I am very fortunate to be raised in a loving and supportive family. My parents have been married for over twenty-five years, meeting when they were only 13 years old and both sets of grandparents have celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversaries. Their commitment to each other is unsurpassed! All of them have played such an important role in my life, however, my maternal grandma, Viive, is at the top of the list. Her story began in 1944 but has never been forgotten. By sharing her experience, she continues to influence my life.
My grandma, born in Tallinn, Estonia, fled the Russian attack during WWII. Viive, age nine, Ilvi, her four-year-old sister, and mother, Silvia, escaped on foot from the Russian occupation of their country. Their family, broken apart, was forced to leave Karl behind, a devoted husband and father. He was committed to protecting Estonia, by fighting alongside Hitler’s German Army. My grandma Viive, Aunt Ilvi, and their mother, known as Ema in Estonian, landed in Germany and were forced to live in Displaced Persons Camps for seven years. Unsure of their future, they boarded a ship and sailed to the United States of America. The three girls, along with other Estonians, had no choice but to begin a new life far different than they had ever known. All three of the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, lost their freedom and were annexed into the Eastern Block of the Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.). The people who remained suffered mass repression under Stalin’s Soviet rule. As a result, tens of thousands of Estonians experienced deportation or death. The ones able to escape, like my grandma, were unable to return, or they would be killed as well.
As immigrants arrive in the United States, host families sponsor them. The McAffees, a wealthy New York family was their sponsor. My great-grandmother, Ema, cleaned houses and prepared meals in exchange for room and board. The McAffees enrolled my grandma into public school. The language barrier and the little schooling received in the Displaced Persons camps caused her academic success to become a challenging and difficult struggle. However, my grandma persevered, prevailed, and continued her studies, graduating high school with honors. Later she met my grandfather, Alan, born and raised in Bronx, New York. Their family ties were so strong that my great grandmother, Ema, who never remarried, continued to live with her daughter and her family (my mom) in New York. She even moved to Reno, Nevada, with them in 1977, and lived the remainder of her life there, until she died in 1993; she was 83.
Years ago, when I first heard the story of my grandmother Viive’s journey, I was amazed. She possessed incredible strength and courage in order to endure such an event. Nothing in my life can even come close to the memories still vivid in her mind. To this day, the feeling still comes back to her, as she spots a safe place to hide in the woods. Her memories of running and hiding from the Russians will remain inside her forever. The tragic result of WWII and Russian occupation, forced Estonians, including her father, to live in a communistic society. I use her experience and will to survive to make me a stronger person. She has inspired me to become a fighter and never quit. Her support gives me the strength to overcome the obstacles in my life.
My grandma’s experiences have taught me to be humble and thankful. Attending school and achieving good grades has always come easy for me. However, I still work hard and possess determination and commitment. I appreciate what has been given to me, and am generous and compassionate to others. I truly feel sorry for all the pain my grandmother felt leaving her country and the sadness of knowing her father was left behind. So, I decided to switch a negative into a positive, and change sympathy into praise. I am so thankful she shared her life story with me because it changed my life. I cannot predict the future, nor do I know what obstacles may arise. However, regardless of my struggles, my grandma’s story always reminds me of the strength I need to possess.
