Families of the Heavenly Hundred and the Museum of Revolution of Dignity announced the program of memorial events to the third anniversary of deciding days of the Revolution of Dignity. Memorial march from the Ukrainian House to the cross in Instytutska street will take place at 10 a.m. on February 18. Photography exhibition “In the Focus of Events” dedicated to Maidan will open at 12:00 at the Ukrainian House. Ukraine Crisis Media Center will hold a presentation of “Heroes Awards”project by the “Families of the Hundred of Heaven” at 2 p.m. “Its main objective is making dreams of our heroes come true – those dreams they couldn’t bring to life – and allow the same Ukrainian young patriots to fulfill themselves in the spheres where the Heavenly Hundred Heroes were working,” said Volodymyr Bondarchuk, head of the “Family of the Heavenly Hundred” NGO at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
A remembrance performance “We are Maidan” from “Koleso” theatre and discussion will take place in the Ukrainian House on February 19 at 3 p.m. Requiem service with participation of representatives from various confessions will take place in the morning of February 20 at 10 p.m., and “Light a Candle” event will be held at 5 p.m. in the Alley of the Heroes of the Hundred of Heaven.
Families of the Heavenly Hundred call upon being watchful of manipulation and fraud
Volodymyr Bondarchuk said that many initiatives and events have been emerging recently, presumably aimed at supporting families of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, though the families have nothing to do with it. “If there is no publication in our page saying that we participate in it, please deem any note on “with support of the families of the Heavenly Hundred” untrue,” said Volodymyr Holodniuk, deputy head of the “Family of the Heavenly Hundred” NGO .
Volodymyr Holodniuk also emphasized that only this organization is a real union of the 105 families of the fallen participants of Maidan. It is headed by Serhiy Volodymyrovych Bondarchuk, and if any other person is stated to be the head of a similar organization, it has nothing to do with the families of the Hundred of Heaven. “Our organization has never collected any funds in three years, and it has no charity fund to accumulate money. If you saw something similar online, you should know it’s simply fraud. […] We might collect some funds in future to support our projects, but these projects will be advertised on our Facebook page,” he added.
Plans for the future
Investigation of crimes committed during the Revolution of Dignity and punishing the guilty is a priority for the “Family of the Heavenly Hundred” NGO. Pavlo Sydorenko, coordinator of the initiative group of Maidan victims, called upon securing comprehensive investigation of crimes against protesters, taking the cases to court and getting sentences. He also advocated proper social protection for the injured Maidan participants and the families of the victims. “Within this context, judicial reform and issues at our courts are extremely important for us, as both the judicial authority and its reform are a cornerstone for future development of Ukraine,” emphasized Bondarchuk.
Honoring the memory of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes is the second main direction of their activity. In order to achieve this, they are cooperating with the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity. Ihor Poshyvailo, director of the museum, said they will try and make this museum “living” and looking into the future. It should be “a cultural and educational platform which will not only save the memory, but also continue the efforts of those who died for Ukraine”. Sydorenko asked to accelerate creation of the memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes. “We are calling upon any influential party – the state authorities, Kyiv city authorities and the public – to secure holding an objective open competition as soon as possible, choosing a winner, raising funds and building it within the shortest period possible,” he said.
Families of the Heavenly Hundred will join the patriotic education project – through participation in coordination councils of the regional administrations regarding patriotic upbringing and civic projects, for instance, Train of Unite “Trukhaniv Sich”. Mykola Bondar, head of “Kolo.Media” NGO and the author of the project, said that the train will set off on its fifth journey March 9th. Several more projects are still on the planning stage.
“Family of the Heavenly Hundred” NGO signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Advocate Consulting Group ad with the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity during the press briefing.
