Author Marion Mutala with her book My Dearest Dido: The Holodomor Story shown at a Holodomor remembrance gathering Nov. 20. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Remembering history

Remembering the Holodomor Ukrainian famine and genocide

Nov 21, 2019 | 4:20 PM

Denied food and sustenance, millions of Ukrainian families starved to death in the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1933 in what is known as a famine and mass genocide.

Marion Mutala wanted to tell the stories of some of the families affected by the tragedy and those who lived through it, so more people would learn about the Holodomor and would never forget.

The Saskatoon-based award-winning author read from her new book My Dearest Dido: The Holodomor Story at the annual Holodomor Commemorative event in North Battleford Wednesday night.

She described the dictatorship rule under Joseph Stalin as a tragic period in history that resulted in the death of from four to 12 million people. Mutala said Stalin wanted to get rid of Ukrainian culture. Eventually, people weren’t allowed to speak their language. She related he wanted to banish the churches and icons, as well, and “all things that are important to Ukrainian people,” as part of his plan to seize their land.

People protested and tried to fight back, she said, but Stalin essentially locked them in the villages so they weren’t even allowed to leave.

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“There was no food. Soldiers came and took away the seed grain, everything. So basically they starved to death,” Mutala said.

“It’s a horrific thing to talk about. When you research it to see that this happened to real people; it’s very disturbing,” she added. “I didn’t think I could [take on the project]. But I think the Holy Spirit inspired me how to do it, by inventing these characters writing to each other, and then the story unfolds in the letters.”

During her presentation at the Chapel Gallery Mutala who is also a retired teacher read an excerpt from My Dearest Dido accompanied by Jim Shevchuk, a superintendent at Living Sky School Division.

She also sang a song she wrote called Remember The Holodomor.

Earlier in the day the author visited several Battlefords schools to talk to students about this dark period in Ukrainian history so future generations will also know the story.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow