[Claire Lovely]

Hello everyone, I hope that you have been doing well.

Recently I was able to attend an event hosted by the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Los Angeles. They were commemorating Holodomor, an event that occurred throughout 1932 - 1933 when the Soviet regime caused the death of millions of Ukrainians through famine.

The event took place in the beautiful Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles:





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This lady here sang the American National Anthem and then the Ukrainian National Anthem.

She then performed another song which I recorded some of:

https://i.imgur.com/3QvTw2O.mp4

A great singer



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We heard from some speakers

Ukraine consulate from San Francisco:

https://i.imgur.com/b8zYrWQ.mp4


Lithuania consulate:

https://i.imgur.com/weHT938.mp4


Estonian staff

https://i.imgur.com/oJR9kJj.mp4


Scholar on Holodomor:

https://i.imgur.com/Hif0Bz3.mp4


Photographer who witnessed atrocities in Ukraine:

https://i.imgur.com/SRdeqZX.mp4

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Afterwards there were some displays available for viewing. I learned that the scale of this tragedy was extremely immense. When I was younger and in school when we learned of these types of things, I tended to relegate them to some very distant past. However, even though the 1930s may seem like a very long ago era, those times are within memories of many and things that occurred during those times have real impacts today.

Ukraine has definitely suffered much in the past.









https://i.imgur.com/WiEee1G.mp4

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I was also able to view the photographer's exhibit, that showed the destruction of the current war in Ukraine.











https://i.imgur.com/YZVoVxd.mp4

https://i.imgur.com/rfrh7Dp.mp4

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As the sun began to set I was able to see the memorial up close. People had left not only flowers, but wheat, to show respect to those who had died from hunger.




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The park at sunset. As I left that day I definitely had much to think about.



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How can we continue to help? These are some organizations that were recommended on the official site of the Ukrainian Cultural Center:
How You Can Help – Ukrainian Culture Center Los Angeles

Kherson was recently liberated and the tide is continuing to shift in Ukraine's favor. We are ready to support Ukraine until the final victory.

Slava Ukraini!