 A
Raffle to Adventureby Henry Sakaida |
|||
|
where
she used to work as a packager. She had not visited the facility since
she left. The lady director, who looked very stern, asked why we wanted
to visit. Valentina explained that she once worked there and wanted
to see old friends. I gave the director a nifty keychain flashlight
as a gift and our request was approved. A few of her old colleagues
were still there and welcomed her with open arms and a big hug. When
Valentina introduced me and told them our story, they couldn't
 believe
it.After the factory visit, it was now on to the cemetery to visit her husband's grave. In the family plot, there was a large 8x10" photo of her husband in a plastic cover. Her husband did not have a proper tombstone simply because she could not afford one. She shed some tears and I felt so sorry about the entire situation. When I returned home, I sent her money to buy a nice tombstone. I know many others would have done the same. In the cemetery, I noted monuments to the many unknown war dead, and also some large ostentatious grave monuments to individuals whom I suspect were Mafia members who met with foul play. Russian  cemeteries
are beautiful and have a character all their own.I visited with Lubov Brakalova at their farm and also stayed with her daughter and her family in Kiev. When I returned, Valentina took me downtown on Victory Day (see Issue #2 on this site about my report). And I finally met a couple of Heroes and a Cavalier of the Orders of Glory. For those of you contemplating a visit to Ukraine or any of the other Eastern European countries, take the descriptions in the travel books with a grain of salt. It is always better to talk to a person who has actually been there! The tourist books had it all wrong! Kiev was beautiful and absolutely not dour! They even have a few McDonalds downtown. I never felt unsafe. There are no drive by shootings there, unlike Los Angeles, which has them almost on a daily basis. I heard that pickpockets were common and cops frequently come to quell family disturbances (drunken husbands beating up their wives). The Mafia are only concerned with big business and will not bother foreign tourists. Government corruption is cultural and institutionalized. "Don't be afraid to walk around at night," my new friend Vladek Tumasyan told me. (continued) |
|||
|
|||
|
Copyright
©2004 Henry Sakaida. Click here for Terms
of Use Policy applicable to this site.
|
|||