face of ukraine

This is from a letter by Alex Brzhezitskyy reporting on Ukraine's "Woman's Day"(March 8th) - an annual day to recognize women and their struggles in former Soviet bloc countries and around the world.

"If someone asks what Ukraine is, I would not hesitate to say that it's an old village lady sitting on the bench near her house. On her face you can see years of hard - not rewarded labor on the collective farms - loss of her husband, worries about her children and at the time always welcoming and friendly ready to share humble food from her kitchen garden."

In Canada, our old women sit inside. I'm reminded of my recent visit to a seniors' place. They, too, have humble pride. Hmm. Humble pride - aren't those opposites?

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