Rochdale remembers ‘Holodomor’ victims

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Members of the community braving the rain for the service

The Rochdale Friends of Lviv group and the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain held a remembrance service on Friday (25 November) at the Holodomor Memorial Stone in Rochdale town centre to honour the victims of the Holodomor genocide.

Members of the community braved the torrential weather to observe a one minute silence before wreaths were laid and prayers took place.

The service marked the 78th anniversary of the genocide.

Up to seven million Ukrainians were killed in the genocide between 1932-1933 and it was one of the most brutal acts carried out by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Wreaths were laid by Simon Danczuk MP, Zenko Lastowiecki, President of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain and Councillor Irene Davidson, Chairwoman of the Friends’ Links Forum.

After the memorial service members of the community continued their remembrance events at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre on Mere Street.

Rochdale has been twinned with Lviv since 1992 and has organised various civic and cultural functions, as well as student and professional exchange programmes to celebrate the ties between the two towns.