Gulshan Memetova survived deportation when she was only 5. On the eve of that terrible night, by an amazing coincidence, she met her father, who had served in the ranks of Red Army. On May 17, nobody knew anything about the exile. Tears in the wagons and swamps of the Urals are the strongest memories from her childhood.



– Your first and last name, please.

– Gulshan Memetova. That’s my husband’s last name.

– What nationality are you?

– I am Crimean Tatar.

– What year and where were you born?

– I was born in 1939 on Gurzufskaya Street in Simferopol.

– How many people were in your family at the time of deportation?

– Grandma, mother, her two sisters and two children.

– Where were you evicted from?

– We were evicted from the house where we lived, on Gurzufskaya street.

– What did you do before you were deported?

– We were kids, my mother was working. Grandma was watching us, she ran the house and the farm.

– How were you said about deportation on May 18th?

– It was a very hard time. On May 17, my father and his commander were driving military vehicles from Sevastopol to Odessa. When they passed here, my dad stuck his head out of the car. The commander asked him: “Have you seen a beautiful girl there?” “No, we’re passing by my house,” said my father. “Why didn’t you say so before? Turn the car around, ” he said to the driver. The driver turned the car around and they drove up to the house. Gurzufskaya was right there. They went home. We met our father, told mother he was here. She came, too. On the 17th we had a big event, gathered neighbors, relatives. They left at night… it was dark, I remember very well. They went out and said goodbye without suspecting a thing. At night. It was the 18th. On the night of the 18th, they knocked on the door. I remember that very well. When we opened the door, the soldier told us: “Come out!” Grandma’s old. The soldier said: “Come out, come out, you’re being evicted!” We went out in the same shirts and slippers. Mom was confused, she didn’t know what to do. There was a very cruel soldier. Mom was dragged out of the house right away, they didn’t let her take anything. There was such a bright moonlight. It must have been the 15th day (in Al Hijra). That round moon is still in front of my eyes. Grandma took the Qur’an and the marama, and nothing else. Mom walked into the neighborhood yard, broke a window and managed to get something: money, the groceries, they put us in the carriages with these things. I don’t remember what was in the wagons.

– Did the soldiers treat you rudely?

– Pushed. They said: “Get in the car, get in there!” Animals, cows were screaming, dogs were barking. It was a terrible time. May Allah not subject anyone to such trials. Keep away from what our people have experienced.

– Where were you gathered?

– We were gathered in Simferopol at the station.

– Do you remember how many people were there?

– A lot, a lot. I don’t know exactly how many. But a lot. Everyone was crying. People were crying, shouting, cuddling each other…

– Were you held there long? How long were you standing there?

– I don’t remember such details anymore. I don’t know how long we were there.

– What do you remember, after you were put on the train?

– I remember there were a lot of people in the wagons. Everyone was crying. Old men on one side, women on the other, children on the third. Nobody knew anything, nobody knew anything. Nobody knew. Everybody was just crying. Old people and children.

– Do you remember the wagon? What was it like?

– It was black. No light, nothing. There were small cracks. When the day came, the light came through these little cracks. I remember that.

– Was there any water? Toilet?

– No, there wasn’t. There was no toilet, there was made a small hole in the corner. A rag was hung up, that’s all: whether it’s women or children, they went there.

– Was there fresh air in the wagon?

– No. The wagons were very stuffy. I couldn’t breathe properly. That’s what I know.

– Did they give you anything to eat?

– Mother took some food with her. And so we didn’t have anything with us: no clothes, nothing.

– When the train stopped, how long did it stand?

– The train was stopped. And that’s all…

– How long did the stop last?

– I don’t remember that, but it stopped and stood for a while. Then the soldiers started screaming: “Get in the wagons!” Everybody was jumping into the wagons. Some people found water at the time, someone found something else, something needed. And then we were running to the wagon. There were those who stayed at the stations, and then they got into other wagons. They didn’t make long stops, they didn’t let us stop for long.

– What did they do with the dead?

– The dead were dragged out, and what happened next, I don’t know. I don’t know.

– How many people died in your wagon?

– Many people died.

– Was the road long?

– The road was very long. I remember very well how we passed the Volga to Kuibyshevo. I remember this moment very well. That big bridge. We were brought to the Urals. We were dropped off in the Urals. Molotovsky region, Krasnokamsk.

– Then, when and where were you taken?

– To Krasnokamsk, Molotovsky region. We were taken there. It was very cold out there. Very cold. We were all dropped off there. We were settled in the barracks.

– Did you lose someone in your family?

– No, we didn’t lose anyone on the road.

– How did people meet you in exile?

– I don’t remember that.

– What do you remember?

– I remember the barracks, the area was swampy, the paths were made of wood. The paths were made of planks, because there was swamp everywhere. There were a lot of people who died in the swamp. That’s where we were. There was a big pulp mill there, I heard from my mother. They took everyone to this factory to work, gave them food for work. I remember that. These barracks were crowded. But all of us were settled there.

– What was life like in the first few years?

– We were little kids, and mother was working.

– What was she doing?

– She was working at the mill, at the machine. As for food, there were a lot of potatoes and there were those who helped, the locals. The others didn’t care about us. But my mother worked very hard.

– When did you get out of there?

– We left in 1947, Dad was still in the army. In 1947 we escaped from the Urals to Asia, to the city of Leninabad, now it is Chkalovsk. Escaped to Leninabad. Father came back from the war and found us. He went there, too. We got jobs and settled there.

– When did you return to Crimea and where did you go?

– The first time I came here was in 1966 with my husband and eldest son. Traveled around Crimea. We went to Sevastopol, visited Simferopol. Then my husband asked in several places: “If we move, is it possible to register? I’m looking for a job.” My father was a veteran of the war, was awarded with the order. They said that if he brought the documents, they could come up with something. They said: “If you bring documents, we will consider your case. If they give us permission, we’ll let you know.” Me and the kids moved in 1988.

– Where?

– We came straight here to Bakhchysarai. We didn’t have a job in Bakhchysarai, we went to a friend’s house. A friend had a friend who was selling the house. We decided to have a look at it. The ordinary house. Anyway, we found a place to stay and bought it right away.

– What is this place? Where did you come to?

– We lived on Stepnaya Street. And in 1989 we moved here to Russkaya Street. I started working in the military unit in 1988. We arrived to Amurskoye.

– What did you dream of before deportation?

– You know… to grow up… Our mothers for the sake of our happiness and health suffered a lot.

– Did you have any childhood dreams?

– Yeah, at the time, we all wanted to study, we all wanted to go somewhere.

– What did you want to be?

– First I wanted to be a doctor. But when I saw the blood, I got scared. Then it went away. I went to the trade institute for correspondence courses. I studied for three years, then I had a baby, and I left school.

– What was Crimea to you?

– Crimea was our homeland. Our homes, our lands, our hearts were here. No matter how long we lived in Central Asia, we’ve been thinking about Crimea all along. I know how my parents cried. When the radio spoke, I know how the Crimean Tatars cried, we cried too. Crimea was our dream. When the whole thing started, we started to run around with all the kids, saying we were leaving. No matter how difficult it was, at that time we had neither money nor opportunities, but thank God we’re all out of there. Thank God we’re fine now. Thank God.