Little girl Holodomor statue in Kyiv torn down by vandals

Little girl Holodomor statue in Kyiv torn down by vandals
Little girl Holodomor statue in Kyiv torn down by vandals / wiki
By bne IntelliNews August 23, 2020

A statue of a little girl that symbolises Holodomor, the famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, was torn down by vandals in what has been seen as a political act just two days before Ukraine celebrates its independence day.

Holodomor is cut deep into Ukraine’s psyche and the destruction of the famous statue has caused outrage. The famine was caused by Stalin, who exported Ukraine’s grain to earn hard currency, leaving millions of Ukrainians to starve to death.

The story of the famine was brought to the rest of the world by a young Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who single-handedly reported on the widespread starvation in Ukraine.

Jones was recently lionised in a Hollywood movie Mr Jones, and a street in Kyiv has just been named after him.

The sculpture "The bitter memory of childhood" is also known as "the girl with ears" and stands outside the National Museum of the famine-genocide.

The incident occurred on the night of August 21-22, according to a report on the museum's website.

In a comment to BBC News Ukraine, the general director of the museum, Olesya Stasiuk, said the statue was torn down by three well organised malefactors.

"Three unknown people tore down the [statue]. Thank God, the statue itself is not damaged, because they could not lift it. It is very heavy," she said.

"They distracted the guards by pretending to be drunks," says Stasiuk.

"It was done deliberately, especially before Independence Day to show insult to the memory of the Ukrainian people," she added.

Stasiuk said the authorities hope to re-erect the statue within a month.

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