Two Solitudes

By Alex Chumak

Is there a common denominator among all Ukrainians?

Toronto-born Anastasia Baczynskyj has set out, through her Master of Arts (MA) thesis, to determine the difference and/or similarities between the Third (1940s) and Fourth Waves of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada and in particular in Toronto. She also asks the question – what defines our identity? In a recent lecture at St. Vladimir Institute in Toronto, she discussed the intra-ethnic tensions which Third and Fourth Wave Ukrainians feel and focused on the importance of historiography, socialization and schooling, aspects in building the diverse Ukrainian identities found in Toronto today.

In the 1940s, the Third Wave of Ukrainians arrived in Canada. They were “running away” or escaping a totalitarian regime.

Prior to their arrival in Canada, they settled in Displaced Persons Camps, where the intent was to build a replica of Ukraine – in  other words, build organizations or institutions that were forbidden or outlawed by the Soviet System. Hence, schools, youth organizations, religious institutions, political parties, as well as other organized activities flourished in the D.P. Camps.

Once Canada was designated as a potential country to receive immigrants, these same organizations were traversed to Canada where they proliferated.

Ukrainian schools were primarily responsible for inculcating a sense of nationalism and pride towards being Ukrainian. In short, Ukraine was idolized as “Mother Ukraine” and, according to Baczynskyj, “the third wavers focused on the pain and suffering that the Soviet Union had perpetrated on the Ukrainian people. Russian language use, communist politics, and atheism became markers of the enemies of Ukraine.”

Consequently, a strong bond developed within this growing population who shared similar ideals. Baczynskyj refers to this as “the connectedness” in community.

There was indeed a sense of pride and a common goal that united the third wavers. People were readily and actively involved with community organizations, participated in demonstrations against the USSR, supported church life – all of these activities with a similar objective in mind – to promote Ukrainianism and, in the long term, build a free Ukraine.

In short, the third wavers had a raison d’tre – expose the Soviet System for what it really was and use the repression as a rallying point to unite and connect. Most, if not all, youth organizations, Ukrainian schools, political associations and other organized community efforts perpetuated what the Ukrainian Youth Association (SUM) aptly has summarised as “God and Ukraine.”

In the early 1990s, the Fourth Wave of Ukrainians began to arrive in Canada. According to Baczynskyj’s research, they left Ukraine “not because of terror but due to extreme economic distress.” They were “running to” as opposed to “running away.” They wanted to improve their way of life and were “never exposed to massive camps where people were taught what being Ukrainian meant.”

The fourth wavers were products of the Soviet System where ethnic nationalism was non-existent or extinguished. Baczynskyj identified many of these immigrants as “Ukrainians who came from areas of Ukraine that no longer spoke Ukrainian due to intense Soviet Russification.”

Consequently, many of the fourth wavers do not hold the same ideals of Ukraine as the third wavers, since they experienced first-hand life under the Soviet regime.  Their main priority was survival and not the idealization of Ukraine. Community participation, organized activities or religious institutions had little if any meaning since all of them were controlled by the State. In fact, it was the Soviet education system that created the identity of the fourth wavers.

Baczynskyj stated in an interview that the third wavers “expect the fourth wavers to fit in and to be Ukrainian in the third waver terms. We don’t understand them since we are blinded by our utopian view of Ukraine.”

Accordingly, there is both little understanding and acceptance between these two immigrant groups since both groups appear to have different ideals, different schooling, and a different view of the Ukrainian language.

Baczynskyj found that the third wavers believe that there is a “connectedness” amongst all Ukrainians because of the “pain and suffering” that the Soviet Union has caused. However, fourth wavers believe that there is a “commonality” between all Ukrainians because of their ethnicity. The discrepancy between the views of Third and Fourth Wave immigrants can be largely attributed to differences in the educational systems. 

When our Governor-General Michalle Jean was appointed in 2005, she referred to Quebec and the rest of Canada as two solitudes and said it was imperative that Canadians make every effort to understand one another.

Does the same apply to the Third and Fourth Waves of Ukrainian immigrants?

Baczynskyj offered an explanation and perhaps a warning – that if attempts are not made to understand and accept each other, then the Fourth Wave will “be our loss and Russia’s gain”.

Anastasia Baczynskyj has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto (OISE) in the field of History of Education. She also holds a certificate in Pluralism, Ethnicity and Immigration studies. She has been recognized as a dynamic public speaker, lecturing at various academic conferences including ones held at Carleton University and University of Toronto.