[Cz-L] In reply to Andy; getting assistance from the US government

Miriam (Mimi) Taylor <mirtaylo_at_indiana.edu>

Thinking that the US government, might help me in getting the approval
of the Chernivtsi authorities, to the memorial plaque for Traian Popovici,
I recently wrote to the US State Department, asking them to forward my
letter to the US ambassador to the Ukraine.
In my letter I outlined the historical facts and gave specific details
about my negotiations with the city authorities.

This is the answer I received:
>
> Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
> center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
>
> Thank you for contacting the State Department.
>
> Subject
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> for the US ambassador to the Ukraine
>
>
> Discussion Thread
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Response (Support Agent) - 09/16/2008 02:54 PM
> The Bureau of Public Affairs is in receipt of your message. We appreciat=
e the
> time you took to express your thoughts and concerns.
>
> President Bush and Secretary of State Rice are committed to making the wo=
rld a
> better place for all Americans and all people. We encourage you to visit=
 our
> website at www.state.gov for information on Secretary of State Rice and
> Department publications.
>
> Thank you for contacting the U.S. Department of State.


Question: What now?

Answer: GIVE UP HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.

More: The Ukraine is not so eager to join NATO,
      NATO is more eager to have the Ukraine join.

Mimi


>
  

> Dear Czernowitzers: 
>  
> It is my understanding that there are in excess of 350 members in our lis=
t. I
> would guess that more than half of us are descendants of born Czernowitze=
rs.
> Those of us who were born in Cz are getting long in the tooth and if you =
are
> like me, you grind your teeth every time you think of the home you lost.=
 
>  
> My grandmother was widowed in her early twenties, left with two little gi=
rls
> under the age of three, pulled herself up by her bootstraps, taught herse=
lf
> how to design and sew, became a top couturiere and built a lovely mansion=
 in
> which I was born, which ultimately ended up as part of Soviet state prope=
rty.
>  
>  I would like to hear from all of you who have a clear memory of the ho=
me in
> which you were born in Czernowitz or anywhere in Bucovina which was taken=
 from
> you without compensation.
>  
> To the best of my knowledge all the ex-Communist states with the exceptio=
n of
> Russia and the Ukraine have repatriated confiscated property. I have a fr=
iend,
> a Romanian whose father was a minister in King Carol¹s government, who =
had
> several homes and by now, if I recall correctly, they have all been given=
 back
> to him by Romania¹s post-revolution government.  They dragged their h=
eels over
> one of them, as I recall, because it had been leased to some Asian countr=
y for
> use as an embassy.  My friend¹s lawyers found no problem with that. T=
hey broke
> no leases but simply collected the rent instead of having the government
> collect it.  That is Democracy.
>  
> Granted, property confiscated after the Russian revolution 1917-1919 woul=
d be
> difficult to return to the original and rightful owners since so much tim=
e has
> elapsed, but Bucovina was never a part of Russia or the Ukraine before St=
alin
> held a gun to King Carol¹s head and made a bullying land grab.  Those=
 of us
> born in Cz will have no trouble identifying our original homes.
>  
> Those of you living in the U.S. or Canada should know that the taxes you =
have
> been paying helped the U.S. provide the Ukraine with over $1.5 billion in=
 aid
> since the dissolution of Communist Russia, and Canada added some four hun=
dred
> odd million to that.  A two billion dollar gift to a country that illeg=
ally
> holds our properties.  If you presently live in other countries I¹ll =
be happy
> to research and inform you if your taxes have added to this aid to the
> Ukraine.
>  
> I don¹t know what can be done about getting our homes back but a good f=
irst
> step would be to develop a list of homes that were taken and their Cz
> addresses so that we can estimate the size of this atrocity.
>  
> This, of course, is not confined to the list of Jewish survivors but addr=
esses
> all Czernowitzers be they Catholic or Protestant or Atheist or Muslim. =
 If you
> lost a family home anywhere in Bucovina, I would like to hear from you.
>  
> Cu noroc.
>  
> Andy.
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Received on 2008-09-21 23:59:44