Barnsley remembers victims of Ukrainian Holodomor genocide with torch of remembrance

Barnsley will receive a torch of remembrance which commemorates the seven million people who died during an enforced famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s on Monday, 30 June, at 1pm in the Town Hall.

The torch of remembrance is travelling through 33 countries throughout the world. It is part of the commemorative activities which are being carried out this year to mark the 75th anniversary of what has become known as the Holodomor - the barbaric and systematic starvation of more than seven million Ukrainians over a period of 18 months.

The torch will be received by the Mayor of Barnsley, Cllr Ken Sanderson and will be presented by Mr Vladislav Rohovij, Second Secretary in the Ukrainian Embassy and Mr Askold Lozynskyj, President of the World Congress of Ukrainians.

It will be escorted by Dr Andy Chymera, a representative of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain and two kozaks. 

The Mayor will sign a book of remembrance as a mark of sympathy and support on behalf of the people of Barnsley.  A number of Ukrainians and their descendents who live and work in Barnsley will also attend the ceremony.

Zenko Lastowiecki, President of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, said:

“It is a great honour for us to receive the Torch in the UK and especially for it to visit Barnsley.  It is important for us to join Ukrainian communities around the world in honouring the millions of innocent people who died so horrifically and unnecessarily, while this atrocity is still within living memory.  We want to give the victims their rightful place in 20^th century history and ensure that this atrocity can never happen again.”

Cllr Ken Sanderson, the Mayor of Barnsley, welcomed the torch by saying:

“Barnsley and other towns and cities throughout Yorkshire have provided hospitable homes for displaced Ukrainians and their families for over 60 years.  Barnsley has also enjoyed a twinning relationship with the city of Gorlovka in Ukraine.

“It saddens me to know that during this tragic man-made famine, many people, especially children and the elderly, died of starvation in the agricultural villages around Gorlovka at a time when the Soviet Union was exporting record tonnages of grain. I welcome the visit of this commemorative torch to help us all to remember and acknowledge the victims of the Holodomor.”  

ENDS

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