LIETUVIŲ VELYKINĖS TRADICIJOS

Text: Vin Karnila

From reading Aage‘s thoughtful words about Lithuanian Easter traditions it tranformed me back in time to when I was a young boy growing up in the Boston area of Massachusetts. Being the son of a Scottish mother and Lithuanian father I had the great fortune of experiencing the wonderfull traditions of not only the Lithuanian people but that of the Highland Scott‘s as well.

While along with the Lithuanian Christmas traditions we practiced many of the Scottish customs for Christmas and New Year as well but Easter is seemed was a time for the traditions of our Lithuanian ancestors. These were the traditions the Karnila family took with them from our ancestral home in Lithuania, the village of Guronys.

While occasionally we would visit members of my mother’s family on Easter, most often on Easter we would go to the home of my father’s sister, Ana (Karnilytė) Savanovich. This I think was by no small coincidence since months before Easter my brother and I would plead to our parents that it was an absolute requirement that we celebrate Easter at Aunt Ana’s house – as you read on you will understand why!!!

When we arrived at Ana’s house my brother and I were greeted with a basket of decorated Easter Eggs and sweets. This was of course, in true Lithuanian tradition, AFTER we had we had completely passed through the door and were standing inside the house and had also gone through all the kisses, hugs and pinches on the cheeks (from Ana) and handshakes from her husband John. As my brother and I started to go to work on the sweets and admire the eggs next came another big treat. Ana would come out with a tray of freshly baked, still warm cookies baked by you guessed it – the Velykos Kiškis!!! Now I guess the story behind the cookies from what Aage told you got changed a bit on its trip across the Atlantic Ocean but it seems that the Easter Bunny / A.K.A. Velykos Kiškis baked these cookies just this morning and brought them to Ana‘s home knowing that me and my brother would be there.

After enjoying ourselves on the sweets and cookies next came the what was probably one of the biggest events of the day – EASTER DINNER!!! I grew up enjoying Lithuanian traditional food but at Easter this was something completely different. Easter Dinner was the jack pot, the mother load, the meal to end all meals, the trip to the mountain top. Never at any one time were there so many Lithuanian dishes on the table at any one time. Remember on Chirstmas Eve there is no meat. For Easter there was every kind of meat you could think of. Roast pork, roast ham, roast chicken, roast anything you could possibly roast and maybe a few things you wouldn‘t want to roast. In addition blynai, dumplings, kugelis, salads of every variety you could imagine and of course mushrooms used in almost every dish. The table cloth was always white and always was adorned with some greenery. Now of course before we partook in this wonderful feast an egg was cut and a piece was given to every one seated so that as we all ate of this egg we joined as a family and bonded our love and dedication to each other. I must mention that the cutting of the egg became an art form if we had the pleasure of being joined by uncles Kaziemiras (Charles) and Jonas (John) and aunts Marytė (Mary) and Alicija (Alice) and their families. To cut one egg into about thirty equal pieces is truly an endeavor. After the meal came an incredible assortment of cakes, pies and sweets. Oh, did I mention that to wash this all down Ana had made some home made gira?

After stuffing ourselves to the max came some activities to work off all the food. It seems that the Velykų Senelė/Easter Grandmother had stopped by earlier that morning and left some beautifully decorated eggs for me and my brother. The problem was that she had hidden them outside and our task was to find them. As a very young child this was a little confusing because I thought it was the Easter Bunny’s responsibility to deliver all the eggs to every one. So I kind of sorted things out and came to the conclusion that yes in fact delivering the eggs was the Easter Bunny’s job however the eggs used in the egg hunt was the responsibility of Velykų Senelė. As I got older we then understood that this was another wonderful tradition of our people. I can say one thing about Ana and John, when it came to hiding eggs they displayed some incredible imagination not to mention athletic ability. You would not believe what we had to go through to get some of these eggs!!! To be honest, I don’t know who had more fun, the children finding the eggs or Ana and John watching us.

After finding all the eggs or let me put it this way, after finding all the eggs we could find (I think after fifty years there are still some unfound eggs sitting around there some where) we went back inside. All the children counted up the eggs they had found and the one with the most received some sweets as their prize for being the best egg hunter.

What came next was to me the most special event of the day. Of everything we did this is what I most fondly remember of our Easter traditions. For every child Ana had made a specially decorated egg. She would go around and present each child with this incredible work of art. All the children had the same reaction. We would just sit there with our mouths agape and admire this wonderful creation. As you can imagine, it is difficult for young children to appreciate hand crafted beauty, especially little boys, but these eggs where so magnificent it truly got our attention. We would hold the egg in our hands and just stare at it in wonderful admiration. In addition to the eggs beauty we also were appreciating the love that aunt Ana had put in to making this egg for us but most of all, as we sat there admiring the beautiful Easter egg we, even as little children knew we were holding the tradition of the Lithuanian people and of Lithuania in our hands. I so vividly remember holding these special eggs in my small hands and saying to myself – This is Lithuania and I am Lithuanian.

I would please ask you to understand that what I wrote of is not about me and not about the Karnila family. What I wrote about was a Lithuanian family, Lithuanian traditions and Lithuania. For every people, their traditions and customs are not only an important part of their past but also an important part of their future. This is so true of Lithuania. The preservation of beautiful ancient traditions has been one of the things that helped the Lithuanian people remain strong and preserve their identity as a people and a nation through so many adverse situations. Unfortunately, every year some of these traditions tend to slip away one by one. While we still practice some of these traditions many have become just a memory.

I wrote this as an invitation to all our readers to write to us telling us about the beautiful Lithuanian Easter traditions that you remember from years gone by and also tell us of the traditions you, your family, friends and neighbors still practice to this day. It is our hope that in sharing these traditions with all our readers you will be reminded of some wonderful tradition from the past and this Easter and for many Easters to come you will again include these traditions in your Easter celebrations. We would also like to remind you that there are many people of Lithuanian nationality living around the world that are desperately trying to find out more about their heritage and about the culture and traditions of their Lithuanian ancestors. By sharing your traditions with all our readers it is very possible that a person, intensely proud of their Lithuanian ancestry, some where in the world this Easter will for the first time in their lives be able make some Lithuanian Easter traditions a part of their family’s celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

So dear readers, we invite you to please send to us some of the Lithuanian Easter traditions that are or were an important part of your family so that we can share them with Lithuanians around the world.

Su Dieva

Vin / Vincas Karnila

Associate editor

VilNews 2010 

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850 

CHRISTMAS IN SIBERIA

A Lithuanian family at Lena river, year 1942 

“The tents were freezing cold, harsh, and distressing; so, the adults decided to build better living conditions.  "We can build barracks," said one Lithuanian, "We can catch the logs in the Lena River." The men waded barefoot into the icy water, caught floating logs, brought them to shore, and built the barracks. They covered the outside walls with snow and ice which they learned would help keep out the frigid temperature. They also found a large iron stove, which they placed in the middle of the building.”

Exiled to Siberia

Laima's Story

Text: Leona T. Gustaff

This story was first published in the BRIDGES magazine in 1999.

Leona T. Gustaff is a contributing writer for BRIDGES and lives in Frederick, Maryland, USA.

BRIDGES is monthly publication of LAC (Lithuanian American Community, Inc.). Ten issues a year. /more/

In 1992, my husband and I spent ten months teaching English as a Second Language at the Pedagogical Institute Šiauliai, Lithuania. While there we had the occasion to meet and talk with many returned 'Tremtiniai' (Exiles), who had been forcibly taken to Siberia by the Russian Politboro.

As with one voice each of them proclaimed, "Please tell the world about how we suffered when we were forced to leave our homes and journey to the icy tundra of Siberia." 

Laima Guzevičiutė Uždavinienė is a cousin of my husband. Her father, Stasys Guzevičius, was my husband's father's brother. Her mother was Ona Zubavičiutė Guzevičienė.

Laima narrated the story of her family's unwelcome exile, telling me the hardships, the tragedies, and how they braved all the difficult problems. She was seven years old when the family was rudely interrupted in their morning slumber, and was forced to leave their home within hours. She did not return for fifteen years.

This is her story as she related it to me. I have taken the liberty to add descriptions of different places she lived in during her exile.

The house was warm, secure, peaceful. The window drapes had been closed tight to shut out the rising sun. On June 14th in 1941 we were not aware of the tragedy about to enter our lives. A thick, fluffy comforter covered me and kept me safe. Tėtė and Mama slept quietly in the adjacent room. Algis, my three-year-old brother, was in sound slumber in his trundle bed. Suddenly, at 5 a.m., sharp staccato raps at the entrance of our home aroused us. "Guzevičius, wake up! Let us in! We are the militia!"

Tėtė grabbed his robe and slippers and rushed to the front entrance with my Mama, brother and me running close behind. When he opened the door he encountered two men standing on the steps leading into the house. One was dressed in a Russian military outfit; the second was a friend, Dabulavičius, who lived nearby in the village of Brazavo.

"Labas," Tėtė, startled and not prepared for what was to follow, greeted the men. The military man, a member of the Russian armed forces, grabbed him by the shoulders, pushed him back into the room, swung him around quickly, clasped his hands to his back, and shackled him with metal hand-cuffs. My brother and I were frightened and bewildered. We were sobbing aloud as Mama pulled at the arms of the soldier and begged him to tell her of what my father was guilty.

"Dabulavičius," she pleaded, "Please tell them not to do this. Stasys has never hurt anyone. He is a good man and does not deserve this kind of treatment. He has even lent you a large sum of money recently so that you could build an addition to your home." Dabulavičius stood by silently and turned his head away so that he would not have to look at my mother.

"Tylėk!" The soldier, pushing Mama aside, ordered her to be silent. "Pack whatever you think the entire family will need for a long journey. Your baggage must be less than 120 kilograms."

The Times

At that time the Soviet Union was in total control of Lithuania. Russian military leaders were aware that 175 divisions of the Third Reich's Wermacht were advancing toward the Soviet Union 's western frontier. The soldiers would have to travel through Lithuania.

There had been rumors that Bolshevik militia was gathering educated Lithuanian men and army leaders to incarcerate them in prison or exile them to a foreign land. In order to receive gifts from the military or, in some instances, to save their own lives, neighbors had been approaching the Soviet officers and volunteering evidence of conversations that they had witnessed of discontent with the political regime in power. These were generally trumped up falsehoods. Tėtė then realized that his friend had conjured up treacherous untrue charges about him.

Only eight days later, on June 22, the Germans attacked the Soviet Union forcing the Red Army to withdraw from Lithuania. Unfortunately, we were already on a desperate journey to an unknown destination.

Tėtė, my father, was a teacher in the Kalvarijas district. He was born in 1894 in Suvalkija, not far from the town of Punskas, the third in a family of eighteen children, nine of whom were either still born or died soon after birth. He had attended Primary and Secondary schools in Lithuania, received his university education in Russia and returned to Lithuania to teach in Kalvarija. He spoke six languages -- Polish, German, Russian, French, Jewish, Lithuanian -- was the owner of an extensive library with thousands of books, and had founded and promoted new elementary schools in the Marijampolė district.

Active in the community, a leader in the Kalvarija area, he had organized and taught both children and teenagers many different traditional dances. He enjoyed farming, fertilizing the land, and planting seeds to grow potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. He also propagated apple trees. He never imbibed liquor, despised alcoholics, and launched programs against alcoholism.

Tėtė was 33 years old when he married my mother, who was only seventeen years of age. But Mama possessed great physical strength, loved to read, and had lively intelligent conversations with him. She and Tėtė together had purchased a home in Trakėnai from a German nationalist who was returning to his country.

Trakėnai is located about five kilometers south of Kalvarija. It initially had been a large German estate, but eventually was divided into small parcels of land for German families. They bought the property, which consisted of a home and barn with land for farming. Each month they sent a sum of money to the original proprietor, who according to country laws, was the true owner until the entire amount of the sale was paid.

The Beginning of the Journey

Mama quickly gathered warm clothing and made small bundles for my brother and me to carry. She snatched the feather comforters from the beds and collected coats, sweaters, socks, and boots. She packed potatoes, cheese, sugar and flour, which she and my father carried. Soon, a truck filled with other Lithuanian families roared to a stop in front of our home. Mama, Tėtė, Algis, and I climbed into the back of the vehicle and searched for an area to put our hurriedly collected bags. My parents held us tight and comforted us as they wiped away our tears. The truck continued on its route until we reached Kalvarijos Railroad Station.

When we arrived at the station we were surprised to see a large group of people who also carried bundles of hastily collected clothing, food, and bedding. There was noise and considerable agitation. Children cried, sobbing aloud. People talked incessantly, looked for friends, made sure certain family members were not separated, and asked each other if they knew where they were going. Everyone was frightened. No one knew the answers.

Tėtė met a friend. "Ulevičius, what is happening here?"

"I'm not sure, but haven't you heard the rumors?"

"That educated Lithuanian men would be put into prison or exiled to Siberia? Yes, I had heard but it is difficult to believe that Communists would be so cruel."

"Speak softly, my friend, so as not to be overheard. We must be careful. We cannot trust anyone."

We were pushed into straight lines and commandeered into freight cars -- actually into cattle cars -- that formerly had carried farm animals from the villages to the cities. People were jammed together. Soldiers shoved more men, women, and children into already overcrowded cars. Everyone looked for an area on the floor where they could put their belongings and perhaps sit down. My parents found a small spot where we could huddle together and keep our bundles of clothing and blankets close to us.

The Train of Horrors

The train began to move slowly and then picked up speed. Trapped in boxes with boarded up windows we moved through our beloved nation quickly. We could only imagine the clear natural lakes, boggy swamps, small working farms, and forests of birch, pine, and spruce trees that we passed. I don't believe any of us realized that this would be our last journey through the Lithuanian countryside for many years. How could we possibly know that some of us would never see this land again but would die and be buried in strange, inhospitable territory where we would suffer bitter cold, hunger, and absence of the ordinary needs and comforts of our existence?

We were thirsty when we made our first stop at Kaunas. Crying children begged for something to drink. "Look, they're bringing water," a woman on the train shouted. She had noticed a soldier carrying a pail of water and walking towards our train. Everyone rushed to the door that was a little ajar.

Mama reached out to take the pail of precious water from the soldier but he, fearing she wished to escape, angrily banged shut the door, which hit her on the head and knocked her down. She fell to the hard floor into a dead faint. "She did not awaken from this unconscious state for the next five hours." my father told me years later. Until the end of her life she had very painful headaches.

From Kaunas the train began to move slowly towards the Russian border where for the first time we were given food: watery gruel and a small piece of black bread. Traveling in a daze suspended by time, we learned we were on the Trans-Siberian railway and feared we were on the way to Siberia.

Years later Onutė Garbštienė, who was also deported in 1941, published her diary, which described some of the difficulties we had encountered:

" Suddenly the hammering of axes echoed down the length of the train. We shuddered as if hit by a charge of electricity! They were boarding up the windows, so the "wild beasts" wouldn't escape from their cages. Some other people climbed inside. They made holes in the walls, to the outside, and also cut a hole in the floor, for our toilet. Everything was so degrading, horrifying, and shameful. Who has ever heard that men and women, crowded into this single area, had to take care of their personal needs in front of each other!

We got used to the shame but not to the stench. The stench was unbearable because many, especially the children, were suffering from diarrhea caused by drinking contaminated water. Not everyone was able to make it directly into the hole. Soon the edges became encrusted with excrement. We couldn't even sit down. We started using a chamber pot, but the stench was even worse. Later we begged and were given permission to take care of this matter wherever we stopped. All shame evaporated! Everyone would squat under the cars and relieve themselves. Constipation was a problem. Suddenly: "Hurry up! Get back inside!" Everyone would run back to their assigned cars with their clothing in disarray! And this went on for the duration of the trip."

Our journey lasted three weeks. Parents were exhausted. Children were tired, moody, and restless. Everyone slept on whatever makeshift accommodation they could make on the floor. Some slept on their baggage. Some were fortunate to have blankets or feather comforters. The daily ration of watery gruel and small slice of rye bread was not enough to satisfy hunger, and many were ill. The perilous trip posed severe difficulty for infants and some died in their grieving mother's arms. Soviet guards tossed them into the woods without benefit of a burial.

The First Stop

Eventually we reached the Altay, a sparsely populated mountainous territory in South Siberia, close to Northwest Mongolia, China, and Northeast Kazakhstan. About three times the size of Lithuania, it contains a dense pine forest, which extends into the Altay Mountains. We lived there for the entire winter.

Mama and Tėtė were forced to walk about five kilometers through dark forests to the trees they were ordered to cut. The soles of their boots were worn through, and they covered their feet with rags to help them suffer the ice, twigs, and other debris they walked through on their tortuous journeys. Tėtė was not accustomed to such labor, and each evening his body was filled with pain; his fingers so frozen that he could not bend them. He longed for his library of books. Newspapers, journals, or written materials of any kind did not exist among these people. The only news we received was by word of mouth -- sometimes hopeful, sometimes sad, but always difficult to believe since the source was unknown. We were still fed only bread and watery soup.

We Move On

In 1942, at the first signs of summer, we were gathered into trucks and transported to the Lena River, where we were forced to clamber into large barges, heavy wired cages that had been built to transport prisoners. Armed guards patrolled us constantly.

The adults again began to wonder where we were going. "Perhaps we are going to America," said Mr. Abramaičius, the father of a family we had befriended while living in Altay. We were not taken to America but instead, we entered a hellish situation; recollections of which sicken our hearts and spirits and we don't want to remember.

Slowly we sailed down the Lena River. We passed 'taiga' -- forests of pine, larch, spruce, and birch. We fought legions of biting insects, mosquitoes, and gnats. At times we caught sight of reindeer. "Those woods must be full of mushrooms," Abramaičius mentioned to my father. The thought of this delicacy that flourished in the birch woods in our native land brought a sense of sorrow and longing.

We traveled until we reached Trofimovska, a fishing village on the river near the Arctic ocean, not far from the Laptev Sea. We settled in the town of Tiksi. The adults were ordered to pitch tents, the only shelter available. Winter temperature dipped down to minus 40 degree F; summers seldom reached plus 50 degree F. Our bodies were not conditioned to live in severely cold climate.

We were fortunate that Mama had taken feather comforters so that we were able to weather the cold somewhat. Others did not even have blankets. Many became ill and quite a few passed away from malnutrition and the frigid environment. Entire families died. The dead were interred in the unfriendly foreign soil. We hoped that someday their bodies might be returned to their beloved Lithuania.

Daily Life Continues

The tents were freezing cold, harsh, and distressing; so, the adults decided to build better living conditions. "We can build barracks," said one Lithuanian, "We can catch the logs in the Lena River." The men waded barefoot into the icy water, caught floating logs, brought them to shore, and built the barracks. They covered the outside walls with snow and ice which they learned would help keep out the frigid temperature. They also found a large iron stove, which they placed in the middle of the building.

About 10 or 15 families moved with us into the barracks, but we were not destined to be comfortable very long. Soon, we were attacked by a common enemy found all over the world -- lice! We found them everywhere -- in our beds, on the floors, in our clothing. They attacked our hands, our faces, and our legs. We found them in our hair and all over our bodies. No one was safe from the lice. In Trofimovska there was nothing available to help us get rid of them. We had to kill them with our own hands.

The only food available was fish from the frozen Lena River. Mama and Tėtė organized a group of Lithuanians into a fishing brigade. After drilling a few holes in the ice, they'd put bait on lines, which they lowered into the openings. They sat for hours waiting for signs that fish had snatched the bait, and we had more substantial food to add to our meager supply of bread.

During the second winter in Trofimovska, weak from hunger, I was not able to walk, and I lay in bed for two months. My brother Algis was also in poor health. His teeth began to decay. More Lithuanians died from the hunger and cold. I don't know how we were saved from death.

I remember that Mama sold her wrist watch to a Jakutian native for 30 kilos of black rye flour. She made 'lepioskas', and as we ate the mealy pancake we became stronger. Sometimes Tėtė still caught some fish, but eventually the Russian brigadier leader did not permit him to bring the fish home. This was our most difficult winter. We never had enough to eat, and we were always cold.

Uprooted Again

In the spring, we were taken to the Siberian Islands to fish for the Communist regime. At first we lived together with the Abramaičius family in a 'yurta', a collapsible shelter built from logs and canvas. The next year Tėtė and I built a 'yurta' for our family to live in separately and alone.

Tėtė began to barter the fish he caught for flour, and mama continued to make 'lepioskas'. Tėtė and Mama fished every day but they caught very few fish. Tėtė's health was failing, and he got tired very quickly. He had been diagnosed with a hernia in Lithuania. Since he was unaccustomed to the rigors of this difficult life, he suffered more intensely each day.

We lived on the islands for two years when suddenly we noticed that the Jakutian native brigades were leaving the area. Fish were also disappearing; they swam elsewhere. The Jakutians had the inner sense to know when the fish would leave the islands, and they followed the fish to their new destination.

The Lithuanians also began to look for ways to leave the islands. Widows with children were given permission by the Communists to go to Jakutsk, a major city almost a thousand miles south on the Lena River. Tėtė and Mama decided to travel to the Baluno region and settle in the village of Tit-Ary. We were still not far from the Laptev Sea. Tėtė spoke Russian very well, and he was fortunate to receive employment as a school manager in Tit-Ary. Native teachers taught writing poorly, and he helped many students formulate good notebooks. For the first time in our exile to Siberia I could go to school. I was so happy that I finished two years of classes in one year.

We Say Goodbye

In 1945, we heard that the war had ended. Tėtė wrote a letter to his brother, Joseph, who had emigrated many years earlier to America and lived in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. He was delivering it to the post office when he was accosted and beaten severely by Communist Commandos who resented the fact that he had a brother in the United States. Tėtė became seriously ill. He needed major surgery but the only medical assistance available to the exiles was an apprentice to a veterinarian.

We made plans to search for a surgeon. Tėtė and I boarded a barge that was returning to Jakutsk after unloading food and other provisions. We sailed up the Lena River to our destination. The journey lasted one week. Since Tėtė was a Lithuanian 'tremtinys' (exile), he didn't have the necessary papers for permission to enter. When we arrived at Jakutsk, we were too frightened to go into the city. We were forced to return to Tit-Ary without the benefit of seeing a skilled physician.

Tėtė's health became weaker each day. The medication given to him by the veterinarian's assistant would not relieve the pain. His concern that he was not strong enough to gather provisions for his family hastened the end of his life. Mama was devastated. Each day they conversed and planned about where she would go should his life be terminated. Although his health had deteriorated, he was a comfort to us and we looked to him for moral support. He died in Tit-Ary in 1948 and was interred there in the deep icy tundra. He was fifty four years old.

We Escape

After the death of my father, Mama, Algis, and I escaped to Jakutsk, as my parents had planned. Seven years previous, when I had been seven years of age, we had been forced by the Communists to leave our comfortable home in Lithuania and travel to Siberia -- seven difficult, miserable, unhappy years for which we questioned the unfortunate circumstances which propelled us into this strange life.

We reached the city of Jakutsk and were compelled to register our arrival. The general was not inclined to let us stay, and he told Mama, "If you do not find a job within seven days you must return to Tit-Ary."

Jakutsk is the capital and major city of the Jakutia region. Similar to a large Soviet city, it had many schools, the Luovo Cooperative Institute, a theater, and industry that had developed during the war. Its great distance from Moscow gave it the ability to make crucial weapons and military supplies far from the impact of bombs and other artillery. The weather is the coldest in the world, and buildings are built on piles driven into the permafrost. In 1948 the majority of the population was Russian, many of which were exiles, including some from East European countries.

We searched and found Lithuanian exiles who had settled in Jakutsk earlier. Willing to help us, they informed Mama about a manager at a glass factory who would hire her. Shortly after mama began to work in the factory, I was also given employment in the same building.

I wanted to continue my education; so, I returned to school and finished the Tenth Form at the Middle School after completing two grades in one year. We learned to speak Russian in school and on the streets, but we always spoke Lithuanian in our home.

I loved to sing and wished to study music but I couldn't get a piano; so, I entered the Jakutsk Technical Cooperative School and studied accounting. I was a good student and worked diligently. The administration advised me that I was one of two graduates with the highest scholastic marks, and I would receive a scholarship to Luovo Cooperative Institute. But Communist Security Officials informed me that I could not take advantage of the education given at the Institute. The honor was not available to Lithuanian exiles.

Hoping to See Lithuania

In 1953, Stalin died and the Communists began to slowly allow children and teachers to return to Lithuania, but I was ordered to work as a bookkeeper in the city of Jakutsk. After two years I was awarded a vacation and permission to travel to Lithuania.

I wrote to my father's brother, Pranas, who resided in Kaunas to tell him the good news. My Uncle Pranas was a respected Chemical Engineer who had been incarcerated in jail by the Communists for two years but never had to leave for Siberia. He invited me to stay with him and sent me the money I needed for the journey.

In 1956 I was in Kaunas. I traveled on the same Trans-Siberian Railway route I had taken from Lithuania to Siberia fifteen years ago. But this time I saw the clear natural lakes, boggy swamps, small working farms, and forests of birch, pine, and spruce trees that I could only imagine on my first and only trip from the country of my birthplace. I cannot begin to explain the immense joy and pain I felt; joy that I lived to enter Lithuania again and pain that my father would never return to see his homestead, his apple trees, or the schools where he taught.

If Tėtė were with me, he would not have recognized his beloved Lithuania. The ruling Soviet party dictated and controlled all public and private actions in the land. Politics, the radio, accounting, education were conducted in Russian. In the schools the Russian language was predominant. No Lithuanian was heard on the radio. Religious education was forbidden, and free expression of our native tongue, songs, and holiday celebrations was not allowed. Lithuanians worked within the Communist system in order to survive.

The family home in Trakėnai had been leveled and rebuilt twice. Tėtė had given his important documents to his brother Pranas to retain in his possession when we were forcefully sent to Siberia. Unfortunately, Pranas’ home was also damaged during the war and all papers had been burned or destroyed. I wondered what would happen with our house and land. Strangers had taken residency there.

Still, I preferred to remain in Lithuania. I didn’t want to return to Siberia, but my documents were only for a three-month sojourn. It was a difficult and terrifying time. A friend suggested that I lose my pass but I was afraid.

I was fortunate. Uncle Pranas' wife's sister was married to a Russian General, and she urged him to petition the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in Lithuania, Justas Paleckis, to give me leave to stay in my country.

All the documents had to be issued in Vilnius; so, I traveled there to stay with the General. He felt sorry for me, and indicated that he himself would go to Moscow to get permission for me to remain in Lithuania if Justas Paleckis refused. To my joy, I was awarded an extension of my vacation for one entire year.

At the end of the year I was allowed to remain in Lithuania, but I was asked to leave Vilnius. I didn't leave Vilnius and concealed my residency by omitting to register my presence. Kipras Petrauskas, a renowned composer of music with important influential friends, admitted me into his home. I resided with his family and was warned to hide when men of the militia came to visit.

Eventually, after some time, I ventured into the market place and found work as an accountant in a ‘prekyba’ (business shop). Gradually I began to work with other 'prekybas' and after thirty-six years I was the accountant for all the ‘prekybas’ in Vilnius.

A Family Reunited

Three years after I had returned to Lithuania, I saved enough rubles to send for my mother. She traveled on the same Trans-Siberian railway that had taken us to Siberia. Her delight in her return to her native land was the ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables that were difficult to purchase in the tundra. Since she learned to speak Russian in the country of her exile, she had no difficulty communicating with the language demanded by the Communist regime. But we still spoke Lithuanian in our home.

Three years later my mother and I welcomed my brother to Lithuania. We all recognized that it was not the same country we had been forced to leave many years earlier. But we were in the land of our birth, the land of our ancestors. We were home among friends and relatives.

Siberian Deportees to See Justice in the Courts 

For the first time in Lithuania, investigation leading to criminal cases regarding mass deportations of people during World War II and later has begun. The Rokiškis district prosecutor's office finished their investigation of Ignas Pauliukas, who is charged with co-operation with repressive bodies of Soviet power and carrying out deportations of Lithuania's citizens.

Pauliukas, former chairman of Ziboliai rural neighborhood in Rokiškis county, is accused of having deported the family of Pranas Laužadis on June 14, 1941. Pauliukas is also charged with backing genocide actions.

The Pauliukas case was handed over to Panevėžys district court during early June 1999.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR!

Saturday 4 December in the Old City Hall (Rotušė), Vilnius 

Mark your calendar. Saturday the 4^th of December is the day when the entire international community in Vilnius will meet  in the Old City Hall (Rotušė) to show their good support for those who so dearly need our help and attention. The Bazaar will be open 11-16, and there will be a lot to experience, so please take your time and enjoy the warm pre-Christmas mood!

Small towns in today’s Lithuania:

CRIME AND DECAY

1^st OF NOVEMBER IS

ALL SAINTS’ DAY

NEW BOARDS, NEW STRUCTURES:

BŪKIME KARTU

Dear VilNews readers,

As many of you know, I've been both chairman and president of Vilnius International Club since the club was started nine years ago. I have also been the executive responsible for our annual charity event for orphanage children, BUKIME KARTU, and I have been, and still am the editor of VilNews.

Understandably, this work has taken much of my time, and although I have very much appreciated the many good experiences and new acquaintance I have got through all this, I have concluded that it now is time to distribute these tasks among several of the many who have been active supporters over the years.

It became a wonderfully warm and positive meeting, with the same good old atmosphere and ambience that has always characterized VIC, and I was very pleased seeing that all my suggestions for new boards, board chairmen, members, and executive managers were adopted by the enthusiastic audience!

The names of those who kindly agreed to assume the positions are given below. I wish them all good luck, and I am convinced that 16 September 2010 will always be remembered as a big step forward in our work for international Lithuania. Let me also remind you all about the VIC's mission statement, which we have based our work on since the club was founded in 2001:

******************************************************************************************

My warmest regards to you all !

Yours truly,

Aage Myhre

Below some short information about the three legs of VIC, as well as pictures of the new three top leaders for our upcoming activities.

VIC

VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL CLUB

BŪKIME KARTU

VilNews

Text and photos: Aage Myhre

A rickety old bus runs past me in a busy, polluted Mumbai street. Suddenly I see a little girl's face in one

of the bus windows. The contrast between the old bus and the beautiful child is striking. We are in India!

Children of ‘the age of terrorism’ 

I had just come home to our apartment here in Vilnius after having taken my then 4-year-old daughter home from kindergarten. She was playing on the floor beside me while I sat down to watch the latest world news on CNN. What I saw on the screen in front of me was so unreal that I first could not believe that this was real news. My first thought was that CNN was showing fragments of a new film or the like. But it soon dawned on me that what I was seeing was the beginning of an unimaginable attack and a tragedy that would forever change our world's history and development.

11 September 2001 was the day when America was attacked on its own soil. The unthinkable had happened. 

The nine years that have followed have brought enormous changes, not only in the U.S., but for the entire world community. The war against terrorism, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and countless suicide attacks across virtually the entire world have all become tragic symbols of the scourge of our time -- in a way few of us could have imagined when the new millennium had barely started.

Lithuania has been little influenced by the 'war on terror'. Admittedly, the country is participating with troops in Afghanistan and it also became an almost-scandal when it became known that the CIA had two prisons for suspected terrorists here since 2005.

But even if Lithuania is not so much directly affected by what has happened around the world after the attack on the twin towers in New York on 11 September 2001, this country is also a part of a global society that is both physically and mentally experiencing enormous repercussions.

I often ask myself: "What kind of world is it our children have to grow up in post-9/11? The daily traumas inflicted to the children in the two countries that have been hardest hit, Iraq and Afghanistan, are naturally the worst and most long-term harmful, but our children in the so-called free world have undoubtedly also been influenced by what happened and they will for many years have to experience the consequences in many different ways.

I was not aware that my little daughter saw what took place on the TV screen this September day nine years ago, so I must admit I was slightly shocked and shaken when she suddenly, a month later, came to give me a drawing she had made. The image of 'a plane flying into the tall tower' had been instilled in the child brain, and here she came to me with her visualisation of what she had seen and experienced in her thoughts when I thought she was quietly playing, occupied in her own childish world.

into the twin towers in New York on 11 September 2001.

It goes without saying that we, the adults, need to help children feel as safe as possible at a time when the world has become a more dangerous place.  Parents and teachers in particular should help youngsters understand current events factually, how events do or do not impact their lives, and how to handle their emotional reactions. All children are likely to be affected in some way by ‘the age of terrorism’. 

For many of our children, the guidance of caring adults will make the difference between being overwhelmed and developing life-long emotional and psychological coping skills. It is crucial to provide opportunity for children to discuss their concerns and to help them separate real from imagined fears.

The lessons of 11 September 2001 are many. Some ‘contribute’ by burning the Quran. Others work for reconciliation and understanding between the people of our fragile little planet.

Aage Myhre

Editor

Two Lithuanian ‘terrorism cases’

This former riding school allegedly

served as a CIA detention centre. 

The CIA set up at least two secret detention centres in Lithuania after the 11 September 2001 terror attacks on the US, a Lithuanian inquiry found in 2009. A parliamentary committee report says in 2005 and 2006, CIA chartered planes were allowed to land in Lithuania. It says that no Lithuanian officials were allowed near the aircraft, nor were they told who was on board.

Poland and Romania hosted similar CIA "black sites", say reports by ABC News in the US. In Lithuania, one centre on the outskirts of the capital Vilnius had room for eight terror suspects at a time, according to ABC News. It was formerly a riding school and suspects were reportedly held there between 2004 and 2005.

But the parliamentary report appears to absolve Lithuania's political leaders of responsibility for any human rights violations that may have been committed by the CIA. It says even the president (Valdas Adamkus) was unaware of exactly what the US intelligence service was doing.

In January 2010 Lithuania's foreign minister resigned his post following a sharp disagreement between him and President Dalia Grybauskaite over whether the country had held detainees at a secret CIA prison. President Grybauskaite believes it likely that Lithuania held such prisoners, something the foreign minister had denied.

Mr Usackas has continued to insist that no prisoners had been held for interrogations, while the president said this was likely and called for prosecutors to open their own enquiry into a possible abuse of office by three top security officials.

The ‘terrorist’ from Klaipeda

Another controversial ‘terrorism case’ in Lithuania has been the case of Egle Kusaite (21). The young woman from Klaipeda was arrested in October 2009 by the Lithuanian State Security Department on suspicions that she was ready to travel to some military facility in Chechnya as a suicide bomber. In August 2010 she was finally released in a court hall under the ruling of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania. The ruling of the Court of appeal of Lithuania was determined final and not subject to any appeal.

Egle Kusaite on her way out of the

appeal court, finally free again.

According to prosecutors, Kusaite, had constant internet and phone contacts with Islamists in Russia, though an unnamed former employee of Klaipeda's State Security Department told Lithuanian public TV that he did not believe in the terrorist intentions of Kusaite. When Kusaite was 17 years old she left for Germany where she lived for a year in a small town with Chechens. Later, according to the LNK TV Paskutine Instancija programme, Kusaite returned to Klaipeda where she lived in a flat rented with taxpayers' money by the Lithuanian State Security Department and was closely observed by Lithuanian security agents. The Web site of the North Caucasus' Islamists (www.kavkazcenter.com) cries about the torture against Kusaite in Lukiskes Prison. 

On 11 June 2010, Virginija Kusiene, Kusaite's mother, and Irena Jeleniauskaite, Kusaite's aunt, held a press conference in the Lithuanian parliament stating that all Kusaite's confessions about her intention to become a suicide bomber were obtained using physical and psychological pressure. "Egle's confession was forced through violence and threats," Kusiene said, adding that her daughter has been observed by the Lithuanian State Security Department since she was 14 years old because of her friendship with a young Chechen refugee and, according to Kusiene, "all the Chechens are observed by the security in Lithuania." Jeleniauskaite said that the Lithuanian and Russian security services made up the case of her niece and, during one of the interrogations only Russian agents took part. "Only the Russians were present and they were smashing her head into the wall," Jeleniauskaite said. 

On 11 June, Algimantas Kliunka, chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office Organized Crime and Corruption Prevention Department, also held his press conference in the parliament. He denied accusations made by Kusaite's mother and aunt, stating that Kusaite was ready to perform a suicide bombing in a public space in Chechnya. Kliunka said that the representatives from Russia participated in the interrogations as observers and no physical violence was used. 

"Kusaite is suspected of making contact in June-October of 2009 with the Islamist groups based in Russia. From them she received an invitation to come to Russia, received 500 U.S. dollars (410 euros) for the trip, took out a Lithuanian passport and got a Russian visa. We asked the Russian embassy not to issue the visa, but they gave her their visa. “Then we were forced to arrest her, preventing her from travelling to Russia," Kliunka said.

SUMMER

SUMMARY

Earlier this week I stood looking out over the Baltic Sea. I stood at the pier in the seaside resort of Palanga from where I caught the above motif through my camera lens. I thought of Palanga’s two great sons, Count Tiškevičius and Mayor Šliupas, who also certainly often were looking out to the endless waves rolling towards the white sandy beaches of Lithuania’s fantastic sea coast. I felt pleased that the summer in Lithuania this year had been exceptionally good and warm; in fact as if to stay at a Mediterranean Coast. And I thought that maybe the summer of 2010 will be remembered as a turning point - that perhaps now again better times are coming for Lithuania and the Lithuanian people. 

Still, this year's summer has unfortunately not been marked only by good news, as you will see from the following news overview, but I feel more optimistic this year than I did last year at this time ...

I wish you, dear readers, a warm and successful autumn!

Aage Myhre

Editor

THE MAN WHO

DECLINED

THE PRESIDENCY

Dr. Jonas Sliupas (1861 – 1944) 

The year is 1926. It is a very dark late autumn evening in Kaunas, Lithuania's capital between 1^st and 2^nd World Wars, when three officers from the Lithuanian army rush up to the house where Dr. Jonas Sliupas now lives while he teaches at the University of Kaunas. It is nearly midnight when the officers knock heavily on his door and asks to come inside.

The officers bring shocking news. They tell that since the early autumn of 1926 key officers within two army groups have been in full swing of planning a coup d’état in Lithuania, and that they have now reached the point that they want to depose of President Kazys Grinius and insert a new President. The question to Dr. Sliupas is therefore whether he can accept becoming the country's new President.

But Dr. Sliupas is not willing to accept. President Grinius has been his good friend for many years, and Sliupas is puzzled as to why the military has found a coup appropriate and necessary. His answer to the officers is therefore that the only way he could accept becoming President of Lithuania would be through a democratic election.

The officers had to leave Sliupas empty-handed that night, but continued their plans, and the very coup took place a few days later, during the very night when the 60^th birthday of President Grinius was celebrated, 17 December 1926.

During that night, military forces occupied central military and government offices and arrested officials. Colonel Kazys Škirpa, who had initiated a military reform programme tried to rally troops against the coup, but was soon overpowered and arrested. The Seimas (Parliament) was dispersed and President Grinius was placed under house arrest at the same time as army colonel Povilas Plechavičius was declared dictator of Lithuania just minutes after he had been released from the prison cell where he was serving a 20-day sentence for a fist fight with another officer.

Later that same day, however, Colonel Plechavičius asked Antanas Smetona to become the new President of Lithuania.

The 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état (Lithuanian: 1926-ųjų perversmas) was a military coup that resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a conservative authoritarian government led by Antanas Smetona.

One can rightly ask what kind of Lithuania we would have had if Dr. Jonas Sliupas had not declined the Presidency that late autumn night. But in view of his human qualities and his extraordinary life story from both the United States and Lithuania, it is no wonder that this honourable man declined the Presidency and instead chose to continue his tireless fight for his beloved homeland, with important titles and tasks in the years leading up to World War II, but not as the country's top figure as the country's military leaders had wanted.

During his remarkably productive lifetime, Jonas Sliupas was a medical doctor, a leader of Lithuania's national awakening, a powerful orator and organizer, a writer of numerous articles on Lithuanian politics, economy, culture, and medicine, a historian, a diplomat, a free-thinker, and a publisher of seven newspapers.  He also served as the author or translator of over 70 books and was a pioneer in helping develop and modernize Lithuania's economy.

Jonas Sliupas was born on the 6^th of March 1861 in the village of Rakandziai in northern Lithuania.  In 1880, he graduated with honours from Mintauja (Jelgava) high school.  Next, he studied philology and law at Moscow University and later transferred to Saint Petersburg University to study natural science.  Because of his participation in the student anti-czarist movement, however, Sliupas was incarcerated in 1883 and was banned from further studies at any Russian university.

The Russian government banned all books and newspapers in the Latin alphabet in Lithuania from 1864 to 1904.  Consequently, Sliupas joined with others to publish an underground Lithuanian language nationalist newspaper, which was smuggled into Lithuania from outside.  Together with Dr. J. Basanavicius and three other idealists, Sliupas published and edited the clandestine newspaper Ausra (Dawn) in Lithuania Minor from 1883 to 1884.  Ausra, whose very name was suggested by Sliupas, is considered to be the driving force behind the Lithuanian nationalist awakening of the late nineteenth century.

Because of his ongoing nationalist activities, both Prussian and Russian police began pursuing him.  Facing imminent arrest, Sliupas had to flee to the United States in 1884, where he would remain until 1918.  He began studying at the University of Maryland in Baltimore in 1889 and graduated with a degree in medicine in 1891.

Dr. Sliupas was very active among Lithuanian-American immigrants, helping inspire in them a deep sense of national pride in their ancestral homeland.  Although he was a free-thinker, he nevertheless helped establish several Lithuanian Roman Catholic parishes.  He also invited Lithuanian priests to the Unites States and worked with them to promote a strong sense of Lithuanian ethnic and cultural identity among the parishioners.  Being a powerful, inspiring, and uncompromising orator, Sliupas travelled extensively throughout the United States, delivering rousing speeches in which he urged Lithuanian Americans to unite in order to help Lithuania regain its independence.

Sliupas also edited newspapers and wrote or translated numerous books.  Fluent in eight languages, he wrote thousands of articles both about Lithuania itself and about various medical topics for Lithuanian, American, Polish, German, Swedish, British, French and Russian newspapers.  He also helped dozens of Lithuanian-American societies, several of which still are in existence today.

During World War I, Sliupas vigorously lobbied the United States government for diplomatic recognition an economic support for Lithuania. Having established a personal friendship with U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sliupas campaigned tirelessly in Washington D.C. for Lithuanian and Latvian independence.  In 1918, Sliupas opened the first Lithuanian Legation in London.  Then, in 1919, he was with the Lithuanian independence movement at the Paris Peace Conference.  After returning to Lithuania, in 1919, he was appointed the first envoy to Latvia and Estonia.

Between 1921 and 1924, Dr. Sliupas taught hygiene and medical history at Birzai and Siauliai high schools.  From 1925 to 1929, he lectured at the University of Lithuania in Kaunas.  He also worked diligently to encourage investment in Lithuania's economy by investing much of his own savings in the country's economic development.  Sliupas was the first mayor of the sea-side resort of Palanga, and he continued intermittently in this position from 1933 until Soviet occupation began in 1940.  During June of 1941, he again resumed the role of mayor but was forced by the Germans to resign, because of his attempts to protect Jewish residents of the city.

Jonas Šliupas Memorial Homestead at Vytauto g. 23a, Palanga,

stands there still today. Worth a visit!

Dr. Sliupas with family and friends at his Palanga home. 

Dr. Jonas Sliupas died in exile in Berlin, Germany on the 6^th of November 1944.

Surviving family members transported his ashes to the United States, where they are buried in the Lithuanian National Cemetery near Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Jonas Sliupas has been recognized numerous times for his life-long dedication to Lithuania's nationalist awakening and its restoration of independence.  Among many other honours, Sliupas received three Honorary Doctorates from the University of Vytautas the Great in Kaunas.  These include a doctorate in Medicine (1923), one in Humanities (1925), and one in Law (1939).  Many organizations, both in Lithuania and in the United States, have declared him an honorary member.  The Lithuanian government bestowed upon Sliupas the Gediminas First and Second Order medals.  The Latvian government honoured him with the Three Star Second and Third Order medals, and the Lithuanian Post Office issued two stamps in his honour.

In half a year, on the 6^th of March 2011, it will be 150 years since Jonas Sliupas was born. He will be celebrated as one of Lithuania’s true heroes and finest gentlemen ever, with an amazing record of achievements for his beloved homeland.

(a more detailed article about Dr. Sliupas at the page bottom)

LIKE SON

Vytautas J. Sliupas at the great Lithuanian farm project that he started in 2002,

‘The Auksuciai Farm & Forest Center’ near Siaulia in North Lithuania.

After the death of his wife Liudvika, Jonas Sliupas married Grasilda Grauslytė in 1929. After settling in Palanga, their son, Vytautas, was born to them on the 24^th of October 1930.

Their son, Vytautas J. Sliupas, later became an irrigation, drainage and water resources engineer. Now retired for many years, he lives in California, USA, but visits Lithuania every summer.

I have the great honour and pleasure to call Vytautas Sliupas my friend. As I understand and feel it, he has the same strong love of Lithuania, which his father had. This despite the fact that he was forced to flee from Lithuania with his parents in 1944 and since has lived virtually all his life in the United States. 

to congratulate him so very much on his big day, the 24^th of October! 

Under a little more about his big project in Northern Lithuania, for almost 10 years now www.aukfoundation.org :

The US non-profit Auksuciai Foundation was established to help small scale Lithuanian farmers become more self-sufficient and competitive in a free market economy. A primary way that Foundation is working to achieve this goal is through support and advisory involvement with a model farm facility (the Auksuciai Farm and Forest Center, a Lithuanian non-profit), that allows participants from academia, business, government, and the farm community to share information and technology regarding environmentally sound management (including forests) and commercial agricultural production practices. Additionally, the Foundation organizes farmer-to-farmer and agricultural student exchanges; farmer mentoring; and in country workshops between the agricultural and forest communities of the U.S. and Lithuania.

The Auksuciai Farm & Forest Center was formally established as a Lithuanian non- profit entity on 9 September 2002.The primary purpose of the centre is to provide Lithuanian farmers with educational and technological opportunities through an aggressive program of local applied research and education. It also serves as a stimulus and facilitator for the incorporation of new technologies in modern agriculture.

The centre is located on a 157-hectare (389-acre) farm near the town of Kursenai in the Siauliai Region in north Lithuania. At this site a year long programme of research on new crops, improvement of existing crops and improved farming practices is conducted by staff. The farm is operated under master lease and use agreement with the Auksuciai Foundation-USA. The operations of the farm are divided into two divisions- Farm Operations and Research and Education programs. Though most of the farming operations are leased out for income purposes it also is used as a large scale demonstration of new and modern farming technologies. The Research and Education division comprises smaller areas of the farm where research on new crops and technologies are conduced under strict scientific procedures. All information generated from the research projects is considered public information and is available at no charge to local farmers and other interested individuals.

One of the latest successful achievements of the farm is the introduction of edible asparagus (smidrai in Lithuanian).  Lithuanians long ago knew this very useful vegetable, but during the last century it was forgotten.  Now the farm is reintroducing this crop as a very profitable commodity that can be grown by small scale Lithuanian farmers.  The farm have plans of greatly expanding this, and other experimental crops, but unfortunately in the last several years the farm’s supporters have decreased considerably due to the world economic crisis, hence Mr. Sliupas and his team are now at the point where they look for new supporters and investors

Aage Myhre

Editor

Mr. Vytautas Sliupas can be reached at sliupasvyt@sbcglobal.net

The Auksuciai Farm & Forest Center

INTRODUCING

OURSELVES

Two grumpy old men

Dear VilNews reader,

A few days ago I met an acquaintance. He told me he that was looking for a new apartment in Vilnius Old Town. When I told him that I am an architect and that I have many years experience in buying, selling and developing of apartments and other types of property in Lithuania, he was very surprised.  He knew me only as President of VIC and Editor of VilNews.

So now I have promised to offer appropriate objects for him and his family to consider over the next few days. But not only that. I have also promised to share with him my experience about which streets / areas are the safest to live in, and I have promised him to check all potential objects carefully in terms of quality of construction and materials, as well as functionality, and potential noise problems, etc.

So here comes our little ‘self-promotion’. We hope you forgive us if this sounds a bit too much self-promotional, but we have on the other hand, always kept a very low profile in this respect...

I hope you also notice that what we do, also in our business life, aims to contribute to more activity and better understanding of what Lithuania has to offer in different contexts.

We would appreciate if you take advantage of our services and hope you also let your friends and acquaintances know about what we have to offer.

We hope for your response and would like to thank you in advance!

Aage Myhre

Editor

Note: As you may have noticed, VilNews has not been released quite so frequently now through the summer months. But we promise to soon be in full swing again, and look forward to having you as a permanent reader also through the upcoming autumn months!

Aage Myhre, VilNews Editor

Vin Karnila, VilNews Associate Editor

THE KLAIPEDA

SEA FESTIVAL!

This is the week-end when you should be in Klaipeda, Lithuania’s sea port city. Because now it’s again time for the annual Sea Festival out there!

For the 51^st time Klaipeda will be the venue of the west coast’s largest summer fiesta. The Festival, which has been organized since 1934, promotes Lithuania as a maritime state and Klaipeda as a friendly, open, safe and attractive port city. The Sea Festival of this year will also celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the Lithuanian Navy.

About half a million visitors from Lithuania and abroad are expected to the Festival, and the participants will be able to take part in more than 100 different events during this lively Klaipeda week-end.

This year, like every year, there are a lot of events related to the sea: a parade of maritime organizations of the city, commemoration of the first Lithuanian sea captain Liudvikas Stulpinas, a ceremony to honour those who perished at sea, day voyages by ships, water sports competitions, a ceremony to pay tribute to the best seafarers and maritime organizations.

Besides the official ceremonies, there is an amazing entertainment programme for the participants of the Festival (see below). In the old city, there will be numerous concert places with different programmes for children, youth and elderly people. Professional artists, troupes of public art organizations will perform.

Exhibition halls, picture galleries, cultural institutions open their doors for visitors inviting to new expositions related to the Sea Festival and the sea.

In addition to the concerts, street performances, exhibitions and other art events, the Sea Festival attracts hundreds of folk artists selling their works. Tents with open-air cafés will be available for any thirsty soul in the city squares and streets...

Every evening this week-end picturesque fireworks will decorate the sea coast skies to celebrate Klaipeda’s 758^th anniversary and to highlight that another lively, colourful Sea Festival is in full swing!

30 July (Friday)

12.00 – Opening of folk-art fair

Culture and Rest park (Pušyno str./ H.Manto str., Klaipėda University bus-station)

13.00 – Park holiday „ART BALTICA 2010 FOR KLAIPEDA PARK“

Territory of „Memelio miestas“ (Memel city)

17.00 – 22.00 – Opening of the gates of „THE LAND OF WONDERS“. Folk artists` fair, education  yard, creative workshops, artistic installations.

Territory of „Memelio miestas“ (Memel city) - „Švyturys arts` dock“

18.00 – 22.00 –„LITHUANIAN TALENTS 2010“.

Šaulių str. – Cruise vessel terminal

19.00 – Opening parade of Sea Festival 2010

The workers of maritime companies, stevedoring companies and organizations, Navy company, participants of 43rd International Curonian Lagoon regatta, pupils of sailing school „Suominis“ and the representatives of Klaipėda rowers club, participants of the gathering of brass-bands „Storms of Orchestras“ – orchestras from Riga, Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Panevėžys will take place in the parade.  

Tiltų str. 3

19.00 – 21.00 – Collage of changing sketches „ALMOST SACRED INVENTIONS“ in a „Moment`s theatre" .

Square at „Meridianas“quay (embankment)

19.00 – 21.00 –Program of events of „CHILDREN’S ISLAND“  – participants of the evening of songs – pupils of Stasys Šimkus conservatoire.

Culture Communications Centre yard

20.00 – 22.00 – Concert of a group „ARBIS“. The old hits and the new songs of „HIPERBOLE“ gitarist Igor Berin in the performance.

Theatre square

20.00 – 23.00 – Concert of the participants of the gathering of brass-bands „Copper Storms“

Cruise vessel terminal

20.00 – 23.00 – Opening concert of the Sea Festival 2010 „SONGS OF BORN-AT-SEA“

During the concert the winner of the election of the Seafarer of the Year will be announced, the Letters of Honour of the Ministries of Lithuania will be handed to the employees of maritime organizations, the greetings to Navy celebrating its 75th anniversary as well as to the other organizations and companies celebrating anniversaries and to International XLIII „CURONIAN LAGOON“regatta starting during the days of the Sea Festival, will sound. During the event the exhibition „CALLED BY THE SEA“will be opened.

Territory of „Memelio miestas“ (Memel city)

20.00 – 22.00 – The grand opening of International street circus fiesta „THE LAND OF WONDERS“ – presentation of programs and participants of the festival.

Jonas hill

20.30 – 21.30 – K.Orfas. Cantata „CARMINA BURANA“ (Conductor M.Barkauskas)

Square at „Meridianas“quay (embankment)

21.00 – program for the family of „CHILDREN’S ISLAND“ – concert „WHAT A LONG EVENING...“ There take part Neda Malūnavičiūtė, Olegas Ditkovskis, Kostas Smoriginas

Tiltų str.3

21.00 - 23.00 – poetry and pantomime sketch „A Date“ by „A moment`s teatre“

Jonas hill

Marathon of events of Klaipėda State Music Theatre „BASTION OF OPERA“

22.00 – 23.00 – Dance performance „FROM FLAMENCO TO JAZZ“

Ferry „Kintai“ (start at Cruise vessel terminal)

22.00 - „KIWI BOAT PARTY“ – disco party on the water with  Djs: The BreezeBloxxx (LIVE), Uncle Roll, Manchini, Sat, Yakoff, Ninoleo (access not free).

Territory of „Memelio miestas“ (Memel city) - „Švyturys arts` dock“

24.00 – Sea Festival 2010, „AFTERPARTY“.

8.00 – Folk- art fair.

Brass orchestras of S.Šimkus conservatoire, Gargždai and Šilute art schools take part in the parade.

Ferry „Kintai“ (start from Cruise vessel terminal)

 The Dane river (from Jonas hill to Biržos bridge)

12.30 – program of events of „CHILDREN’S ISLAND“ – performance for children „CLOWN AND MOUSE MICE ARE GUESTS OF SEA FESTIVAL“.

The Dane river (from Pilies to Biržos bridge)

20.00 – Concert of jazz orchestra „CITY JAZZ BIG BAND” – a present of the organizers of   Kaipėda jazz festival – Inga and Vytautas Grubliauskai to Klaipėda people on the occasion of the city birthday. Head – Karlis Vanags (Latvia).

THE FACES OF

KLAIPEDA

You can order your own sightseeing tour with one of them at www.klaipedainfo.lt

IS LITHUANIA AT THE

TURNING POINT?

He has made numerous presentations on these issues in a wide range of local and international seminars and conferences.

Here is what Dr. Nausėda writes in his latest report, ‘Lithuanian Macroeconomic Review’:

(except airlines) which are likely to show increasingly good results over the coming quarters. Managers of domestic trade companies still do not dare to forecast growth this year but are not drown in pessimism anymore. However, tough competition continues driving small retailers out of the market due to sharp price-cost scissors.

Statistical data announced for the first months of 2010 confirms our earlier suggestion that the start of 2010 will look much gloomier than its end for Lithuanian economy. It is not a coincidence that lately most of market participants that forecast development of Lithuanian economy have revised their forecasts up.

(full report attached)

THE VILLAGE VOICE (2)

VilNews started last month a new series of articles under the heading 'The Village Voice'. The articles

are written by a retired Englishman, David Holliday, who for the past fifteen years has lived with

his wife Migle in the village Lapiai 30 km from Klaipeda. Here comes the second in the row of

David's subtle tales and stories from his life out there – so far off the beaten track ...

A letter from Miss Marple

Dear Ann,

I will send the cheque to my UK bank and then take out the money in Litas here and give it to the Headmistress.  It will go onto the „fund for special treats“.  We have several excursions to the village during the summer season, so this year I already have about another £200 in various currencies which I will also give her.  Over the last few years since we started offering the postcards designed by the children, we have averaged £500 per year which pays for outings and equipment for their use, such as a wide screen TV, DVD player, inflatable swimming pool and toys which they can all use.

There are about twenty children with special needs and they suffer from Downs syndrome, autism, psychological problems and learning difficulties.  These children are divided into small groups and have their own teachers in class and assistant teachers for the rest of the time.

There is another small group who stay in the dormitory during the week and go home at the weekend and for the long holidays.  These are able children who come for difficult or dysfunctional families.  They attend normal school, but need the additional supervision that the school provides.  Although the dormitory is old and rundown, the children are happy and well cared for.

In total the village school has 150 children, which includes the 45 in the dormitory.  Most of the children come from our village, but a large proportion live in the surrounding villages and come in by public transport or our own new school bus, which arrived last year.  Lapiai is sort of “twinned” with Mikoliskiai, which is a village about 5 km for us.  They have the church and the cemetery, whereas we have the school.  I think we got the better deal!

Lapiai village school caters for children up to tenth grade, what we would call secondary school in England.  They then go for further study or vocational training to our nearest town Gargzdai or Klaipeda.

The village school was built ninety years ago and occupied what is now the dormitory.  The main school was built in 1965 and was completely refurbished three years ago.  Sadly, the dormitory was not included in the project and is in a very poor state of repair and difficult to keep warm in the winter.

However, we do have a brilliant Headmistress who is full of energy and ideas.  She is working on a project to create a regional centre for children in need.  As you can imagine at the moment the dormitory fails to meet many of the EU rules and regulations.  The new project will cater for all these requirements.  Lapiai has the advantage of being in a quiet village, but still within 30 minutes reach of Klaipeda and there is plenty of room to expand on the existing site we already have.  But at the moment in this time of national crisis money is tight.  The money we raise from the children’s postcards and donations from people like you is always very welcome, but falls far short of the £500,000 required for a new centre.

But we live in hope and trust in God.  It may take some time, but it will happen.  Our children are at the bottom of the pile.  And for no fault of their own.  We must give them a helping hand and the opportunity to live a normal life.  It is their right.

Thank you for your help Ann.  I shall always remember you as our Miss Marple!

Sincerely yours,

David