The Holodomor, as its known in Ukraine, was brought about by extreme policies by the Soviet Union. Oliver Leader de Saxe reports.
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00:00The Holodomor was one of the great tragedies of the 20th century, but for many in Kent,
00:06the famine imposed on Ukraine by the Soviet Union, that claimed the lives of millions
00:13of people in the 1930s, is something that very few would know about.
00:20Holodomor was a terrible tragedy, which was hidden from the West for many, many years.
00:27And when people came to welcome Ukrainians into their homes after the war started, one
00:34of the things that we started to learn about was the culture of Ukraine, and also this
00:39particular tragedy, and to stand up against traitors and tyrants that want to perpetuate
00:48war and famine.
00:50Now for the first time, the Ukrainian community in Canterbury have come together in the cathedral
00:58to commemorate the lives lost during the starvation, alongside faith leaders and local politicians.
01:06Having an opportunity to commemorate Holodomor in Canterbury Cathedral is very symbolic.
01:14Canterbury has been for centuries and centuries a place where people found refuge from various
01:22atrocities, and it is important to remember about these crimes so that we do everything
01:28possible and impossible to prevent these kind of tragedies happening in the future.
01:36Organized by Canterbury for Ukraine, the event did not just remember those who lost their
01:41lives during the famine, with the voices of children and women displaced by the Ukrainian
01:47war being the loudest of the night.
01:51Despite the candles of remembrance lighting both the reception and the cathedral, the
01:57shadow of that conflict lingered over the whole evening, with the Ukrainian ambassador
02:05who was scheduled to attend being pulled away as the war rages on in its third year.
02:12But none of this took away from the solidarity of hundreds huddled in the heart of the city,
02:19gathered in defiance of losses both past and present.
02:24For then, once in a lifetime, the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up,
02:34and hope and mystery rhyme.
02:39And hope and mystery rhyme.
02:46Oliver Leader of the Sats for KNTV in Canterbury.