May 14, 2008 -- The International Holodomor Remembrance Flame arrived in Saskatoon on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at a ceremony which began at 7 pm at City Hall Square in downtown Saskatoon. More than 200 people attended.

The Flame was escorted by 87-year-old Stefan Horlatsch of Toronto, a survivor of the Holodomor-Genocide.

The program started with an ecumenical Panakhyda led by the clergy of Saskatoon’s Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox clergy.

Master of Ceremonies, George Hupka, introduced and welcomed the dignitaries present: the Mayor of Saskatoon, Don Atchison, and The Constituency Assistant to the Hon. Carol Skelton, PC, MP Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, Ms. Dori Krahn.

Hupka then thanked the City.

“At this time, the Ukrainian community wishes to acknowledge and thank the Saskatoon City Council for its recent proclamation designating April 28 to May 3 as Holodomor Awareness Week in Saskatoon.”

Demyan Prokopchuk represented the youth at the ceremony. His well-presented bilingual presentation was a highlight of the evening. He urged the Canadian government to recognize the Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people.

Prokopchuk encouraged the public to learn about all genocides.

“The Ukrainian Famine is not the only genocide that has escaped the attention of the masses. By highlighting the case of the Holodomor as genocide, we seek to increase the international community’s awareness of the fact that engineered famines are still being used as a weapon today. Only through awareness can we help prevent such deplorable acts elsewhere in the world.”

In Ukrainian, Prokopchuk added (translation), “The time has come for the world to remember in its thoughts, hearts and in its books, this portion of its history. We are compelled to publicize the Ukrainian Holodomor as an important and shameful period, not only for Ukrainians, but also the world.”

He continued in English, “We, the youth, accept this flame today with humility and pride. With it we honour the victims of this horrific tragedy, we remember those who survived, and we cherish those who are still with us today. To the survivors we make a promise to always remember. We make a promise to ensure that your stories are shared, to ensure that your stories live on forever in the hearts and minds of future generations.”

In his remarks, Mayor Don Atchison reflected on the fact that the 10 million who perished in the Holodomor were equivalent to 10 times the population of Saskatchewan.

The torch arrived at the ceremony carried by youth Matthew Petrow. Mr. Horlatsch received the torch and shared the flame with 8 people, each born in a different decade from the 1930s to the 2000s.

Mr. Horlatsch spoke to the assembly in Ukrainian and summarized his comments stating the major purpose of this commemoration is to help assure that such an atrocity is not imposed on anyone in the future.

The decade representatives then shared their flame with all those present, each carrying a candle. Slawko Kindrachuk, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress -- Saskatoon Branch, organizers of the event, emphasized the importance of commemorating the Holodomor and thanked everyone who participated and attended. The two costumed kozaks present, Paul Bunka and Ivan Paliy, then led a procession of all participants to the public library located across the street.

Everyone assembled in the theatre at the library where they viewed the film “Harvest of Despair.” A reception with coffee, tea, water, crackers and viewing of Holodomor posters concluded the event.