DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE

A pre-mission briefing

This morning I visited Ms. Janie Perry's students at WatchCare Academy in Denver, and we went through a "pre-mission briefing" on the upcoming Ukrainian election.

The students will be checking here every day, conducting their own research and gathering news on Ukraine. Due to snow, a few students didn't make it in today, but those who did spent nearly two hours firing brilliant questions at me covering a broad array of Ukrainian topics.

The kids ranged in age from 7 years old to (I'm guessing) maybe 13; and were from various classes at the school. They were clearly well prepared for the briefing.

One student knew the exact square mileage of Ukraine. Another recited the countries bordering Ukraine.

We talked about energy issues, the economy, Ukraine's history, customs, culture and traditions and Ukraine's geographic importance to Europe and Asia.

We practiced a few basic Ukrainian vocabulary words and terms and even learned how to pronounce Dnipropetrovsk. They practiced saying the name of this city several times. Almost all quickly learned to roll the "r" as perfectly as any Ukrainian.

Impressive.

We discussed the Cyrillic alphabet, its Greek roots, and examined political materials printed in Ukrainian.

The only question I couldn't answer: What is Ukraine's national bird? I promised to find out. After searching the Internet for a good while tonight, I think I'm right in concluding Ukraine doesn't have a national bird. I found this interesting web page listing national birds and countries, which appears to be pretty thorough. Nothing listed for Ukraine.

Why Ukraine?

WatchCare Academy kids were curious about how I became interested in Ukraine. Here's the short story.

My mom is Ukrainian. She immigrated to the US from Canada when she was a little girl. She taught my sister, brother and me a few Ukrainian phrases, Ukrainian cooking and many Ukrainian customs, especially Easter traditions.

For example, I make pretty good pysanky and have taught the craft to my wife and all five kids. In fact, a few of my best ones are on display in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, DC.

During my days as a Colorado State Senator (1987-1996), I met many Coloradans of Ukrainian descent who urged me to become more involved in Ukraine's independence movement. Later I was elected to the US Congress, and in my first week became co-chairman of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.

The more I learned about the relationship between the US and Ukraine, the more firmly convinced I was of Ukraine's importance in the stability of Eastern Europe. I soon made close friendships with many of Ukraine's leaders and became an advocate for America's interests in advancing Ukraine's independence and prosperity.

I find Ukrainians make great friends. Naturally, I was thrilled this morning when the WatchCare kids told me they would love to become acquainted with young students in Ukraine and form a sister-school relationship.

They'd like to write letters, exchange emails and make contacts with Ukrainian kids. I promised WatchCare we can surely make this happen.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Schaffer, a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, is an election observer for the Parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The election is coming up this Sunday, March 26.