Grade 3 students in Wilkie fill bottles with grain during class, left; author Rhea Good with her new book called "Bottle of Grain," about a family during the Holodomor, right. (Submitted photos/Rhea Good)

By Angela Brown

Ukrainian Genocide

Local author’s book raises awareness of history of Holodomor

Nov 23, 2021 | 10:00 AM

A local educator and author from the Battlefords hopes her book aimed at young readers helps increase awareness about a dark time in history for Ukrainians around the world.

Rhea Good’s “Bottle of Grain: A Holodomor Story,” focuses on a family’s experience living through the Holodomor, known as the Great Famine, when millions of Ukrainians died through forced starvation over the winter of 1932-33. The genocide was reported to have been organized by the Soviet Union to destroy people seeking independence, who did not want to be collectivized on their farms.

Each year, the fourth Saturday of November is designated as a time to commemorate the genocide that took place in Ukraine over 80 years ago.

Good, who has Ukrainian heritage on her mother’s side of her family, hopes her book about a young girl who survives the Holodomor helps increase education about the issue.

“I think it’s important to talk about these historical events through the eyes of a child,” she said. “When you have something that is written through the eyes of a child…, you can convey a lot of meaning through that perspective.”

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National Holodomor Awareness And Education Week is observed Nov. 22 to 27 in Canada; Holodomor Memorial Day in Schools is recognized on Nov. 26.

“Bottle of Grain: A Holodomor Story,” was first released in 2020. Good said a local philanthropist purchased two copies of the book for each school in Living Sky and Light of Christ school divisions. People will soon be able to access a copy at the North Battleford public library as well.

The story is based on the account of a large bottle full of grain found in the forest in Ukraine in 2012. It is thought the bottle may have been put there by the Soroka family, as they were said to have had been hiding bottles of grain before the winter of the Holodomor to survive.

Good, who is also a member of the Saskatchewan Holodomor Awareness and Education Committee, said the group is encouraging teachers to discuss the Holodomor in their classrooms. She hopes her book makes it easier for elementary school teachers in particular to share the story with younger students.

Due to the pandemic, there won’t be any public events in the Battlefords to remember Holodomor Memorial Day, but Good asks people to take a few minutes to think about those who suffered from the Holodomor.

“There are many things in history that remain unknown,” she said. “This one is something we do have documents to support. There is that timeline of the Russian government suppressing all of the information, and coercing people to be silent, with threats of retribution and incarceration for anyone who would speak about it…”

Students at Norman Carter Elementary School in Wilkie learned about the Holodomor for the first time this year. On Nov. 19 children in Grades 3 and 5 had an opportunity to hear the history, and spent some time making bottles full of grain to take home, as a symbol of remembrance.

“Participating in that activity takes you back to that time,” Good said of the exercise. “[It] underscores the importance of needing to have food when other people are trying to steal it from you.”

She invites people to take note of the Holodomor statue located on the west-facing hill between the Don Ross Centre hill and the Allen Sapp Gallery in North Battleford. As well, people are invited to purchase one of the Holodomor Bottle of Grain artifacts, available for sale at Kardynal & Associates Management Inc. on 100 Street.

People can also visit the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Saskatchewan Provincial Council’s Facebook Page to learn more about the history of the Holodomor.

“The intention of all of these activities is just to share the story,” Good said. “That is our obligation, … so it is not forgotten.”

The book is available for purchase online and at most book sellers.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow