Eyewitness to the Holodomor

Author Dr Ray Gamache and Taras Melnyk, from the Rochdale Ukrainian Community at the book launch in London

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The association of Ukrainians in Great Britain has helped to launch a book reporting on the events surrounding the Ukranian famine in 1933.

The Rochdale branch of this organisation was the first group within the UK to publicise it and had previously pushed the council to place a memorial remembering the disaster outside Rochdale Town Hall. 

The book titled ‘Eyewitness to the Holodomor’ is written by Ray Gamache and talks about the discoveries made by former Foreign Advisor Gareth Jones.

The book is the first academic work on Gareth Jones. It informs the reader how Gareth was the first person to bring the famine to the attention of the general population and the first to blame the Soviet Union for the part they played in causing the famine.

At one time the rural population of Ukraine was dying at a rate of 25,000 per day. The land which was known as the breadbasket of Europe had been ravaged by a man made famine of unprecedented scale. 

It is hoped the release of this book and the publicity it’s getting from the Ukrainians currently based the United Kingdom will help in the aim of trying to get the UK government to recognise this as genocide.

It’s only recently that countries such as the United States and Canada have actually recognised it as genocide. This has recently been discussed by MPs in the United Kingdom and it’s hoped they will follow the example set by the USA and Canada.

Many people within Ukranian communities had thanked Gareth Jones for speaking out against the famine when many of their family members had no voice and simply couldn’t speak out. 

Taras Melnyk, a member of the Holodomor committee and part of the Ukranian community within Rochdale, said: “This famine has always been close to the people of Rochdale, we hope the book raises awareness of the tragedy.

“The fact that it’s being discussed in the House of Parliament is a positive step for certain.”