From Lina's Eyes @between-shadesofgray-blog - Tumblr Blog

I hope these images, my drawings, much like my letter, opens up the eyes of humanity wide. My faith in humanity is withered away, but hope clings onto it. By telling of my experiences I hope to spark a little love and light back into our civilization. Here’s to hoping history never repeats itself.

Through this journey I learned how much a life is worth. On this day it was worth a letter written home. Everyone around me woke up that day to find a man hung against a building for trying to communicate with the outside.

The snow took my mother. It took the rock of everyone. After hearing news that my father, the love of his life, had lost his life in a separate camp she completely lost hope. She quit eating, quit smiling, quit trying. There wasn’t enough food or blankets to better her broken heart.

All of us were assigned work to gain rations to survive. It just so happens that, with farming beets and digging graves, I was one of the lucky ones. Andrius’ mother was forced to sex to saver her and her son’s lives. Though she was silent about it, we all could hear her cries.

I was 15 years old the first time I stood bare in front of a man. 15 years old when a man touched me, bare. 15 years old when I lost control of my own body. I was 15 years old when a single touch from a man made me shed some of the dignity I was clinging onto. This was the first shower I had had in over 6 weeks, but it’s one that will always be engraved into my brain.

The NKVD took a baby and its mother minutes after the baby was born to transport them to the labor camps with us. Just minutes into this child’s life it was considered a criminal. Unfortunately, the child didn’t survive for very long and the mother, Ona, was shot due to the fact that she couldn’t control her grieving. Killed for acting human.

The NKVD had a horribly morbid sense of humor. There was one instance when they forced my mother and I along with other people to dig a deep hole and then crawl into it. After this order he proceeded to terrify us even more by shooting his gun at various places around us. This, to him, was the funniest thing. To me, my life flashed before my eyes.

My mother, brother, and I were forced to spend our time at one labor camp living in a tiny shack similar to this. The woman of the home didn’t even speak the same language as we did and was frequently violent. We weren't given beds, blankets, or adequate food.

The purpose of this vehicle is to transport cattle and other livestock. For me, it was used to transport human beings for months at a time with no adequate food, water, or bathrooms. When I was in here there were 46 people crammed into this tiny cattle car.

An early drawing of mine. My brother, mother, and I. On June 14th, 1941, we were drawn from our home, marked at criminals, and forced to work in various strenuous labor camps. This exact situation happened to many families but it has never been spoken of....until now.

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