This year, on June 14, we commemorated the Day of Mourning and Hope and the deportation of the Lithuanian people that began 85 years ago.
The Secretariat of the International Commission invited Lithuanian educational institutions to commemorate this date by joining the civic initiative “Apples Don’t Grow in Siberia.” The proposed initiative encouraged participants to discuss the emotions of deportees sent to labor camps, analyze their memories, and “make” apples from paper or other materials. Students decorated the “apples” they made with excerpts from the memories of the deportees, their names, and the names of the places to which they were sent. 134 educational institutions across Lithuania joined the civic initiative “Apples Don’t Grow in Siberia.” Teachers organized lessons, thematic field trips, meetings with former deportees, and other activities. And the apple symbol was present at all the commemorative events held.
In Vilnius, one of the commemorative events took place in Naujoji Vilnia, at the deportation memorial located near the train station. The event was attended by a large group of former deportees, camp prisoners, their relatives, politicians, students with their teachers, and those who appreciate historical memory. The event featured heart-wrenching musical performances by students from St. Cecilia Gymnasium in Marijampolė (teachers Jolita Ryngnga and Loreta Dambauskienė), the Vaicenavičius family ensemble, singer Liucė, and the Deportees’ Choir.
Juozas Olekas, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, who attended the event, spoke about the deportations, recalling that “young and old alike were crammed into cattle wagons to endure hunger and cold; and to try to survive not for years, but for decades…” Vaida Aleknavičienė, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, described the significance of the Day of Mourning and Hope as “a day when Mourning meets Hope.”
During the commemoration event, students from Vilnius’ Karaliaus Mindaugo School, Vilnius’ “Žaros” Gymnasium, and Marijampolė’s St. Cecilia Gymnasium distributed symbolic apples to former deportees, presenting this year’s initiative for the Day of Mourning and Hope, “Apples Don’t Grow in Siberia.”
The commemoration event concluded with the words of Reverend Kęstutis Latoža: “Do not fear those who seek to destroy your body, but beware of those who wish to destroy your soul,” followed by the symbolic blessing of black Lithuanian bread.
The commemorative event at the Naujoji Vilnia Deportation Memorial was organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Secretariat of the International Commission, and the Vilnius City Municipality.
