Latvian virtual museum tells the stories of children deported to Siberia
Melanija Vanaga, whose works inspire the Be Yourself (Esi Pats) project (Image: Melanija Vanaga/ Facebook)
15 December 2015
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Elise Morton
The Latvian virtual museum, Be Yourself (Esi Pats), has opened an English-language site, bringing the experiences of child deportees to Siberia during the Soviet era to an international audience.
The website, which was launched on 12 December, uses video, audio and animation to bring the stories to life. It is inspired by the works of author Melanija Vanaga (1905-1997), known for her writing on her own 16-year exile in Siberia.
Among those who attended the launch at the Amata district council in Central Latvia was Andris Eglitis, who was deported to Siberia as a five-year-old. When addressing the audience he stressed the need to “remember those who did not come back as well as those who did”.
According to the project’s organiser, historian Elina Kalnina, there will be Russian, French and German versions of the virtual museum, in addition to the Latvian and English, further widening the reach of the initiative.
Source: LSM.lv
