A century has passed since the inhabitants of Narewka set out on their journey. The memory of Bezhenstwo has survived mostly in the recollections of those who survived the hardships of exile and of the war as well as the turmoil of The October Revolution, and who managed to return alive to their native villages. Their testimonies of those times – direct or preserved in family stories – have been recorded by their descendants, as well as by reporters and historians.
Here we present some of the bezhency, who shared not only the experience of the exile but also the place of birth. The testimonies of the inhabitants of Narewka and the neighboring villages come from “Bezhenstvo 1915”, edited by Eugeniusz Wappa and published by the program council of the weekly “Niwa”, Białystok 2022, a publication collecting the stories of Bezhency of the Białystok region.
Ад бежанства жыхароў Нараўкі і наваколля прайшло стагоддзе. Памяць пра тадышнія падзеі збераглася галоўным чынам дзякуючы ўспамінам тых, хто перажыў нягоды падарожжа, цяжкія ваенныя абставіны і рэвалюцыйную каламуць ды змог жывым вярнуцца на родную зямлю. Іх сведчанні пра тыя падзеі – непасрэдныя і тыя, якія захаваліся ў сямейных расказах – запісвалі і дагэтуль запісваюць іх нашчадкі, журналісты і гісторыкі.
Тут паказваем некаторых удзельнікаў бежанства, якіх, апрача супольнага лёсу, спалучыла таксама месца нараджэння.
Успаміны людзей з ваколіц Нараўкі ўзятыя з публікацыі Bieżeństwo 1915 roku пад рэдакцыяй Яўгена Вапы, выдадзенай Праграмнай радай тыднёвіка «Ніва», Беласток 2022 г. У кнізе сабраныя сведчанні бежанцаў з Беласточчыны.
1. Anastazja Bura – Анастасія Бура
born in 1906 in Rybaki / нар. 1906 г. у Рыбаках
2. Nadzieja Nieścieruk – Надзея Несцярук
born in 1911 in Ochrymy / нар. 1911 г. у Ахрымах
The whole family decided to flee. The father died in Baranowicze. They lived with kind hosts.
3. Jan Kostańczuk – Іван Канстанчук
born in 1909 in Borowe / нар. 1909 г. у Баравых
First they found themselves outside of Moscow, in a village called Kostino near Mytishchi, then in Bogoslovka near Omsk, on the river Omka, in Siberia.
4. Mikołaj Ptaszyński – Мікалай Пташынскі
from Michnowka, born in 1914 / з Міхнаўкі, нар. 1914 г.
Fled as a one-year-old child together with his parents and grandparents. They first lived in Moscow, then in several different places in Ukraine. They returned to their village at the end of August 1922.
5. Maria Kuźma
from Leśna, born in 1908 / з Лясной, нар. 1908 г.
The girl and her grandfather ended up near Saratov. There, she looked after her sick grandfather, who later died. After very difficult experiences, at the age of ten, she returned to her homeland.
Дзяўчынка разам з дзедам трапіла пад Саратаў. Там даглядала хворага дзеда, які пазней памёр. Пасля вельмі цяжкіх прыгод, у дзесяцігадовым узросце вярнулася на бацькаўшчыну.
6. Konstanty Rygorowicz – Канстанцін Рыгаровіч
from Bondary, born 1910 in Tarnopol / з Бандароў, нар. 1910 у Тарнаполі
During their exile the family found themselves in Novonikolayevsk (now: Novosibirsk). After his mother’s death, Konstanty ended up in an orphanage in Biysk in the Altai Mountains. He returned to what remained of their farm in 1922.
7. Dymitr Nesteruk – Дзмітры Несцярук
from Ochrymow, born in 1908 / з Ахрымоў, нар. 1908 г.
At the age of 8, he found himself in Martynovka on the steppes around Donetsk. Before the revolution, he went to school there.
8. Anna Karpiuk – Анна Карпюк
from Bernacki Most, born in 1909 in Łuka / з Бярнацкага Мосту, нар. 1909 г. у Луцэ
Her family ended up in the Yekaterinovka station. Her father was mobilized in Penza. They lived in a village in the Tatishchevo district. In 1992 they reached the Narewka station.
9. Mikołaj Czarniecki – Мікалай Чарнецкі
from Narewka, born in 1903 / з Нараўкі, нар. 1903 г.
In 1915 his father was mobilized and sent to Pinsk to dig trenches. His mother, with three children, set out with the other bezhentsy but did not have a horse or a cart, so they did not go far. When the front passed them and the region was taken over by the German-Austrian troops, they returned to their village. As a teenager, Mikołaj worked in the forest at the construction of the railway joining Kosy Most with Hajnówka. He also worked as timber raftsman on the river Narewka.
10. Teodor Chlabicz – Хведар Хлябіч
from Rybaki, born in 1911 / з Рыбакоў, нар. 1911 г.
His younger sister Ola died during the exile. She was buried in the forest near Novogrudok. Together with his parents and almost all of the inhabitants of Rybaki, they got to an Old Believers village of Koromyslovka in the Simbirsk Governorate. His next stop was in Moscow where he found shelter with two older brothers and a sister. After the revolution the conditions deteriorated. Famine came. He returned to Rybaki with his parents and older brother in 1919.
11. Eugenia Konstańczuk – Яўгення Канстанчук
from Narewka, born in 1908 / з Нараўкі, нар. 1908 г.
As a refugee, she spent 3 years in Moscow. Her older brother and sister as well as their father had jobs, Eugenia attended a kindergarten. After three years she returned with her family to her surviving family cottage.