Posted by Slawko on March 20, 2000 at 14:30:49:
In Reply to: Re: Language Debate posted by Valentyn on March 20, 2000 at 12:01:41:
: : Folks,
: : I'm sure that language is a very emotional
issue with many Ukrainians, especially if you take
into account the Russification policies of the
former Soviet Union and Tsarist Russia. However,
I'd like to draw a parallel between the current
situation in Ukraine and the current situation in
Quebec, where there is a French majority and an
English minority.
: : Ukraine is an independent country now. The
goal of the French separatists in Quebec is to
break up the Canadian federation and create an
independent Quebec. The separatist Parti Quebecois
(PQ)is currently the party in power. One of the
major aims of the PQ is to eliminate the use of
the English language in Quebec. Thus, English and
the people who speak English in Quebec have been
targeted as "enemies". French has been designated
as the official language of Quebec, even though
French and English are both official languages of
Canada.
: : The reason that the Quebec government targets
the English minority and English-speaking citizens
in very clear. These are the folks who vote
against Quebec independence because they want to
remain Canadian. Quebec separatism is based on
ethnic and racial principles. No matter how much
they deny it, only white ethnic french-speaking
Quebecers (pure laine) are considered true
Quebecois. One glance at the Quebec civil service
will show that 97% of all civil service positions
are held by pure laine Quebecers, even though
English Canadians make up 15% of the population.
: : The PQ has used language legislation to harass
and punish the English majority in Quebec, with
the goal being to drive them out of the province.
Let me give you some examples.
: : First, it is illegal to post a sign in
English. Any sign with English on it must also
have French, and the French must be "predominant".
The Quebec courts determine what is "predominant".
: : Second, the PQ has systematically worked to
eliminate English from the health care system.
English-speaking patients have difficulty finding
heath care services in their own language. Many
English-speaking doctors have been driven out of
the province as well.
: : Schools, the Quebec government has drastically
limited access to English education, with the
intent of destroying the English school system
altogether. Only children born to parents where
both parents were educated in English in Canada
are eligible to attend English schools. This means
that French children have absolutely no right to
attend English schools, and immigrants who came to
Quebec from English speaking countries have no
right to educate their children in English either.
This affected me personally, as I am a Ukrainian
American, married to a French Canadian. Both my
wife and I hold university degress from English
universities, but we did not have any choice when
it came to educating our children in English. (We
are now both happily living in the States where
neither of us have to put up with this ethnic
bullcrap any longer).
: : Workplace language, all businesses with 10 or
more employees must use French as the official
language, businesses with 50 or more employees
must be issued a "Francisation" certificate by the
government, where they send inspectors in to
verify that French is being used correctly in the
workplace. Heavy fines and blackballing are
tactics used by the government to force compliance
with this law.
: : Language police, the Quebec government uses
language police to wander around the province to
check and see if you are hanging any "illegal"
signs in your store, building, or business.
Retalation comes in the form of court fines and,
or, late-night visits by language radicals who
vandalize, spray paint and/or destroy your
business and property. This has already happened
to several Ukrainian churches in Montreal because
most Ukrainians in the Montreal region educate
their children in English and associate themselves
with the "anglophone" community. Since Ukrainians
are not pure laine (and not stupid, either), they
know they will never be accepted as true Quebecois
and hence consider themselves Canadians. If anyone
on this list is from Montreal, they can certainly
confirm this.
: : Ethnic intimidation, English bookstores and
cultural centers are constant targets of vandals
and language radicals because they have one of the
few exceptions to the "No English on signs" rule.
Windows are shattered, buildings are defaced, or
worse yet, firebombed. Doesn't this remind you of
some other European country in the 1930's? Go ride
the Metro in Montreal, you'll see nice graffiti
like "Canadians go home" or "Anglos eat s--t". A
wonderful place to raise your kids, eh! What
amazes me is that the police, even with all their
high-tech camera equipment, never catch any of
these vandal "defenders of the French language".
Justice really is blind there, when it comes to
language issues.
: : So, that's my point. Ukraine is an independent
country, if we want to make Ukrainian the official
language of the government, that's fine. But if we
want to treat all non ethnic "pure laine" people
living in Ukraine as second class citizens, with
no minority rights on language, education, and
free speech, then we become no different from the
fascists that ran Germany in the 30's and are
doing the same in Quebec today.
: : Russians, and any other minorities living in
Ukraine today should have full rights as Ukrainian
citizens, and they should be able to educate their
children in the language of their choice (as well
as Ukrainian), and live and work in the language
of their choice as well, without fear of ethnic
reprisals and retaliation. Or is being a Ukrainian
citizen contingent upon your ethnicity and race?
: : You would think that after all those years
under Communism and Russian domination, and
conscious policies by Joseph Stalin to wipe out
Ukrainian language and culture, that we would have
learned something more about democracy and
minority rights than "an eye for an eye" and
"ethnic cleansing".
: : My two cents.
: : Roman Panchyshyn
: : Columbus, Ohio
: Well,
: Quebec is very good instance for Ukraine.
Quebecois want to separate from Canada because
they speak French. But France is too far from
Canada that is why it is too difficult to separate
Quebuec from Canada. Russia is near to Ukraine. If
a part of Ukrainans speaks Russian, than a part of
Ukraine will separate and join to Russia. The
question of Ukrainian language is the question of
existence of Ukraian state. Russia doesn't want
Ukrainian state therefore it makes a nois about
"human rights" in Ukraine.
There shouldn't be any debate about-or over the
language in Ukraine.Quebuec-Canada has nothing to
do,whats happening in Ukraine.After all 92% of all
the people supported and voted for free Ukraine.I
am sure they didn't have Russia on their minds
then or do they now.Only the communist helping
misslead poor people with false promisses of
soviet regime,my God didn't they have enough of
Russia yet.How on earth Russia has enough face and
talk about human rights after what happened in
Chechnia.They should be ashamed,and the last
people to talk about human rights.Russia has very
short memory,what happened in the past and present
Ukraine is not forbidining people to use their
language, just to have their own official language
in Free Ukraine.Is that abusing human rights ,
anyway in any form.My GOD have mercy on Ukraine.