Ukrainian/American

[BenCA]

Originally posted by BOSNIA_MAN
The diaspora or Ukrainian-American and Ukrainian-Canadian communities which are almost always made up of immigrants from Western and West-Central Ukraine are mostly third, fourth, or even fifth generation American. They maintain their culture even so many generations later because they live in these specific ethnic communities. Every once in a while they are infused with a fresh group of newcomers from Ukraine so it keeps the cycle going. The same can be said of Polish, Greek, Serbian, Scottish, Irish, Chinese, Indian, and Italian communities. The communities where the Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovians, and other former Soviet peoples are typically overwhelmingly Jewish communtities and are almost all new immigrants fresh off the boat (or plane). They are the distinct minority of ethnic communtities here in the Americas.

I think it is important that we forgo further discussion on this topic in this message thread and instead start a new one for this. The original message about Lemkos and Boykos is being lost and I think ti warrants a good discussion.

(FYI: I'm not from Bosnia, nor am I Bosnian. I'm just fascinated with Bosnia, too. So no hard feelings for other Slavs here.)

I agree with most of what you said, but the newcomers statement
You know, it all depends where you live. I live near San Francisco, and I hang out with the Slavic crowd that lives in San Francisco and near San Francisco, this includes Ukrainians or/and Russians. Almost all the immigrants I know here are 10+ years in USA, I don't think that qualifies as fresh off the boat so to speak. Where do you live? I used to live in another small city in California which has good number of Soviet people, most of them were Ukrainians with about 10+ years in USA.

[BOSNIA_MAN]

LOL, good point about the ten years not being "fresh off the boat". I guess I would make that statement more legitimate by saying "fresh off the boat compared to the traditional members of the diaspora who have all been here for several generations". In any case, point taken.

I also find in my area, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, that while there are people from Russia and Ukraine and the other former communist nations of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, there seem to be few or no Slavs among them! Yevreysky! All of them! Ya ne znayu...

I've been out to the midwest and there are lots of older immigrants who are real Ukrainians and Polaks. In upstate New York there are Russians. It is surprising though that so few of the newcomers are Slavs.

[Nonson]

And here I was laboring under the conclusion that only the aliens known as New Yorkers lived in places like Ridgefield Park, NJ. Damn! It does hurt to be wrong.

05.11.01