Todays Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

A Refugee Camp Birthday

By Renie Burghardt

My eleventh birthday was just a week away when we arrived in the

refugee

camp on that bleak and cold November day in 1947. My grandparents, who were

raising me, and I had successfully fled our Soviet-occupied, communist

country,

Hungary, with only the clothes we were wearing. The refugee camp, called a

Displaced Persons Camp, was in Spittal, Austria.

To frightened, cold and hungry people like us, the refugee camp was a

blessing. We were given our own little cardboard-enclosed space in a

barrack,

fed hot cabbage-and-potato soup, and given warm clothes. We had much to be

grateful for. But as for my upcoming birthday, I didn't even want to think

about it. After all, we had left our country devoid of possessions or

money.

And even if Apa (my grandfather) had managed to flee with a few pengos

(Hungarian small currency) in his pocket, it wouldn't have done us any good

in

Austria. So I had decided to forget about birthday presents from then on.

My grandmother, who was the only mother I had known, had taken over my

care

when I was only a few weeks old, because her only child, my mother, had died

suddenly. Before the war intensified, my birthdays had been grand

celebrations

with many cousins in attendance, and lots of gifts of toys, books and

clothes.

The cake had always been a dobosh torte, which Anya (my grandmother)

prepared

herself.

My eighth birthday had been the last time I received a bought gift.

Times

were already hard, money was scarce and survival the utmost goal. But my

grandparents had managed to hock something so they could buy me a book. It

was

a wonderful book, too, full of humor and adventure, and I loved it. In

fact,

Cilike's Adventures had transported me many times from the harshness of the

real

world to a world of laughter and fun. After that, birthday presents, thanks

to

Anya's deft fingers, were usually crocheted or knitted items, but there was

always a present. However, in the refugee camp, I was resigned to the

inevitable.

On November 25, 1947, when I woke in our cardboard cubicle, I laid

there on

my little cot beneath the horsehair blanket and thought about being eleven

now.

Why, I was practically a grown-up, I told myself, and I would act

accordingly

when Anya and Apa awoke. I didn't want them to feel bad because they

couldn't

give me a present. So I dressed quickly and tiptoed out as quietly as

possible.

Outside, I ran across the frosty dirt road to the barrack marked Women's

Bathroom and Shower, washed, combed my hair and took my time, even though it

was

chilly in there, before returning to our cubicle. But finally, return I

did.

" Good morning, Sweetheart. Happy birthday, " Apa greeted as soon as I

walked in.

" Thank you. But I'd just as soon forget about birthdays from now on, "

I

replied, squirming in his generous hug.

" You are too young to forget about birthdays, " Anya said, taking me in

her

arms. " Besides, who would I give this present to if birthdays are to be

forgotten? "

" Present? " I looked at her dumbfounded, as she reached into her pocket

and

pulled something out.

" Happy birthday, Honey. It's not much of a present, but I thought you

might enjoy having Cilike back on your eleventh birthday, " she said, tears

welling up in her eyes.

" My old Cilike's Adventures book! But I thought it was left behind

with

all our other things, " I said, hugging the book to my chest, tears of joy

welling up in my own eyes.

" Well, it almost was. But when we had to leave so quickly in the

middle of

the night, I grabbed it, along with my prayer book, and stuck it in my

pocket.

I knew how much you loved that book, and I couldn't bear to leave it behind.

Happy birthday, again, Honey. I'm sorry it's not a new book, but I hope you

like having it back, " Anya said.

" Oh, thank you, Anya. Having Cilike back means so much to me. So very

much, " I said, hugging her again, tears streaming down my cheeks. " It's the

best birthday present I ever received! " And it truly was, because I

realized

that day that God had blessed me with a wonderful grandmother/mother, whose

love

would always see me through.