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Man who fled Ukraine is thankful for U.S. freedoms
By Connie Bloom
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Sep 18, 2008
Andre Leskiv was only 4 at the time, but he remembers the turmoil in Ukraine a few years before the Soviet Union's fall and how his parents hungered for freedoms they would never be granted.
First among them, they ached to worship openly.
''We had a place to live and jobs, food and clothing, but no potential or education — it was different,'' from life in the United States, Leskiv, 23, said Monday, just minutes before he became a U.S. citizen.
The Cleveland State University student, who had been sitting alone because his parents had to work, was the first person called forward during the Constitution Celebration in the Ocasek Building in downtown Akron.
Leskiv of Seven Hills and 19 others from around the world — Myanmar, India, China, Pakistan, Israel, Venezuela, Lebanon and Nigeria — raised their right hands and swore to protect and defend the land of the free and the home of the brave before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Baxter.
Baxter told the group to heed the significance of the occasion, which dates back 221 years since the drafting of the Constitution.
He reminded them that ''freedom is not free and never has been free, it was obtained at a remarkable price.''
They understood.
Then he wished them Godspeed as they
walk into new lives.
Leskiv said the country of his birth is now a democratic country, but before they fled Ukraine, his parents, Igor and Galina, felt the oppression of Communism. They were forced to go underground to worship. Today they are enjoying their lifelong dream as members of the Church of Evangelic Faith in Parma.
He plans to graduate from CSU with a bachelor's in business finance in December, then go job hunting.
''I want to work in banking or as a personal financial adviser, and I've been following the news all day,'' he said. ''Bankruptcies, mergers and closings — it gets your attention.
''My belief in Jesus helps a lot to get you through hard times. A lot of people are looking to the divine — something outside of ourselves as human beings.''
He clutched a red carnation and small U.S. flag and beamed, saying ''good things to come!''
Connie Bloom can be reached at 330-996-3568 or cbloom@thebeaconjournal.com.
Andre Leskiv was only 4 at the time, but he remembers the turmoil in Ukraine a few years before the Soviet Union's fall and how his parents hungered for freedoms they would never be granted.
Get the full article here.
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