“Human blood has a group but not a nationality”

This year will mark the 70th anni­versary of the Volyn tragedy. In 1943-44 during the Second World War there was mutual ethnic cleansing of Ukrainian and Polish population carried out in Volhynia by Polish Home Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In fact, this anni­versary became the reason for creation of the Public Committee “Recon­ci­liation between Nations.” At a press conference held on April 3 the mem­bers of the committee: the first Presi­dent of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, the Holy Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret, retired Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Liubomyr (Huzar), and writer Maria Matios released their first statement on the reconciliation between Poland and Ukraine. The statement reads: “Dramatic memories of confrontations are always more clear in our minds than memories of harmonious cooperation and common victories. Let historians continue discussions about the causes, scale, and con­sequences of the Ukrainian-Polish conflict. They have to describe this tragedy in all the details and provide historic truth to our nations, so much needed by people in both countries. We believe that caring citizens of Ukraine and Poland will support our initiative to preserve mutual understanding and good-will. After all, we all remember the ever­lasting gospel truth: Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)”

In 2004 The Day’s Library project released a book Wars and Peace or Ukrainians and Polish people: brothers/enemies, neighbors… Two main motifs of this book were: “for your and our freedom” and “forgive and ask forgiveness.” By the way, Liu­bomyr Huzar, then Primate of Greek Catholics, wrote an annotation to it.

“Why is there again the need to forgive and ask forgiveness?” spoke Leonid KRAVCHUK. “Analyzing events in the Ukrainian and Polish communities, we can see that radical politicians have become active. They want to gain political dividends on fueling a new wave of hostility between us.”

As you know, the UGCC proposed Rome Catholic Church in Rome to make a joint statement saying that both nations were guilty and, therefore, are asking forgiveness from each other. However, to this the Greek Catholics heard the refusal from Archbishop of Lviv Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki who said that it was an act of genocide against the Polish people by Ukrainians… We must say that mutual forgiveness between the two Churches has already happened three times – in 1946, 1987, and 2005. His Beatitude Liubomyr can’t say if it is going happen this time. In any case, the UGCC, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate and Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate agreed to hold funeral service and pray for the dead.

“I always say human blood has a type but it does not have a nationality,” summed up Maria MATIOS. “When I was finishing my novel Armageddon has Already Happened I received a letter from modern Israeli classic Amos Oz, who, by the way, participated in two Arab-Israeli wars (1967 and 1973), famous leader of the movement for reconciliation between the two nations. Responding to my literary question whether it seems to him that the Judgment Day has already come and we are simply characters of the last days of our planet, he replied: ‘Everything depends on us. We may as well be the last actors in the final act. But we can also be those who will play a new role in a new play. Everything depends just on us.’”