Publisher's Synopsis
Valery Bazarov brings a unique life experience to his writing. He was born in Russia and later moved to Ukraine, working as a journalist until his immigration to the U.S. in 1988. When Valery came to the U.S. with his family, he was met at the airport by HIAS representatives and soon thereafter, he went to work for HIAS where he ultimately became the Director of HIAS Family History and Location Services, until his retirement in 2013.
For many years, Bazarov was the HIAS representative sent to JFK Airport in New York to welcome new immigrants and help them through the myriad of problems, issues and adjustments between the "old country" and their new-found life of freedom and choice. It is clear that many of these immigrants poured their hearts out to Valery - about their lives, their dreams and the "lost" relatives both during the Holocaust and earlier immigration. Also, during Valery's employment years with HIAS, part of his job was to respond to the many "search" requests pouring into HIAS requesting help in locating relatives and determining the fate of family members. Using his genealogical and detective skills, Valery tracked these missing relatives. His ability to tell their stories is riveting and reaches out from the pages to grab the emotions of the reader. The stories in this book are about people we don't know personally and yet, in a way, they are about "our" ancestors and relatives. Their stories could be "our stories" and by reading them, we learn more about who we are and where we came from.
