Creating Communities of Recognition: Diaspora Memory Activisms in Times of Crisis

• In Event: Narrating Repression, Rewriting Trauma: Contested Legacies in Museums, Memory, and Discourse

Abstract

Since the 1990s, when both the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia dissolved and their constituent republics gained independence, diaspora groups have endeavoured and/or amplified their efforts to exercise political influence ‘back home’. The efforts of Ukrainian and Croatian diasporas in Canada have been particularly significant in this regard. What Ukrainians and Croatians share is the centrality of memories to their experiences and their expression in diaspora. This is reflected in among other things, the commitment of memory activists to organizing rallies, fund-raising and commemorative events that place emphasis on suffering at the hands of their oppressors. For Ukrainians, it began with commemorations of the Holodomor not only as a symbol of suffering but also of bravery and resistance and the commitment to sovereignty. The Bleiburg massacre of 1945 and the 1990s Yugoslav wars of succession continue to mobilize diapora memories of collective suffering for Croats. While the current war in Ukraine and the diaspora response to it has gotten significant attention in academic, policy and media circles, few have looked at how diaspora memory activism takes shape, what resonates for whom and why. Drawing from long term research with diaspora Croats, their transnational connectivities and the impacts of memory politics, I discuss findings of my current research on Ukrainian diaspora memory activism. I ask if and how initiatives that include commemorative events and memorials, heritage and educational programs, influence the political outcomes they envision and advocate for Ukraine.

Author

• Daphne Winland, York U (Canada)