Adela Taruń

"You know, longing was always with us, always. But the conditions of living were terrible, terrible.. There was nothing to wear, not even to change into. For example, after the morning shift I used to come back and I washed the clothes I had on me. I dried and wore the same the next morning. I had a pair of shoes ( I always laughed at them). I wore them on my feet but the treads were bare. It began to be a bit better when the Americans started to send parcels. There were some shoes and clothes. I got a dress that nobody wanted but I liked it. It was in the polish style so Ukrainians didn’t want to wear it. Things were given to those who worked in the coal mine. I used to do my part so I always got something. Then the Americans started to send food parcels. For the first time, those who worked underground, got the whole parcel. Those packages were the real thing. We found there fish tins, sweet coffee, bottles of vodka, a few packet of cigarettes and chocolate as well. They were really decent. I managed to get one. I used it in a good way. I sold vodka and cigarettes to buy some clothes which we could buy in only this way – when soldiers came back from the front line. They were taken there but came back as civilians. I often brought some clothes, boots, fabrics – everything! They were selling things for money. When I got a permit and I got money from the vodka and cigarettes and I could buy some clothes. That’s how the prices were: a glass of salt cost 200 roubles, I’ve never saw sugar there. If you wanted potatoes you had to pay 200 roubles for one bucket. That’s how the prices were. Because potatoes didn’t use to grow there, just sunflowers and corn, and watermelons, yes – watermelons were growing there. Potatoes didn’t grow because the soil was to greasy. If anybody planted any, they wouldn’t be bigger than the size of the nut. They could be cooked for a week and they would stayed hard."

"I came back to normal life when the Siberian Association was set up and I joined them. I started to meet people, where everyone could tell their story. I finally began to bring the fear under control. Before that, I was scared to go out the house. I am still scared when I hear some unexpected noise. A simple fuss on the street and I am seized with fear. I have that anxiety disorder. It comes from the coal mine, explosions and… everything. It will probably stay with me to my death…."