"Back in Mazirbe" (excerpt)

1950, at the end of January, ie during the students' winter holidays, while visiting their parents in Dundaga, I came across a driver who immediately drove a truck through Mazirbe to Pitrags and immediately back. I couldn't wish for a more ideal option to visit my mother's sister Klārs Helmans, who lived in Mazirbe at the "Vecbunku" house. There was no regular bus service there at that time, and getting to Mazirbe was quite difficult. Clara's aunt, a seamstress by profession, had made me a white robe to wear during her studies at RMI (Riga Medical Institute). In stores, as today, they could not be bought without "blats" (here: connections with army people).
As it turned out later, I was delighted to have a happy meeting with my aunt, because when we reached the Mazirbe border guard post on the dusty, snowy road, it turned out that I did not have all the necessary documents to be in the strictly restricted border area. In an instant, everything changed dramatically!
Instead of the bright and joyful smile of Clare's aunt, I had to look at the enchanted family of the hanged border guard's chief and listen to the threat that such border violators should be shot at least on the spot so as not to disturb the bright life of the Soviet people. I tried to argue that I am almost a local, because I have lived in Mazirbe for almost 10 years, studied at school, walked all the houses in a row during the German era, carrying a so-called "circular" at that time, and almost every dog, where there are still people, would know me.
No counter-arguments helped. It was advantageous for this "shtaphophone" to treat what had happened as the capture of a dangerous border violator at the scene of a crime, in order to earn the praise of his superiors and possibly even a promotion in the service for his vigilance. As you know, the border guards already received praise and awards for finding a boot in the sand of the seashore alone! This time, the major even allowed the idea that I had come across the frozen sea, perhaps even from Sweden, which was blowing in the capitalist system. In this quiet corner, the head of the border guard probably had a wonderful chance to climb the ladder of the army's career. To make it all happen, I was mercilessly locked in a cold barn shed, diligently guarded by an armed soldier, dressed in a warm sheepskin coat with velvet legs. I could see it all on a bright winter night. The board shed had several large gaps, and it could be clearly seen on the moonlit night.
Given that the temperature inside the shed did not differ much from the outside and was around -20 C, I was in danger of freezing! I had never eaten or drunk anything since this morning, and I was mentally humiliated and very tired from this unexpected experience. However, at the age of 21, I really wanted to stay alive and exercise and move constantly, as much as the narrow space allowed. If it were frozen, there would be no article, no tens of thousands of treated patients, no written books, no almost 60 scientific articles, no experiments, no V33 (Ministry of Health) registered33 rationalization proposals, no melodies played and sung, no role k / f, not much like anything else. As if we were aware of all this, I passed this inhuman test. I even admit that I have a few ml of blood from distant ancestral Livs circulating in my blood. Beautiful lines about the stubborn Liv character have been written by my schoolmate, the well-known poet Arnolds Auziņš:
"He is a hard-working Latvian and diligent, but one who is always free in spirit
And he is disobedient and stubborn, his ancestors are definitely lively! ”
In the morning, half of me was taken from the prison, accompanied by a guard, to the station to be placed in a specially liberated small carriage, where one armed one of the armed red army, invincible, eternal, sat at each door. A naked dagger shone at the ends of the rifles! In addition, a trained foot engine dog and a companion strengthened the guard all the way and in the car. I had earned such an "honor" only once in my life, because the dog guarded me even in the toilet of Mazirbe station. Even a few officers' wives had come to watch the event to take a closer look at the "spies who had infiltrated abroad."
Fortunately, Sister Daina in Ventspils had managed to bring the missing documents and at the same time instantly turn her from a dangerous criminal into a valid citizen of the USSR