The day of leave
The story of an immigrant leaving home for their new country can be seen and heard everywhere in New York City. Every immigrant has their own unique story; my father is among them. When I told him that I wanted to write a short story about a pivotal moment in his life, I suggested his army days but he told me that they did not really shape the person he is today. After much debate my father was victorious in convincing me that I should write about the days in which he immigrated to the United States. The story does not end in America however, it ends when my father arrived in Italy awaiting immigration to the US.
“We tried together. It’s not as though I wanted to leave alone.” Naturally, a husband who loves his family never wants to leave them for an extended period of time. But our wants are sometimes overruled by the course of life.
It was 1979 in Odessa, Ukraine. The Soviet Union had a little over a decade left in its existence, though this information was not obvious to anyone at the time. Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the USSR. Music, television? No, none of that mattered. Most popular artists at the time were outlawed, and there were only two channels on television, both of which were governmentally sanctioned. On one particular clear evening, Samuel, 25 at the time, was giving his last farewell to his 6 year old daughter Tatyana, his in laws, Fima and Liba, his friends from work, Sergie and Mischa, and of course his wife Inna. Samuel’s father was in America at the time, and his mother and grandmother were accompanying him so they were obviously present as well.
Eventually, it was time to leave. Samuel, his mother Tsilya, his grandmother Liza, and his wife Inna all went to Lviv, Ukraine in order to get a car that would take them to Chop, Ukraine. Chop is a city located on the western boarder near present day Slovakia and Hungary. But this is the Soviet Union, a nation where exploitation runs rampant. In order to reach the first point checkpoint, a cart must be rented. The cart, which was valued at 2 rubles at the time, cost 50 rubles to rent. Considering that Inna’s monthly salary was only 75 rubles, the price of the cart was absurd. “It was a scam; just a means to make money off people before they leave.”
When they finally reached the checkpoint, they were completely, fully, entirely searched. Their baggage was opened, everything was taken out and inspected. “I had 5 rubles in coined money. They told me I can’t take it. I wasn’t allowed to bring any gold with me, even though I had a very small amount, 20 grams at most.” This was another tactic of exploitation as they told families who were leaving that they could not take their gold with them and since the families did not have anyone to leave the gold with, the officials at Chop would keep the gold. There were no documents in these kind of matters; this was a completely different world than the United States. Things were done because those in power felt they should be done because it profited them.
And then came the lines. After a preliminary inspection there was a secondary inspection that was even more thorough and was done before you were able to enter the platform to wait for the train. When it was finally Samuel, Tsilya, and Liza’s turn, there was announcement made that they had 5 minutes to board the train or they would have to wait 5 hours for the next one. This forced Samuel to rush his goodbye to his wife, who he would not see for the next 8 years. They had to pick up all their luggage, which was opened, and make their way to the platform. But this was not a simple task, as the train was below the platform, requiring a ladder to actually enter. Samuel and Tsilya were able to accomplish this task, though with difficulty, but Liza needed to be carried down as she was too old to maneuver her way down to the train. In an almost movie like scenario, the train doors closed seconds after they entered.
Just when you thought you were home free, border guards began inspecting once more. They entered the train and checked everyone’s documents, and walked all over the already opened baggage. Once the train arrived at Czechoslovakia, the transporters with the rip-off carts were back. “We barely had any money left, so we had to give them other valuables in order to pay for the carts.”
Similar to the issue with the carts, the platform issue returned in Czechoslovakia. “We stayed there [Czechoslovakia] for a few days. We had $120 per person that we exchanged in Ukraine; it was the maximum allowed. Czechoslovakia was much nicer than Ukraine. But when we arrived in Austria– that was a huge improvement over the last two cities. You could tell that the land was tended by real farmers; people who took care of their lands.”
The train to Vienna had a slight difference from the last train, and that being the inclusion of special anti-terrorist units. The threat of terrorists attacking the trains was feared due to the conflict taking place between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan and thus a small unit of men was on the train in case there was any attack.
They stayed in Vienna, Austria for 10 days and lived with 4 other families in a two bedroom apartment. The next stop was Italy, where they would stay for three months before finally taking a plane to the United States.
Immigration shaped my father’s life unlike anything had before. He saw how people took advantage of others just to make a measly profit. But most importantly, he had to deal with the realization that he would not see his wife and daughter for an extended period time, which ended up being 8 years. There is a reason my father is such a family man. Not everyone undergoes 8 years of separation from those that are most important to them. When you do, you learn to appreciate and value what you have more than anything else in the world.