55.9 x 20.3 cm / 22″ x 8″
1968-2018 SLOVÁK SOM AJ SLOVÁK BUDEM, A KANADE ĎAKUJEM
This tree commemorates the 50 year anniversary of leaving behind Slovakia and everything that was dear to us. It represents our passage to Canada ….our new home.
Like countless others we were left fleeing the brutal invasion, as half a million Russian soldiers descended on our little nation. As a child, I vividly recall the tanks rolling through our city of Michalovce. It was the first major city from the border. After much preparation and planning, we escaped to Vienna. We were placed into immigration detention camps, with the hope of being accepted somewhere as a refugee. At the time USA, Australia and Canada were actively accepting and accommodating our people. The choice for my parents wasn’t difficult. USA was out of the question, as they had mandatory military draft and my parents had three boys. Australia was also out, as it was much too far away and according to my father, didn’t have four seasons. So Canada was the obvious choice.
I will never forget, as our family of seven was interviewed at a Canadian Embassy. On the wall was a huge map of Canada. Perhaps that was the first time any of us had ever seen a map of Canada. The interviewing person pointed at a specific place on the map and began to explain that Winnipeg was the most beautiful place in Canada. Knowing that my father was a doctor and Winnipeg had a chronic shortage of doctors, the decision was made on our behalf. Little did my father know that Winnipeg pretty much had only one season, which was 8 months of brutal winter.
In all those years I have never lost my love for Slovakia…. my birth place. With every visit, I discover endless beauty that attracts me more and more. I’m thankful to my relatives, who always make me feel like we’ve never been apart all those years and remind me of our childhood times together.
I will always be grateful to Canada for being so kind as to accommodate all of our people in a time of crisis.
Stripped Electrical Copper Wire, Vintage Carbon Film Resistors, Vintage Precision Metal Film Resistors, Vintage Metal Oxide Resistors, Ceramic Disc Capacitors
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