Exiles

As a result of the Germano- Soviet Pact, 1.6 million Polish civilians were sent to labour camps in Siberia. Irena was among them. She was only eight years old. She was released in 1944 along with 734 other orphans. As was had not yet ended, they were taken in as refugees in New Zealand, after a terrible journey to Iran. In 1945 they were given the choice of either going back to Poland or being adopted by local families. Many chose to remain in New Zealand. Halina Ogonowska, Irena’s daughter, a writer and historian, has interviewed her mother and her friends. They all display courage and a remarkable instinct of self-preservation.