Ieva from Latvia : Keeping traditions and language alive on distant shores

Ieva's family left Latvia as the German army was retreating in the face of the surging Red Army forces, in what proved to be a dramatic journey. They would eventually land in a refugee camp in Germany, and then it was a 6 year wait before they were accepted as migrants to Australia. It was not their first choice as they had wanted to follow other family members to USA or Canada. Like many war refugees, family members became separated across the globe.Between 1947 and 1952 around 20,000 Latvians would migrate to Australia, making them amongst some of the earliest new post-war migrants to settle from post-war Europe. Like many Latvians, Ieva's family would eventually settle in Adelaide, and later she would marry a fellow Latvian living in Tasmania, and she has lived in Hobart for the last 60 years. Ieva only returned to Latvia for the first time in 1990, as a part of an Australian Latvian choir invited to a cultural festival, at a time when the country was on the verge of independence. She was also the President of the Tasmanian Latvian Association for 35 years and has actively tried to maintain some Latvian traditions and language. Like many Latvian migrant communities around the world, traditions of Latvian choral singing have been kept alive, though maintaining many traditions with a small community is a big challenge.