Every other Wednesday evening the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto has a barbeque dinner. People gather there to sample Ingo Kārkliņš’ charcoal-broiled dishes. Among the guests attending the Aug. 9 dinner were 27 former World War II refugees and residents of the Displaced Persons camp Insula at Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Velga Zaļais-Jansons and Igors Svistunenko organized the evening of Insula residents and their relatives. The former Insula residents came not only from Toronto and vicinity, but also from the United States—from as far as Alaska. Among them was Andris Spura of Montréal, who along with his mother had spent the last few months of the war at Berchtesgaden. Both had survived the aerial bombardment by the Allies of Adolf Hitler’s Berghof on April 25, 1945.

Former Insula residents had their first reunion in Berchtesgaden in 2003. In May 2005 their memoirs were compiled and edited by two brothers and former camp residents, Ventis and John Plūme. The first printing of Insula Displaced Persons Assembly Center: A Latvian Memoir sold out in January, but copies of the second printing of the 346-page work are available from John Plūme, who may be contacted by e-mail at plume62@aol.com. The book includes a nearly complete listing of the 650-700 residents of the camp.

During the Aug. 9 dinner, the Plūme brothers presented the library of the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre with a copy of the book. Last year, they presented the book to several libraries in Latvia.

Several people from younger generations were among those who shared memories. Stories and discussions continued to a late hour, when tables had been already cleared and other guests had long gone home. 

(Editor’s note: Information for this story is based on Latvian text contributed by Harijs Jansons and translated by Ventis Plume.)

During the past two years, immigrants from Latvia have made up 6 percent of the total who have moved from the new European Union countries to the United Kingdom in search of work, according to a new report from the Home Office.

Immigrant workers from Latvia numbered 26,745 from the second quarter of 2004 through the second quarter of this year, according to the most recent Accession Monitoring Report released Aug. 22. The number represents only the Worker Registration Scheme applications approved by the government, not the total number of applicants.

Workers from Poland led the way, making up 62 percent of the more than 427,000 immigrants to Great Britain and Northern Ireland to come from the new EU countries. Immigrants from Lithuania were 12 percent of the total; from Slovakia, 10 percent; from the Czech Republic, 5 percent; from Hungary, 3 percent; from Estonia, 1 percent, and from Slovenia, less than half a percent.

Latvia and the other countries, as well as Cyprus and Malta, joined the EU in 2004. Citizens of Cyprus and Malta may freely travel and work in the United Kingdom, the report notes, but those from the other new EU member states are restricted through the the Worker Registration Scheme.

The number of migrants from Latvia whose applications to work were approved hit a peak of 4,165 in the second quarter of 2005, but has since leveled off to about 2,500 per quarter.

Workers from the new EU countries are overwhelmingly young. Of the total, 43 percent are ages 18-24, while another 39 percent are ages 25-34.

Over the past two years, the largest number of workers from Latvia—9,675—found jobs in administration, business and management services, according to the report. Another large group—6,835—found work in agriculture. A total of 3,370 worked in hospitality and catering, while 2,205 worked in manufacturing.

“Zilā,” a three-act play considered by some critics to be one of playwright Gunārs Priede’s best works, will be performed by four actors from the National Theatre of Latvia as they tour the United States and Canada during September.

Priede (1928-2000) wrote Zilā (The Blue One) in the 1970s. It was one of many of the playwright’s works that were considered undesirable by Soviet authorities.

The story focuses on four people and the things that have gone unsaid for years. Set in their home in a Black Sea town in Georgia, the play spans two days and allows the audience to observe the relationship between Rasma and her son, Juris, who has been recuperating from a traffic accident that killed his father, grandmother and another woman. Arriving to visit are Linda, whom Juris remembers from earlier days in Latvia, and her escort, Vidvuds.

“The Blue One is a typical late vintage Priede play that grows from a topical sketch on current social ills to a tragedy of universal import that reveal subtle psychological complexities in human relations,” theatre scholar Juris Silenieks wrote in introducing a 1977 English translation of the work.

Appearing in the play will be Lolita Cauka as Rasma, Ainārs Ančevskis as Juris, Evija Skulte as Linda and Juris Lisners as Vidvuds. The performance is directed by Mihails Kublinskis, with set design by Ieva Kauliņa.

Performances in the 15-city tour are planned in:

• Portland, Ore., at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 in the Latvian Lutheran Church of Oregon, 5500 S.W. Dosch Road, Portland. The performance is organized by the Latvian Society of Oregon. For further information, contact Biruta Zommere at +1 (503) 436-1708.
• Seattle, Wash., at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 in the Latvian Center, 11710 3rd Ave. N.E., Seattle. The performance is organized by the Latvian Society of Washington State. For further information, contact Jānis Kramēns, +1 (425) 941-2753.
• San Francisco at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Northern California Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 425 Hoffman Ave., San Francisco. The performance is organized by the Latvian Society of Northern California. For further information, contact Emīls Elstiņš, +1 (925) 935-9769.
• Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Latvian Community Center, 1955 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. The performance is organized by the Los Angeles Latvian Theatre. For further information, contact Ilga Jankovska, +1 (818) 783-1437.
• Minneapolis at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Minneapolis and St. Paul, 3152 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The performance is organized by the Latvian Welfare Association Daugavas Vanagi and the Association of Latvian Organizations in Minnesota. For further information, contact Jānis Robiņš, +1 (651) 646-1980.
• Indianapolis, Ind., at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 in the Latvian Community Center, 1008 W. 64th St., Indianapolis. The performance is organized by the council of Indianpolis Latvian organizations. For further information, contact Eižens Lemke, +1 (317) 409-5825.
• Chicago at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Latvian House, 4146 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. The performance is organized by the Chicago Latvian Society. For further information, contact Armands Birkēns , +1 (773) 282-6510.
• Kalamazoo, Mich., at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Kalamazoo Latvian Hall, 100 Cherry Hill Drive, Kalamazoo. The performance is organized by the Kalamazoo Latvian Society. For further information, contact Malda Pūtele, +1 (269) 353-8320.
• Toronto at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre, 4 Credit Union Drive, Toronto. The performance is organized by the cultural center. For further information, contact Vizma Maksiņa, +1 (416) 751-1216.
• Boston, Mass., at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran “Trimda” Church of Boston, 58 Irving St., Brookline. The performance is organized by Mākslas Draugu Grupa. For further information, contact Maija Asberga, +1 (781) 828-1193.
• New York at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 4 Riga Lane, Melville. The performance is organized by the council of New York Latvian organizations. For further information, contact Jānis Riekstiņš, +1 (516) 674-8802.
• New Jersey at 2 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Latvian center Priedaine, 1017 Highway 33 East, Freehold. The performance is organized by the New Jersey Latvian Society. For further information, contact Jānis Students, +1 (732) 836-9750.
• Philadelphia at 2 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Latvian Society of Philadelphia, 531 North 7th St., Philadelphia. The performance is organized by the Latvian Welfare Association Daugavas Vanagi, the local pensioners’ group and the Philadelphia Society of Free Letts. For further information, contact Aida Bērziņa, +1 (610) 853-2649.
• The Washington, D.C., area at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Washington D.C., 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville. The performance is organized by Latvian organizations in Washington. For further information, contact Anita Juberte, +1 (301) 869-3127.
• Florida at 5 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Latvian American Center, 1705 9th Ave. N., St. Petersburg. The performance is organized by the St. Petersburg Latvian Society. For further information, contact Andris Ritums, +1 (727) 797-1933.

The tour is sponsored by the Latvian-American cultural organization Tilts.