People of the Tiger

Shortly after arriving in Krasny Yar, we walked to the Post Office, and there we met Aunt Mya, a tough, 80-year-old woman who lives way off the grid in the upper part of the Bikin River basin. There were some other women that Svetlana knew, and it suddenly became a scene of great exciterment and emotion as everyone began hugging Svetlana, whom they haven’t seen since she immigrated to Alaska 17 years ago. It was such an intense moment of joy that Ihla and I were nearly moved to tears.