“On the morning of the 28th, armed soldiers entered our home. People were extremely frightened, and they were given 20 minutes to gather their things. They did not know what to take, what was going on, where they were going. People were gathered at the village clubs, and then the old folks, women and children were loaded onto trucks and driven to trains. One of the most horrific memories was when our grampa died on the way to Siberia. At one of the stations he was tossed from the train by soldiers. In Siberia, they forcefully settled us in families, with the help of the local police. The [local] women cried and tried to hide their children from the exiles, running away as they shouted, ‘the cannibals have arrived.’ Later, these same women shared baked potatoes with us, taking them away from their own children to feed us. In 1958 I returned to Kalmykia. I saw a lot, much that was bad and difficult. Now I am 80, and thank God I live well.”
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