Petro Lopata

(TORONTO) January 16 Briefly imagine a world without politics. Honestly, I'm having trouble imagining it. Well, even if only for a short instant, I felt myself in just such a world at a school concert held earlier today at St Josaphat's. (Yes, the same St Josaphat's I wrote about late last year: it is my old grade school after all.) Granted, a similar thought could have occurred to me at any number of Ukrainian schools in Toronto, or maybe even at any school, anywhere. However, the sensation of momentary freedom from politics happened just there and provided brief respite from a multitude of issues affecting the global Ukrainian community: Ukraine's dangerous proximity to achieving "banana republic" status, or for that matter, Mr Chretien's apparent reluctance to keep his own promise regarding restitution for victims of the National Internment Program; or the plight of Eastern Diaspora Ukrainians. At the same time, holding this Ukrainian concert in Canada at a time when our community is dwindling you could, theoretically, consider this a political act. Albeit one without any political content. And this was certainly refreshing. Perhaps our community organizers should consider incorporating less politics in community concerts (some call that preaching to the converted) and redirect that energy towards lobbying the politicos in this country, attaining access to the backrooms of power and initiating policy change. My recommendation to everybody else go see a Ukrainian concert enjoy the verve, vitality, the colour and everything else. There will always be time to come back to the fight. For those unfortunates unable to get out to a Ukrainian community concert two things: check out our calendar of events on page 15 and enjoy the photographs on page 8 depicting the St Josaphat's annual Christmas concert.

PS By holding a concert now, we are throwing down the gauntlet before assimilation, we are affirming our presence in Canada, and we are saying "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina". (Not even here. Not yet. Not on my watch.)