Village News

Syria and its refugee crisis have been prominent in the news of late. Because of atrocities taking place in that country, many of its residents have fled to find homes in a number of European countries. It seems to me that conditions in my home country would need to be extremely bad before I would choose to leave my home, my possessions, and maybe some of my family to re-establish myself in another country. And indeed, life in Syria currently appears to be exceptionally difficult.

As I listen to the news, my mind is often drawn to Mennonite history stories I’ve heard from the 1920s and 1940s. Life in the former Soviet Union became very difficult for many people during those time periods.

In her book The Russlaender, Sandra Birdsell tells the story of a young girl who lives through the horrors of 1920s Russia. During this post-World War I era, bands of bandits were raiding and brutalizing communities, particularly large estates. The girl in the story lives on an estate owned by a wealthy Mennonite because her father is an employee of the farm. The estate owner and most of his family are murdered by bandits. While the girl survives the massacre by hiding in a pit prepared for her by her father, she spends years experiencing the hardships common to refugees in that country at that time.

When I was a boy, George Sawatzky was a professional photographer in Winkler. At that time, Mr. Sawatzky lived alone because he had become separated from his wife and daughter during their panicked attempt to flea Russia after World War II. He succeeded in getting onto the train (and eventually to Canada), but his family did not. As a result, they spent decades living in separate countries. When George and his wife finally located one another in their later years, Mrs. Sawatzky came to live in Canada, but their daughter only came to visit because she was now an adult and had a family of her own.

Being refugees is part of our history as Mennonites. How quickly we forget the impact of those experiences. At Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) we try to help people remember and value their roots.