6.
Leaving Uzbekistan for Turkmenistan in the USSR
To be a hero one must give
an order to oneself.
Simone Well
By early September 1942, Polish authorities
feared the closure of the USSR border with Persia,
through which Polish civilians and the Polish army
intended to evacuate. The Shah of Persia was favourably
disposed towards the freedom-seeking Poles. He made
temporary transit accommodation available for the
expected arrival of this mass exodus of Polish refugees
and armed forces, at Teheran, Isfahan and Meshed.
Under army protection, in their trucks, our entire
orphanage moved to the Tashkent railway station, where a
Russian goods train, outfitted with bunks, awaited our
arrival. It was like the train In which we had been
deported to Kazakhstan from Poland in April 1940.
Naturally, past memories were revived by this method of
transport. We felt nervous realising that time was
running out for our quest for freedom. No one wanted to
remain in USSR in the seriously deteriorating political
climate towards the Poles. This train was to carry us to
Ashkhabad near the USSR-Persian border, where a Polish
army garrison was stationed. There was an army hospital
there for the many still ill and emaciated orphans from
our institution. We all hoped that the Soviet authorities
would not put obstacles in the way of our departure from
Ashkhabad for Persia.
Mother looked smart in the British army uniform. At the
Tashkent railway station she was met by Russian
officials, who were required to check all the essential
documents before our train could be boarded. Mother's
first shock was the sudden realisation that she did not
have an official medical clearance from the Soviet
authorities. for the children and staff under her care.
She was unaware that such a document was required until
she was asked to produce it.
As usual Mother reacted quickly and resolutely. She asked
the Russian official to show her a sample of the required
Certificate of Health so she could recognise It among her
file of official documents. Being fluent in the Russian
language she read through the model copy obligingly shown
her by the Russian. She memorised the contents of the
Certificate of Health and retired, allegedly to look for
the necessary document among her own official papers. She
quickly wrote it out and forged the signature after
obtaining an official Health Department stamp on a blank
sheet of paper from a junior officer, who obliged without
question. She then produced the requested Certificate of
Health to the Russian authorities at the railway station.
After a glance at it they were satisfied.
With the first obstacle successfully overcome, Mother
felt relieved. Then followed an inspection of all
children's and adults' clothing to ensure that they were
not infested with lice. Unfortunately, a louse was
discovered on the clothes of one small girl and because
of this the whole transport was held up. Again Mother
responded quickly. She undressed the child completely and
left her clothes behind saying, She is now clean, I leave
you the louse in Tashkent'. The astonished official and
several onlookers were stunned. However, Mother's
strategy worked and our transport was then able to
proceed to Ashkhabad. Soon we were allowed to board the
waiting train. The Polish army personnel and other Polish
civilians assembled to farewell the orphans and assisted
with the loading of baggage.
Finally, our train departed from Tashkent bound for
Ashkhabad, where Polish army vehicles were to meet our
train on arrival. Our train journey to that destination
took over a week. Mother was the only trained nurse
caring for over 300 people, most of them children. Her
staff assisted with great devotion, tending the sick and
the dying orphans of mixed ages and varying degrees of
emaciation. Some children, like my brother, were too weak
to walk unaided, others could not even muster the
strength to sit.
On the way our train stopped at many famous towns such as
Bukhara, the centre of a fertile lowland and Samarkand an
ancient city situated at the foothills of high mountains.
Samarkand was an historical city with beautiful shrines,
the city through which ancient Greeks. Mongols, Persians
and Russians passed as conquerors. Now it was the
freedom-seeking Poles' turn to pass unobtrusively through
it, catching only a few glimpses of this historical
splendour, from the speeding train.
Four days later we arrived at Ashkhabad in the state of
Turkmenistan, one of USSR's Central Asian Republics like
the other states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan
and Kirghizia. As expected, we were met by the Polish
army personnel stationed there, who transported us to the
Polish camp occupied by soldiers and Polish civilians,
awaiting evacuation from the USSR. Everyone was living in
large army tents. The camp's boundary was clearly defined
by a barbed wire fence. Here we lived for six weeks,
because the Soviets were most reluctant to grant us
permission to leave the USSR. New obstacles were
continually put up, new reasons to prolong our
uncertainty and extreme frustration.
Meanwhile, the critically ill children were admitted to
the local Polish army hospital. Among them was my brother
who had developed jaundice. Many of those gravely ill
children and adults died at Ashkhabad and were buried
there. Freedom tragically eluded these unfortunate
individuals.
Ashkhabad lies on the USSR-Iranian border and is one of
the hottest places in the world. Though it was early
September, the heat was still tremendous during the day.
Fortunately the nights were cooler in our tents. We
seldom ventured beyond our camp's boundaries during the
six weeks there.' However, one memorable visit beyond our
restricted area was a trip to the local market at
Ashkhabad, where Mother with several other Polish adults
spent an enjoyable morning. I was fortunate enough to be
among this group. I recall seeing Turks selling brightly
coloured lengths of material with ethnic Turkish designs.
'There were small embroidered skull caps for sale, also
shiny metal and brass jewelry. I was impressed by the
long, dark hair piled up on top of the women's heads and
held securely In place by bright combs. Women's
traditional attire consisted of three-quarter-length,
full skirts, coloured blouses, and brightly embroidered
cloaks which fell loosely at the back to complete their
impressive outfits. They held themselves erect. Their
figures were slender compared to the larger, solid, body
frames of Russian women.
In Ashkhabad we were supplied with white bread, fresh
fruit, condensed milk, fresh vegetables and tinned army
food provisions such as beef, baked beans and spaghetti.
On this diet and after a good rest some of us felt much
stronger. However, many children were still sick and
those caring for them were overworked. We all lived for
the day of our departure from the USSR. It finally came
in mid-October. We were elated on hearing the news. At
last, after the British Consul's intervention, the
Russians agreed to allow us to leave for Persia. To our
original group of orphans from Kermeme others were added
at Ashkhabad with their staff personnel, so our numbers
were substantially increased.
As soon as the permission to leave was granted we
organised our departure, replenished with medical
supplies and army food rations donated by the Polish army
authorities. Luckily, my brother Alek was discharged from
hospital just in time, but many children and adults
remained in hospital. Some of them were later able to
join us in Meshed, others died or remained ill in the
USSR
We were most fortunate to leave the USSR with the Polish
army before the Soviets closed their border with Persia
at the end of October 1942. After the evacuation of the
entire Polish army, no further Polish civilian transports
were evacuated. Over a million Poles remained in USSR.
deprived of freedom.
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