Over the past few years I have made a conscious decision to expand my travel activities. Although not quite going to the extreme of cliff jumping or sky-diving, I have tried to move beyond simple tourist activities. A few years ago, I spent a week learning Spanish up in the mountains in Nicaragua. This summer I took a train from London to Whitstable and then proceeded to sail around the mouth of the River Thames. Apparently, these were only to whet my appetite. I spent the last four days in Riga, Latvia and decided to visit some of the lesser known sites in the city. On the third day I visited the Jewish Ghetto Museum (http://www.rgm.lv/?lang=en) and was quite moved by what I saw. After an hour plus viewing and reading the exhibits, I decided to spend my last day visiting two sites: Bikernieki Memorial (http://www.jews.lv/en/content/memorial-bikernieki-forest) and the Salaspils Internment Camp. While both required effort to find (or not find as you shall see), I am grateful I took the time to find these places. They were unforgettable. For today, I will discuss the memorial in the Bikernieki Forest. (http://us.wow.com/wiki/Bikernieki_Memorial)
The Bikernieki Forest is a mere three plus miles outside of the city. It is hard to imagine that the citizens did not notice thousands of people being forced marched out there between the years 1941-1944. This theme of not knowing, or pretending not to know, was evident even today. There are no signs and even the Internet sites proved inconclusive. I decided to run the whole distance and took my phone as a precaution. I found the appointed turn off and headed towards the forest. But when I got closer, things got confusing. Again, no signs, no indications, no nothing to help me along. I even began running into the forest, when I realized how massive it was. If I got lost, who knows where I would end up on this cold morning. So I stopped at a local store to ask for directions. In my shaky Russian I asked an older woman where to find the monument. In somewhat shaky Russian she gave me directions but seem a bit confused that I was asking. Was this willful ignorance or do the locals truly not know what happened here seventy-five years ago. With these directions in hand I ran back in the forest but was once again unsure where I was going. As I looked around I realized how easy this must have been for the Nazis to march these unsuspecting people out into the middle of a cold, quiet, empty forest. There was no one to see and no one to hear. Fortunately, I found another jogger who, in mixed English and Russian, pointed me in the right direction. And there, at the crest of a hill, I found something.
I'd like to say that I found the memorial found in the links above, but that was not the case. That official memorial was a bit down the road on the other side of the forest. What I did find was probably more moving. I stood atop of a hill above a small ravine. On all sides of the ravine there were wooden posts with the Star of David and the dates 1941-1944. A set of stairs descended into the ravine and then continued to the other side. In the ravine there were raised patches of earth, boxed in by wooden planks (kind of like a bit sandbox filled in and grassed over). In each of these raised patches stood solitary, tablet-like stones. Someone had laid plastic flowers on top of one. Other than that, there was nothing. The area was overgrown and somewhat strewn with trash (although much of the forest was like this). And that was it. Nothing else but the quiet. Once and a while someone would come by usually walking a dog. But nothing was said. No one else stopped to pay their respects. No one else looked solemnly at the ground. As the cold began to set in I decided it was time to go. I almost went looking for the official memorial but there was more to see that day.
A final note, the granite stones used in the official memorial come from...Zhytomyr, Ukraine where I am serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Full circle, it seems.
I'd like to say that I found the memorial found in the links above, but that was not the case. That official memorial was a bit down the road on the other side of the forest. What I did find was probably more moving. I stood atop of a hill above a small ravine. On all sides of the ravine there were wooden posts with the Star of David and the dates 1941-1944. A set of stairs descended into the ravine and then continued to the other side. In the ravine there were raised patches of earth, boxed in by wooden planks (kind of like a bit sandbox filled in and grassed over). In each of these raised patches stood solitary, tablet-like stones. Someone had laid plastic flowers on top of one. Other than that, there was nothing. The area was overgrown and somewhat strewn with trash (although much of the forest was like this). And that was it. Nothing else but the quiet. Once and a while someone would come by usually walking a dog. But nothing was said. No one else stopped to pay their respects. No one else looked solemnly at the ground. As the cold began to set in I decided it was time to go. I almost went looking for the official memorial but there was more to see that day.
A final note, the granite stones used in the official memorial come from...Zhytomyr, Ukraine where I am serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Full circle, it seems.
The Road In
Tall Trees, Silence
Marker Atop Ravine
Star of David, Ominous Dates
Raised Dirt with Stone Marker
Steps Down, Ravine, Steps Up
Stone Marker
Stone Marker
Final Reminder
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