About Homin

In issue 33, dated September 11, 1991, “Homin Ukrainy” finally witnessed the moment when the main headline on the front page declared that Ukraine had proclaimed its state independence. In the first issue of our newspaper on December 15, 1948, it was announced that “Homin Ukrainy” aimed to inform its readers about the struggle of the Ukrainian people for the right to be free in their independent state and to serve this sacred cause.

Browsing through the archives of “Homin Ukrainy,” a thoughtful observer would be amazed by the amount of hard work, life experience, wisdom, knowledge, dedication, and sacrifice has been contributed by the activists of “Homin Ukrainy” and the thousands of members and supporters of the Ukrainian National Front in Canada for more than three-quarters of a century. For its activists, working at “Homin Ukrainy” was not just a job but a way of life, a duty, and a service to the Cause. This is the secret of the success of “Homin Ukrainy.”

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the restoration of the Ukrainian State, “Homin Ukrainy” entered a new period. One of its main tasks now is to support the processes of state-building in Ukraine – Ukraine’s national revival, total rejection of Moscow’s influence, and integration into the community of free, democratic states, particularly in Europe and the Western world. Establishing a close partnership and friendly relations between Ukraine and Canada is considered to be a significant milestone in this direction.

As always, “Homin Ukrainy” strives to truthfully and comprehensively inform its readers about Ukraine and the diaspora – their successes and challenges at this unique historical stage. “Homin Ukrainy” aims to inform its readers constructively, always considering the the national defence of Ukraine and the long-term interests of Ukrainians worldwide. We believe that the state should serve the people. However, history shows that only one’s own state can serve its people—never a foreign one! Therefore, we consider it essential to promote the concept of Ukrainian statehood among Ukrainians. Our newspaper has never subordinated the idea and necessity of Ukrainian statehood to everyday problems.

In this matter, we follow the principle emphasized by Yaroslav Stetsko: the homeland is not where it is good, but it is good where the homeland is. The situation in our homeland now depends primarily on us. For “Homin Ukrainy,” it has always been a priority to contribute to: 1) preserving the achievements of the Ukrainian Western diaspora and its further development; 2) integrating the Eastern and Western diasporas into one entity for the sake of uniting the global Ukrainian community; and 3) protecting the interests of the Ukrainian community. We believe that a strong, dynamic, and capable Ukrainian diaspora can better contribute to the good of Ukraine and the global Ukrainian community now and in the future.

The greatest moral reward for “Homin Ukrainy” is that our newspaper has admirably and successfully fulfilled the role of motivator, representing the voice, pulse and unifying factor for the Ukrainian State-Building Organizations in Canada and the entire patriotic community for more than 75 years, maintaining a high level of political and social engagement. It has made an undeniable contribution to the Ukrainian people’s liberation struggle, and now to its state-building and national revival.

With the restoration of the Ukrainian state and the establishment of normal friendly relations between Canada and Ukraine, new perspectives and opportunities have opened up for our newspaper in the field of information and journalism, enriching its content. The fact that “Homin Ukrainy” is on the right path is evidenced by its status as the most widely distributed and authoritative Ukrainian weekly in the diaspora, with readers in Canada and other countries. “Homin Ukrainy” also enjoys a growing number of readers in Ukraine, where the newspaper is even used for teaching Ukrainian ethnography in schools.

“Homin Ukrainy” has always been a newspaper of the present and future, organically connected with the issues, needs, and life rhythm of Ukrainians. This is how “Homin Ukrainy” has traveled its more than 75-year-long path to the gates of the 21st century, which we hope and believe will finally mark the beginning of the Ukrainian Millennium, well-deserved by the Ukrainian people.

“Homin Ukrainy” is not just a publishing house and a newspaper, but, above all, an idea, a cause, and the people who, in 1948, collectively created something bigger, more valuable and longer-lasting than any one person individually. New generations, which have replenished our institution over the years, today understand and inherit this ideological vision of its predecessors.

To the friends of “Homin Ukrainy” from previous generations: we owe deep gratitude to you for always passing on the Ukrainian national idea through “Homin Ukrainy” to your successors as a means of further serving this Idea and the Ukrainian Cause.