Vic Ratsma
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Wieste (Vic) Ratsma (1934 - 2004) was a journalist and political activist. Born in the Netherlands, he came to Canada and worked as a quality control inspector for Canada Post well raising his family in the city of Winnipeg.
He has been described as a "lifelong political activist, antiwar organizer, poet and essayist," but argued that he was not qualified to be called a poet and would prefer to be labeled as someone who "occasionally writes some poetry as well".
For a number of years, he was active in the labour movement and graduated from the University-Labour program at the University of Manitoba. He was a member of the New Democratic Party and ran for political office twice.
He joined the Canada-USSR Friendship Association in 1975 and was the secretary of the Winnipeg branch for many years. Vic Ratsma was the producer and the host.of a cable TV show for close to ten years, showing Soviet films, interviewing Soviet delegates that came to Canada, besides informing the viewers about the latest developments in the USSR. Of the forty two branches of the Canada-USSR Friendship Association, the Winnipeg branch was the only one to obtain such sustained broadcast exposure.
After the collapse of the USSR, Ratsma continued his solidarity work through the newly formed Canadian Friends of Soviet People and International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People, which was formed at a world conference in the city of Toronto, Canada in September of 2001.
His many articles were translated in to many languages and published in countries like Nepal, India, Russia, The Netherlands, Ukraine and many others. He most notably wrote for Northstar Compass, Organ of the Canadian Friends of Soviet People and Axis of Logic, an alternative media outlet.
After a long struggle with cancer, Vic Ratsma finally died November 17, 2004 at a hospital in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he lived since 1959, with his family beside him as he faded away.
