Siberian deportation survivors gather in Ikšķile to share memories

People deported to Siberia met in Ikšķile on Saturday for their annual gathering, LSM reported. Their numbers are shrinking each year, but they continue to share memories of the long journey and difficult life in Siberia.

This year, there were reportedly 400 fewer witnesses to the deportations than last year. Those whose health allowed them to attend gathered at Ikšķile’s open-air stage despite the forecast rain.

Some recalled that the gatherings were livelier 10 years ago, when people even danced in the mud as the evening grew warmer. The event is now quieter and focused on sharing memories with those willing to listen.

“They deported all of us: my grandfather, grandmother and the four children. My grandfather died on the way. We left him on the riverbank. They took us further north from Tomsk. My grandfather remained there, lying by the river. I remember everything. I remember the wagons. I was eight when I got into the wagon and returned at 15. I am here and come every year,” said deportee Mārīte Bogdānova.

Some attendees said the gatherings made them reflect on what they had experienced, while they could now view Siberia through the perspective of their parents.

“I am always amazed at how our parents managed to raise and feed us. I still cannot understand it, and there is no one left to ask,” said deportee Nora Kaimiņa.

Others said they were thinking more about current events.

“I was 12 and in the fifth grade. My mother was deported with two children, and we lived in Siberia for eight years. I think that for Latvia to flourish, Latvians must be content with themselves,” said deportee Alberts Lācis.

Deportee Uldis Jumiķis said the historical record must be preserved for future generations.

“This historical testimony must be preserved for our future, for children and grandchildren, so they know that it happened. We know Russia’s tendencies best. Russia does not change; only some surnames change. Everything else continues. Europe has not understood this all along. I hope they are beginning to understand it now,” he said.

Latvia’s State President has also urged deportees to share their stories this year, stressing that the deportations of 1941 and 1949, when thousands of Latvians were forced into cattle wagons and taken to Siberia to work, are important chapters in the country’s history. Many never returned.