Sibiro Haiku

Eleven-year-old Algiukas dreams of wandering the world with his friend, Martynas the goose. But when his dream turns to reality, it turns out completely different to how he imagined it. In the early hours of June 1941, a regiment of soldiers throws him, his sister, Dalia, his dad, Romas, and his mum, Uršulė, out of their beds and tells them to get ready for their journey - this is how Lithuanians set off for Siberia in groups, not of their own volition. The child is overwhelmed with many questions - why are they being deported? What did they do wrong? Where is Siberia? There, in a distant and alien country, the family has to survive by eating frozen potatoes, salting soup with tears and warming their hearts with songs. There, the exile choir "Obuoliai" is born, wings are grown by singing, and the hope of returning home never leaves.