Fast forward to 2015, young Lithuanian men and women are competing for the opportunity to go to siberia. Why? their motive: to experience siberia themselves. their hope: to encounter descendants of deportees, or locals who could shed light on the fate of their erstwhile Lithuanian neighbors. their goal: to memorialize those who perished in the wastelands of siberia thousands of miles from their homeland. these intrepid young Lithuanians will do this by braving the wilds seeking to locate densely overgrown cemeteries. they will clear the brush, mark the graves, and erect new crosses in remembrance for their countrymen who suffered and died there. this is \u201cMission: siberia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMission: siberia\u201d was founded in 2005 by the Youth organizations assembly of Lithuania. it is funded by the Charitable Foundation \u201cJauniems\u201d (For the Youth). to date the sponsors of \u201cMission: siberia\u201d have organized 12 such expeditions, which have cleared over 100 Lithuanian cemeteries in various parts of siberia.<\/p>\n
if you view the videos on the \u201cMission: siberia\u201d website, (http:\/\/2014.misijasibiras.lt\/video) you will see scenes reminiscent of \u201csurvivor\u201d tV shows. Young people trudging through mud, fighting clouds of mosquitos, losing their patience with one another. they trudge through thick brush and bogs in search of long forgotten cemeteries. they are the selected ones. according to ignas Rusilas, director of the charity \u201cJauniems,\u201d out of 800 college students and young professionals who applied this year, only 16 were selected. the selection criteria was, first, a motivational essay, which whittled the group down to 75. this smaller group then had a trial \u201cin the wilds\u201d to test the their physical and emotional endurance. according to Mr. Rusilas, this second phase consisted of a two day march in the dz\u016bkija forests of Lithuania. \u201cWe carefully select the mission’s participants. We assemble a strong team, which ought be able to cope with any unanticipated challenges which they might encounter on the expedition.\u201d that is quite the opposite of 75 years ago when the soviets took anybody: newborns, pregnant women, paralyzed grandparents. and no essays were required.<\/p>\n
\u201cMission:siberia \u201915\u201d returned to Lithuania earlier this month, on august 2, after a two-week trip to siberia. this year\u2019s group consisted of a mixed group of men and women including a Latvian and an estonian. they traveled to the tomsk region, specifically to Kolominskie Grivy (\u010cainskij rajon), narym (Parabelskij rajon), Belyj Jar (Verchneketskij rajon), Kuruzurovo, Kurolino, ust Jamy (Parabelskij rajon), Parabel (Parabelskij rajon). ignas Rusilas commented, \u201cWe try to visit places where we can have the greatest impact. this year, tomsk and its remote fringes were selected.\u201d he added that he has more ambitious plans, \u201cWe want to arrange for a the monument in tomsk city center, adjacent to the former nKVd facility, and a museum dedicated to Lithuanian exiles and political prisoners who were deported there commemorating<\/p>\n Draugas News contacted Donatas Barsys a \u201cMission: Siberia \u201915\u201d participant. A native of Tel\u0161iai, Lithuania, he recently received a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in History from the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. He is fascinated by 20th century history. This fall he will return to Tel\u0161iai to teach history at the local high school. Donatas is also an active scout leader. \u201cI often joke, that in school I learned to read and write, but everything else worthwhile I learned from my father and the scouts,\u201d says Donatas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2013 In your opinion what is the mission of \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 It is multifaceted: the preservation of our historic memory, a sense of responsibility to one’s country, promoting citizenship among young people, remembrance of the suffering experienced by the deportees and their heroism. While in Siberia, I experienced a type of cultural exchange. It seems to me that we brought a piece of \u201cLithuania\u201d there and we brought a fragment of \u201cLithuania\u201d back from Siberia as well.<\/p>\n \u2013 Why do you think you were selected from among the some 800 applicants?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Since I was eight years old I was an active scout. This provided me an opportunity to be involved in various activities such as hiking and backpacking, woodworking, survival training, and the like. I suspected such experience greatly influenced the decision to select me for the program.<\/p>\n Our group consisted mostly of young people of various backgrounds. There were students and young professionals. It should be noted that there were some who were not experienced in outdoor activities, however, they persevered.<\/p>\n \u2013 How did you prepare for this mission?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 We had several meetings during which\u00a0we were instructed on various aspects of the project. We later met with the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskait\u0117, and representatives of the Foreign Ministry. We did considerable background research on deportees to the Tomsk region at the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania in Vilnius.<\/p>\n We met a number of former deportees in Vilnius. They shared their recollections and experiences; they spoke about their emotions, living conditions and the labor they were forced to do.<\/p>\n We also did some woodworking of traditional Lithuanian wayside crosses. Craftsmen instructed us on the traditional characteristics of Lithuanian shrines and their symbolism. We were taught how to use various carving tools and had a hands-on project: we crafted two wayside crosses ourselves. These classes helped us to identify Lithuanian crosses that we would later find in Siberia.<\/p>\n \u2013 You traveled to Tomsk. How long did the trip take? What was your mode of transportation?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 The trip to Tomsk took some three days. We traveled by train from Vilnius to Moscow, with only a short few-minute stop in Minsk to stretch our legs. The trip was tiring, however, we were in good company<\/p>\n and our spirits were high. From Moscow we flew by plane to Tomsk. Because we flew out late, and adding in the time-zone changes, we were left without sleep that night. In Tomsk we used the available waterways to access remote locations. We also traveled on an all terrain vehicle which we brought over on a barge. The initial departure by train was symbolic \u2013 Lithuanians were deported to Siberia in cattle cars. The trip itself was the cause of a great deal of hardship.<\/p>\n \u2013 Was this the first time that \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d visited this area?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d visited Tomsk in 2011, however, this time we visited sites that were not visited previously. The Lithuanians were deported here from the very beginning in 1941. In fact, there was evidence that Lithuanians were deported here as far back as 1863 in the aftermath of the failed insurrection against the czarist regime. Mostly, Lithuanian deportees worked in the forests felling trees. We also visited several sites that were established by the efforts of the deportees themselves. Their situation was difficult, even though the climactic conditions were somewhat less extreme than in other parts of Siberia. We visited six sites where Lithuanians had cemeteries and erected memorial crosses in each of them. I’m especially proud the cross I built with my colleague Justas. It was a Lithuanianstyle cross in the Narym cemetery.<\/p>\n Did you meet any remaining family members of the deportees?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Only a few. In the village of Parabel, the local museum organized\u00a0a reception for us with remaining deportees. Among them was one woman, Stanislava, who was deported as a child from Zarasai. Unfortunately, she only knew a few phrases in Lithuanian, but she told us that she keeps in touch with her sister residing in Ukmerg\u0117, Lithuania. On the whole the residents of different ethnic backgrounds received us warmly, inquired about our mission and helped us in various ways. Some of the areas we needed to reach were particularly remote and difficult to access. In this case local hunters were our guides. An especially impressive guide was Anatolijus who led us on a 50 km trek by foot to an abandoned village of deportees.<\/p>\n \u2013 Did the local residents recall Lithuanian deportees?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Frequently an elder member of the community would remember Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian names. It was strange to hear Lithuanian names being pronounced with a strong Russian accent. The recollections of the locals about the deportees were positive: they recalled that Lithuanians were pleasant and industrious people. A number of local residents even regretted that so many Lithuanians had returned to Lithuania. We also learned that in Natym, the local tradition of planting flowers around the homestead was introduced by the Lithuanian deportees.<\/p>\n \u2013 You are a scout leader who has been in the outdoors before. How extreme were the conditions in Siberia?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 The living conditions did not surprise me. However, there were some difficult moments during the trip, and they were especially challenging for the team members not used to the outdoors. Physically, the most difficult aspect was the lack of quality sleep. Also, our backpacks were exceptionally heavy \u2013 we had to carry our tents, clothes, sleeping bags, and also two days of food and water. That was 20- 25 kg. Under such conditions patience begins to run thin. Luckily we were able to avoid any serious conflicts in the course of this trip.<\/p>\n \u2013 Where did you sleep and what did you eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 We mostly slept in our own tents and prepared food on a campfire. There\u00a0were individuals in the group who were responsible for obtaining food and preparing the meals.<\/p>\n \u2013 What was your reaction upon first encountering Lithuanian cemeteries in Siberia?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 What struck me was that although the grave sites were surrounded by fences, the fences had no gates. It left me with the impression that nobody expected to visit the graves. What a sad thought: these innocent people deported against their will were left buried in what amounted to a prison cell, forever.<\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d isn\u2019t just a twoweek adventure trip, but it continues upon your return. What is the next phase of your \u201cmission\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 A video is being produced about this year\u2019s \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d project. In the ensuing year, team members are required to organize presentations and exhibits for the general public regarding our experiences in Siberia. We will be speaking to student groups about the deportations, the importance of historical memory, and a sense of duty and citizenship. We will encourage them to apply for next year\u2019s \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d challenge.<\/p>\n \u2013 You will be teaching history in high school back in your hometown of Tel\u0161iai. How much do young people know about the deportations?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Usually they know as much as they learn in history class. However, it should be noted that \u201cMission: Siberia\u201d has already made an impact on the younger generation. I’ve noticed that the subject matter of the occupation and repressions is one of the more popular subjects in the presentday school curriculum. Students get involved in various aspects of the history of the deportations: they write essays, make films on the subject, they look at it from a historical perspective. However, not enough attention is focused on why the deportations took place. Students dwell on the tragic aspects, while we should be focusing on the heroism. It took great strength of will to endure as an exile in a hostile land. To me this is one of the most ennobling moments of Lithuania\u2019s history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By\u00a0VIDA KUPRYS. Pursuant to the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, 75 years ago, the Soviet Union unilaterally occupied and annexed the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The brutality of the occupation became manifest, when in June of 1941, thousands of Lithuanians, as well as their fellow Balts, were packed into cattle cars and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[79,114],"class_list":["post-2018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-history-1900","tag-draugas-news","tag-kuprys-v"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ignas](\"http:\/\/draugas.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Untitled_Clipping_011516_044052_PM.jpg\")
![\"The](\"http:\/\/draugas.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Untitled_Clipping_011516_044923_PM.jpg\")
![\"Mission:](\"http:\/\/draugas.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Untitled_Clipping_011516_044930_PM.jpg\")
![\"Donatas](\"http:\/\/draugas.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Untitled_Clipping_011516_045234_PM-300x220.jpg\")
![\"Many](\"http:\/\/draugas.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Untitled_Clipping_011516_045510_PM.jpg\")