Paonessa1

NadiaPaonessa
Williams
English112
10April2015
SpeakOut
Lithuania,Estonia,Latvia,andtheUkraine.Thesecountriesmayseemaworldaway,
foreignandunimportant.Inmostcases,youdontreallyhearaboutthesecountrieshistories,
andmanydontreallycareabouteverlearningabouttheminthefirstplace.Well,nowthatyou
havehadtheopportunitytotakealookattheoppression,suffering,andinjusticesthatoccurred
intheseplaces,yourfeelingstowardthesecountriesarehopefullyalittledifferent.Stalinandthe
SovietUnionaffectedthelivesofmillions,similartohowHitleraffectedthelivesofcountless
innocents,anditisyourresponsibilitytomakesocietyrecognizetheseforgottengenocides,like
itdoestheHolocaust.
Manypeoplearoundtheworldareuninformed.Whetheritbeabouthealthcareorbirth
control,sometimespeoplehavenoideaaboutsomeofthesimplestthings.Well,thatsmost
likelythemajorityoftheworldwhenitcomestothedetailsofStalinsgenocides.Imaginehow
thevictimsfeel.Thesepeoplewereabductedfromtheirhomes,separatedfromtheirfamilies,
transportedlikecattle,andworkedlikedogsuntiltheirdeaths(Kuodyt).Otherswereforcedto
watchtheirfamiliesstarveduetoridiculouslyhighgrainquotas.Despitetheodds,somewere
abletolivethroughitall,andafterwards,theyreceivednorecognition,nohelp,andnoapology
(Holodomor).Thatswhyitsimportantforyou,thereader,tomakepeopleawareofthese

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tragedies,sothatStalinscrueltybecomesjustasinfamousasHitlers.Obviously,sinceStalins
crimesallhappenedinthepast,onecanonlydosomuchtohelp.However,theextenttowhich
youcanrecognizeandhonorthesepeoplessufferingsismorethanyouwouldexpect.Spreading
theword,researching,andreading/recommendingbooksaboutthistopicareallvalidand
necessaryideas(
BetweenShadesofGray
byRutaSepetysisapersonalfavorite)!Therearealso
unconventionaloptions,suchastravelingtotheNationalHolodomorMemoriallocatedinKyiv,
Ukraine.AnotherideathatsalittleclosertohomecouldbetodonatetotheU.S.Ukraine
Foundation,whichsupportsdemocracy,afreemarketandhumanrightsforUkraine
(
U.S.UkraineFoundation
).Needlesstosay,youcandomorethanyouwouldthink,andeven
smalleffortswouldmakeabigdifference.
Overall,itishardtothinkaboutanotherHolocaust,anotherWorldWar,another
Holodomor.Hopefully,nothinglikewhathappenedintheBalticstatesandtheUkraineever
happensagain,butitsimportantforpeopletobeinformed,sothathistorydoesntrepeatitself.
Stalinscrueltiesdeservedtobecondemned,andhisvictimsdeservedtobehonored.Afterall,if
itwasyou,allthoseyearsago,beingtreatedasifyouwerentevenahuman,wouldntyouwant
someonetoremember,orsomeonetospeakout?