime, a murderous autocratic kleptocracy. For that reason, he has unleashed a genocidal war against the Ukrainian people with global ramifications. Putin’s regime cynically denies the very existence of the Ukrainian nation and attempts to eradicate Ukrainian national identity by means of unspeakable war crimes, mass deportations, kidnapping of Ukrainian children, and brutal assimilation in the Russian-occupied territories.
The Holodomor remains one of the most horrific chapters in Ukrainian history during which millions of lives were lost to a nation. As Ukrainians stand united in the fight against Russia’s brutal and unrelenting military aggression, the international community is being tested on the lessons of the Holodomor. Collectively and with all means available to us, we must firmly defend the principles of truth, democracy, and fundamental human rights.
The UWC expresses gratitude to the 28 countries that have officially recognized Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. We encourage all governments to join in this powerful expression of support for the Ukrainian identity as the nation fights for its very existence while sacrificing its sons and daughters in the defence of global peace and security.
The UWC appeals to all descendants of victims of the Holodomor to become the voice of family members who can no longer speak for themselves. We have an obligation to share the stories that will both strengthen a nation and enlighten the world.
On Saturday, November 25, let us remember every Ukrainian child, woman, and man who died innocently during the Holodomor. Let us pledge to keep this flame of remembrance alive from generation to generation because we believe in Ukraine’s great future.
Ukraine remembers! The world acknowledges!
May our memory of the victims of the Holodomor remain eternal.
