MARIA ROSA FILIJOWYCZ BIO

Date and place of birth: Feb. 6,1957, Montreal, P.Q. Canada
Mother: Maria Antonia Mallozzi, b. Jan. 22, 1931, Minturno, Italy
Father: Wasyl Filijowycz, b. Dec. 13, 1922, Bereziv Vyznyj, Ukraine

As the Russian front advanced into Ukraine Maria’s father, age 18, fled to Austria. From the DP camp in Austria in 1944 he emigrated to Montreal, Quebec with his two cousins.  In 1951 her mother, Maria Antonia, left her small village near Rome, Italy with her sister, seeking employment in Montreal. Maria’s parents both worked in the garment industry, Wasyl as a tailor, Maria Antonia a seamstress. They married in January, 1956 at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Montreal.

Maria was born in Montreal and attended Ukrainian school and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, completed Kursy* and was a member of SUM.** She obtained her BA in Occupational Therapy from McGill University in 1979 and worked in a Psychiatric hospital for 3 years. She moved to Toronto in 1982 and married Andrij Genyk-Berezowsky in 1985. She has worked  consistently in the mental health field, in Pediatric Rehab at Erin Oak in Mississauga, at Baycrest Hospital but mostly at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto. She and her husband have raised their children in the Ukrainian community, enrolling them in Ukrainian school and Plast. As a volunteer, Maria helped establish the Masters Program in Occupational Therapy at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

In 1975, during the Soviet era,  Maria, age 18, and her Italian mother took an Intourist tour to Ukraine. Maria’s mother spoke adequate Ukrainian since this was the language the family spoke at home. They managed to clandestinely visit her father’s village for a few hours, but were reported to the authorities. Maria’s father was afraid of Soviet repercussions and chose not to go to Ukraine.

Maria hopes to learn Italian when she retires.

* Kursy - Ukrainian high school course
** SUM - Ukrainian youth organization

INTERVIEW EXCERPT

Date and place of interview: Feb.24, 2020, Toronto, ON
Length of Interview: 42 minutes
Interviewer: Roksolana Slywynska
Language: English

Interviewer: Do you consider yourself to be, and there are five choices, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Canadian, Canadian Ukrainian, Canadian, other?

Maria:  I think that has gone through various stages in my life for various reasons, probably Ukrainian Canadian at one point and now Canadian Ukrainian, why the change? Because I've gone to Ukraine and I've been there about three times. The first time obviously it was under the Soviet occupation, then I've gone there twice since then. I'm Canadian there's no question about that, I am Canadian.  And that I think has sort of changed, the people who I talk to, I primarily talk about my Ukrainian heritage. “I went to this Ukrainian function or that”, but I think that is sort of becoming the forefront that I am Canadian and I'm happy that I am.

Interviewer: How do you think your brother considers himself?

Maria: My brother considers himself definitely Ukrainian. He’s proud to be Ukrainian. He goes to all the vyshyvanky*. He goes to that and also in Montréal they have a Ukrainian weekend so he participates. And he's been to Ukraine once so he does feel definitely …. though he is very connected to my mother’s side of the family. Also he does things, see I'm living in Toronto so it's a little bit once removed right? When we get together for weddings and family events and funerals I feel connected to my mother’s (Italian) side of the family.

Interviewer: What do you like and find helpful about the Ukrainian Canadian community?

Maria: A sense of belonging, that's I think a big one because I know people will say, oh you do a lot, I wish I could. Some people have commented that sense of cohesiveness, sense of community, sense of belonging, that’s sort of is a big part.

Interviewer: What would you like to see different about the Ukrainian Canadian community?

Maria: Interesting, it'd be interesting because we tend to be a little bit insular, it’d be nice to sort of open a little more. We talk a lot about Ukraine but we have a lot of Canadian things that need to be recognized and I sometimes struggle with that, be it Remembrance Day, it needs to be mentioned, we are fortunate enough to live here, I personally think that needs to be recognized….. When one looks at other cultures or religions they're a little bit more open so even as an example, we do the Shevchenkivsky medal***, the sort of thing that KUK**does. Some of the other organizations or religious groups will give these things to outsiders that aren't necessarily within their religion or culture. I always think of the news coverages that we've had from, be it, CBC, CTV or any of those reporters. Some of those reporters, would be nice if we can recognize them as something that they've contributed to help the world know a little bit more of Ukraine.

* vyshyvanky - Ukrainian embroidered clothing
** KUK - Ukrainian acronym for Ukrainian Canadian Congress
*** medal named afterTaras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet