Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Esfir Lupyan - December 17, 2007

Did it affect how you raised your children, do you think?

This is also, also weird thing for, you know. My daughter, my daughter became Orthodox and I... Orthodox, you know, here. I never talk about that. It's, it's, it's like a puzzle, I don't know. She came here... She was, she was suffer. She suffer in, in Minsk. All that concern Jewish people, Jewish children can get in university, university and she was very, very talented, so she was among two percent. When they found that she, that she want to immigrate in Israel, she was exclude right away, you know, from, from list of uh, success uh, students. And I go to KGB, I myself, I go to them in big building. It's mammoth, you know uh, luxury, luxury temple--you know how to say--temple, KGB. It's very difficult to get in and I, and I go and I found the person who can talk to me and I start to cry, "Why she the best children, you exclude her only because she want to go in Israel. First of all, not she. She doesn't do anything, that me. I took her in Israel, but why, why you exclude? If she stay in university, she will stay, she will learn." So, she... They say, "We don't want educate people for Israel." They say. It was terrible again, terrible time and I say that, I cry, "You are anti-Semite." And she said, "No, I have all my friends..."

All my best friends are Jewish.

"...Jews." And I say uh, you say, "How old are they? Your friend." Uh, she, she could not say how old, but I know they old and old is okay, but how many you have young? Young friends. And now, my, my daughter have uh, problem with hearing? Hearing, hearing.

Hearing.

Hearing, yes. So, she said, "You took your, your daughter to hospital uh, capitalism, to, to military country and they... You, you a bad mother. You're..." Oh, she said so many, many wonderful things and I say, "Okay," I say, "If you can, if you can teach her and return her hearing, I appreciate you, but you cannot do that and I hope they, they can do." So then, that allowed her to go. And, and she said, "Okay, this is, this is personal case and we let her learn in university." So, she... They, they leave her, leave her and because they let her, I stay and I didn't immigrate.