THE SOVIET ATTACK ON RELIGION/A Focus OF THE SOVIET ATTACK

ONE OF THOUSANDS-Fyodor Kalin Describes His Family's Exile

Our family lived in the village of Vishanitsa in western Ukraine.  In the morning darkness of April 8, 1951, officers with dogs cane from the government in Moscow,we were being sent to Siberia.  But if we signed a document saying that we were no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, we could stay.  Our family of seven, including my parents and siblings were determine to remain Witnesses. I was then 19 years old. 

One officer said:  "Take along beans, corn, flour, pickles, cabbage-otherwise how are you going to feed the children?"  We were also allowed to butcher some chickens  and a pig and to take the meat with us.  Two horse-drawn carts were brought, and everything was loaded into them and taken to the town of Hriplin.  There, about 40 or 50 of us were crammed into a freight car, and the door was shut.

The car had a few planks for us to sleep on-not enough for everyone-and a stove with some coal and wood. We cooked on the stove, using cookware we had brought. But there was no toilet-we simply used a bucket.  Later, we made a round opening in the floor, fixed the bucket in it, and hung blankets around it for privacy.

We lived cramped together in that freight car as we slowly made our way thousands of  miles to an unknown destination. At first, we were somewhat downhearted.  But as we sang Kingdom songs together-with such vigor that later we could hardly speak-we felt joyful.  The commander would open the doors and tell us to stop, but would not stop until we had finished. When we stopped at the stations along the way, many learned  that Jehovah's Witnesses were being sent into exile.  Finally, after 17 or 18 days in that freight car, we were dropped off in Siberia near Lake Baikal. 

Next time: A focus OF THE SOVIET ATTACK -Efforts to Cope With Growths

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