(Toronto) On May 7, 2012 the Consul General of the Republic of Poland, the Hon. Marek Ciesielczuk, awarded former Canadian M.P. and M.P.P. Yuri Shymko with the Medal of Gratitude established by the European Solidarity Center to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the birth of Solidarity.
Yuri Shymko was among a select group of international recipients who, during the 1980’s, supported Solidarność and the democratic opposition in Poland in its struggle for freedom and democracy.
The Certificate of Honour accompanying the Medal of Gratitude states that “Yuri Shymko contributed through his great sacrifices and support to the rebuilding of a liberated Poland and the unification of Europe”.
Shymko expressed his deep gratitude for the honor that was bestowed upon him during the special ceremony held at the Hall of the Polish Combatants Association in Toronto. It was attended by a large gathering of the Polish community on the occasion of the celebration of Constitution Day, Polonia Day, as well as Polish Flag Day.
In his remarks, Yuri Shymko stressed that it was his responsibility as a Canadian of Ukrainian origin to assist the Polish community together with other East European Canadians in a unified effort to lobby the Canadian government to support Solidarity and the Polish nation, especially during the grim period of martial law. “We all shared a common political goal and were fighting a common enemy, namely the Communist oppression of our respective peoples”, said Shymko.
This required a united front of dedicated individuals to draw the attention of the Canadian public, media, and politicians to the plight of the Polish people in their struggle for liberty and democracy.
During these difficult years, Shymko harnessed all his energy and influence as a leader in his own community, as Chairman of Ontario’s Advisory Council on Multiculturalism, and as a Federal and Provincial Parliamentarian to partner with other politicians, whatever their political party affiliations. “We shared a higher cause beyond the political expedience of seeking re-elections at all costs” Shymko said.
He added: “Although we may have fought one another in electoral battles as Conservatives or Liberals, we always remained steadfastly united when it came to defending the aspirations of the people in our ancestral homelands”.
A month after being elected as a Federal M.P. on October 16, 1978, the same day that Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, Shymko personally submitted a Joint Resolution from five East European World Congresses to the President of the UN General Assembly in New York, entitled “The Decolonization of the USSR”. The historic document called for the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union, 12 years before its eventual break up in December 1991.
When Gen. Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland, Liberal Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau stated that “if martial law is a way to avoid civil war and Soviet intervention, then I cannot say it is all bad...Hopefully, the military regime will be able to keep Solidarity from excessive demands”. Trudeau’s controversial remarks precipitated mass demonstrations by the Polish community across Canada, and Shymko joined these numerous protests. He spoke in support of ten hunger strikers who protested in 1983 for nineteen days in front of the Polish Consulate in Toronto, since their families were denied visas to join them in Canada. In fact, Shymko’s passionate words were recorded for posterity in the documentary film entitled “Ten Hungry Men”.
In November 1983, Shymko drew mass media attention when Hollywood legend, Charlton Heston was the main speaker at his fundraising event. Heston had narrated a TV special entitled “Let Poland be Poland”, protesting martial law and the emprisonment of Solidarity members. In his remarks at the fundraiser, Heston condemned the Communist regime’s repression of Solidarity in Poland and reminded us of the horrors perpetrated by the same regime in Ukraine during the Great Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, whose tragic 50th anniversary was being marked at this time by Ukrainians throughout the free world.
At the Solidarity Award ceremony, Shymko concluded his remarks by stating that his Solidarity Medal will be treasured by him along with another symbolic gift he received. In 1987, a former Solidarity inmate, who was imprisoned under martial law, gave Shymko a Rosary, whose prayer beads were made from prison bread while he was incarcerated.
Shymko, who was also the recipient of the Medal of Merit from the Polish Government-in-exile based in London, stressed the importance of continued cooperation between East European communities. He underscored the necessity for continued vigilance in this “Post Soviet era”, in light of the resurgence of autocracy in the former Soviet republics, further endangered by the resurgence of political and economic dominance by Putin’s Russia over neighbouring states, particularly Ukraine.
Shymko noted an extraordinary coincidence— this award was bestowed on the occasion of Polish Constitution Day. It was on this very day, 31 years ago, that he delivered his maiden speech in the Ontario Legislature, parts of which, for the first time in the history of Ontario’s parliament, were delivered in both Polish and Ukrainian.
It is also noteworthy that the award ceremony was being held in the Hall of the Polish Combatants Association, one of whose members, Joseph Zagurski, was a Shymko family relative. He had joined General Anders’ Polish 2nd Corps Army in 1941, after escaping from a Soviet prison. With over 2,000 Ukrainians like him, he fought alongside Polish soldiers, through the North African and Italian campaigns, including the battle of Monte Casino. Upon his death he bequeathed the Cross of Valor from Monte Casino to the Shymko family.
It is worth noting another remarkable connection. In November 2004, twenty-two years after the founding of Solidarity, a chain of historic events brought Yuri Shymko and Lech Wałęsa together. Sharing a mutual passion for the principles of liberty and democracy, Shymko and Wałęsa stood side by side on the stage at Kyiv’s Independence Square where they addressed one million demonstrators during the Orange Revolution, reclaiming the right of the Ukrainian people to be masters in their own homeland and to “Let Ukraine be Ukrainian”.
We congratulate Yuri Shymko on receiving the Solidarity Medal and thank him for his tireless dedication and commitment to the protection of liberty and human rights in Eastern Europe.
