The Role of the Comité Ucraíno de Auxílio às Vítimas da Guerra in the Life of Ukrainian Immigrants in Brazil (Based on the Official Correspondence in 1946–1948)

Abstract

The paper analyses the role of the Ukrainian Committee for Aid to Victims of the War in the life of Ukrainian immigrants in Brazil in the post-war period. The empirical material comprises official correspondence (1946–1948) between the Committee and Ukrainian immigrants in Brazil, which justifies the scientific novelty of the study, as these letters have been transcribed from handwriting into text and analysed for the first time. The research methodology is primarily based on content analysis of the letters and is supported by the methods of text typology and classification. The Committee was the only officially functioning Ukrainian-speaking organization in Brazil, initially established to support displaced Ukrainians in Europe; nevertheless, it also provided support to Ukrainians who immigrated to Brazil. The main issues that troubled Ukrainian immigrants in Brazil, prompting them to seek the Committee’s assistance, included: gruelling working conditions; undue payment and unjust wages; harsh living conditions in remote areas; lack of Ukrainian newspapers, magazines, and books; a desire to relocate closer to other Ukrainians; requests for information about life and working conditions in other areas or the whereabouts of relatives or friends who lived in Latin America.