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I started thinking about going to Israel, as did my parents. They even sold some of their furniture in line with my mother’s wishes, because she was the one who wanted to leave and my father didn’t. But, in the end, they gave it up.
At that time I was friends with a Jewish boy, who also wanted to make aliyah. His name was Marko Semov. We had a very strong relationship. He was studying engineering in Sofia and I met him in He-Halutz Hatzair. He had friends in the older groups and came to see us and that’s how we met. My parents approved of his family. His father was a sarafin, a money dealer and lived in the neighborhood. At the time of the youth aliyah in 1948-49 he wasn’t able to leave because he was still studying in Sofia. He took two terms simultaneously so that he would be able to graduate and leave, because he knew that I wanted to leave too.
Finally my parents decided to stay in Bulgaria. He left and I stayed. He continued his studies in Israel. He worked as a street cleaner and waiter so that he’d be able to graduate from university. He had graduated from the French College in Bulgaria. We wrote to each other all the time. Now that I read my letters, I get surprised at what plans I had: to start medical courses so that I would be able to work there and he would be able to finish his studies.
I very much wanted to leave for Israel but my parents didn’t agree. His parents had also decided to leave with him. They came back home and told my parents that they wanted to take me back to Israel with them, but my parents refused. My father’s words were, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Not that they were against us, they approved of our relationship, but they weren’t sure if our feelings after two years away from each other were still the same. They were afraid that I might find myself alone on the streets in an unknown country. So I remained here.
At that time I was friends with a Jewish boy, who also wanted to make aliyah. His name was Marko Semov. We had a very strong relationship. He was studying engineering in Sofia and I met him in He-Halutz Hatzair. He had friends in the older groups and came to see us and that’s how we met. My parents approved of his family. His father was a sarafin, a money dealer and lived in the neighborhood. At the time of the youth aliyah in 1948-49 he wasn’t able to leave because he was still studying in Sofia. He took two terms simultaneously so that he would be able to graduate and leave, because he knew that I wanted to leave too.
Finally my parents decided to stay in Bulgaria. He left and I stayed. He continued his studies in Israel. He worked as a street cleaner and waiter so that he’d be able to graduate from university. He had graduated from the French College in Bulgaria. We wrote to each other all the time. Now that I read my letters, I get surprised at what plans I had: to start medical courses so that I would be able to work there and he would be able to finish his studies.
I very much wanted to leave for Israel but my parents didn’t agree. His parents had also decided to leave with him. They came back home and told my parents that they wanted to take me back to Israel with them, but my parents refused. My father’s words were, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Not that they were against us, they approved of our relationship, but they weren’t sure if our feelings after two years away from each other were still the same. They were afraid that I might find myself alone on the streets in an unknown country. So I remained here.
Period
Year
1949
Location
Plovdiv
Bulgaria
Interview
Sarina Chelibakova