Samuel Biegun - February 15, 1983
Life in Siberia
You were together though, your whole family...
Yes
...at this time.
Until--before the war started, before, before the war. So my father start writing a letter because we were innocent, you know, why were, were we deported. So it took a long time until uh, we got a letter back that we are free to go. But you had to pay the uh, the fare because we didn't have no money to pay it. So, writing back home, which a large family--my, my father's side, my mother's side. My mother had uh, three brothers and a sister and they all have children. So, they brought us back. They didn't have no money, but they start like a collection for the children for us to get out--the children, us. Until everything, you know, start--the war started and this--we were lucky because if we would have gone back, I wouldn't be here.
Did you stay--how long did you stay in that village?
We stayed all, all during the war. So they took the father away to uh, like a probably couple thousand miles--he was in Siberia too, in uh, like in a working, uh...
Who was?
My father.
Who, who took him away?
The government, the Russian...
They came to the village where you were living.
Well, he was like mobilized, mobilized like in a...
Wife: Like the army.
He was--we were communicating, you know, writing letter but it was, like a labor force or something.
And so your--the rest of your family was together...
Yes.
...in this village and your father was in a, in a labor camp a couple thousand miles away and you were able to write to him.
Yes.
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