BRAMA, October 19, 2001, 11 am ET

Chicago Celebrates Anniversary With the Ukrainian Schooner
by Natalka Korsheniuk Pollock
Special to BRAMA 10/17/01

Photo credit: Bill Hurshman

On Saturday, August 24, the streets of Chicago were beautified by Ukrainians in colorful, embroidered shirts and dresses. Homes and businesses in the Ukrainian Village displayed blue-and-yellow flags, and the Mayor celebrated the 10th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence with several events.

The schooner Bat’kivshchyna had arrived at Chicago’s Navy Pier as scheduled, on the previous Thursday, to mark the beginning of the weekend’s events. Under the helm of Captain Dmytro Biriukovych, the Bat, as it has been nicknamed by the American press, had successfully reached the culmination of the American Sail Training Association’s Great Lakes Challenge in time to celebrate with the 50,000 Ukrainians of Chicago.This was to be its last stop in its 17-city tour which began in Norwich, Conn. on May 30.

Photo credit: Bill Hurshman

The boat had wintered in Norwich, Conn., and had made many lasting friends there and in Hartford last June, where it stopped to thank its adopted home for taking them in after last year’s Op Sail 2000 in New London. The Bat had attracted worldwide attention for its heroic journey originating in Kyiv and striking land in New York City for the International Parade of Tall Ships.

It was at Op Sail that the Captain was introduced to Alex Kuzma, executive director of CCRF, and the two formed a mutually beneficial partnership. The Bat was on a mission to raise awareness of Ukraine as an independent country, and CCRF wanted to emphasize the need for more humanitarian efforts and funds to fulfill its mission of helping Ukrainian children suffering the devastating effects of the nuclear disaster in Chornobyl.

Now, on this their last stop of the summer 2001 itinerary, the boat was invited to play a very visible role in Chicago’s anniversary celebration, as Ukrainians all over the country and perhaps the world were observing this still hard-to-believe historical marker. That very same Thursday, shortly after his arrival at the Navy Pier, the Captain stood on the dais with the Ukrainian vice-consul Ludmilla Protasova; Mayor Richard M. Daley and members of his staff and local legislators; and other dignitaries, joining in the congratulatory remarks and hopeful views of the future for his homeland.

Mayor Daley has honored the Ukrainian-American community in this way before -- at the venerable Cultural Center with hors d’oeuvres and awards for those Ukrainian-Americans who have contributed in a special way to their community and the city as a whole. But this year the Mayor’s reception had a special tone. This year Ukrainians were celebrating a milestone in their history, and he wanted to be identified with it because he understood the significance of this day.

"Chicago is a city built and maintained by immigrants," said Mayor Daley. "People from all over the world came here to make a better life for themselves and for their families.Over the years, these immigrants have woven a tapestry that makes Chicago one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. We're very fortunate to have a thriving Ukrainian community that maintains business, family and cultural ties to Ukraine. And it's a community that continues to grow with new arrivals from Ukraine. We learn from each other - not only through the active Ukrainian community here in Chicago but through our Sister City relationship with Kiev, the capital city in your homeland. I want to commend Chicago's entire Ukrainian community for your strong sense of family and your great commitment to our city."

Photo credit: Bill Hurshman

On Friday, the day commemorating Ukraine’s independence, another round of events was planned. Captain Biriukovych participated in the raising of the Ukrainian flag at noon on Daley Plaza at City Hall, and was again given an opportunity to address the festive crowd of Ukrainian and American well-wishers. An honor guard of Ukrainian war veterans hoisted the flag on the center flagpole between the flags of the United States and the City of Chicago, while spectators sang the national anthems of both freedom-loving nations.

Later the same day, alongside the Bat’kivshchyna at the Navy Pier, a formal welcoming ceremony, with the blessing of the schooner by Bishop Innocent Lotocky and Archbishop Vesvolod, was conducted to a capacity crowd, despite intermittent rainshowers and threatening thunder. Dr. Christina Petrykiw, president of the Chicago chapter of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, hosted the event, and Master of Ceremonies Tamara Kuzyk Storrie, set the event into context: "Freedom is not merely a document with an official seal, ...it is a feeling in the hearts and minds of a people. Today we stand here on the tenth anniversary of Ukraine’s independence and we welcome the new century proudly as a free and independent nation...We are honored to welcome Capt. Biriukovych and his crew. After an amazing and arduous journey, we are privileged to welcome [them] to our windy but very hospitable city and we wish them a memorable stay in Chicago."

The captain responded with warm and heartfelt thanks, reflecting on the significance of this day for Ukraine and its people, as well as for himself and his crew. He was presented with a wooden replica of a "chaika," a traditional sailing vessel in Ukraine, by Bohdan Kardashchuk, who made it by hand. Mr. Kardashchuk represents Tovarystvo Novoprybulyx, an organization of the newest arrivals from Ukraine.

Vice-Consul Protasova added her greetings on behalf of the Ukrainian government and praised the captain and his crew for their endeavors to promote international awareness of Ukraine. Dr. Danylo Hryhorczuk of the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Marta Farion, president of the Chicago-Kyiv Sister Cities Program, extended their greetings in solidarity with Ukraine.

Photo credit: Bill Hurshman

As the rain increased in intensity and umbrellas sprung up through the crowd, Alex Kuzma of CCRF, summed up the significance of this event: "Today we welcome the tall ship Bat’kivshchyna as a living symbol of Ukraine’s newfound freedom. We give thanks for the vision and the fierce determination of Captain Biriukovych and his crew. Their legendary voyage across the Atlantic and the Great Lakes Expedition have won the hearts of literally hundreds of thousands of American and Canadian citizens who have visited the ship and marveled at its exploits. Over the past 14 months, the Bat’kivshchyna has arguably done more to publicize Ukrainian independence and to raise more awareness about the heroic spirit of Ukraine than countless ‘akademiyi’ or traditional community functions. In crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Bat’kivshchyna has reminded us that we Ukrainians are still capable of bold and daring ventures. We are capable of setting ambitious goals, of thinking big. We are capable of pursuing dreams that defy the odds, dreams that are not for the faint of heart."

Sunday was the final day of the observance, and for the Captain, an opportunity to address his new-found friends in Chicago one more time, and to regale them with the adventures which brought him to their city. His talk was accompanied by a video of the odyssey, beginning with the building of the schooner and its departure from Kyiv two years ago.

Dr. Petrykiw described the work of CCRF-Chicago over the past years, which resulted in the raising of $12,000 from the Chicago community toward the purchase of a neonatal incubator for the new neonatal intensive care unit at the Rivne Oblast Pediatric Hospital. According to Dr. Petrykiw, "Similar neonatal units have been established in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lviv, Poltava, Odessa, Lutsk and Vynnytsia. They have documented a reduction in infant mortality by as much as 50 to 80 per cent."

By the end of the evening, almost $3,000 in donations was collected in support of the joint Bat’kivshchyna and CCRF effort.

After its departure from Chicago, the Bat’kivshchyna traveled from Lake Michigan down the Calumet and the Mississippi Rivers. After short stops in St. Louis and New Orleans, they sailed into the Port of St. Petersburg, Florida on October 10, where they hope to spend the winter before sailing to Curacao for the start of the Americas’ Sail Regatta in June, 2002.

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