JOURNEYS TO SOUTH AFRICA

The continent of Africa was a largely unknown destination for Balts who had escaped to Sweden in 1944. But as Soviet authorities called on Sweden to return “its citizens,” refugees began searching for safer lands far from the Soviet Union. 

Jüri Vendla writes in Unustatud merereisid (Forgotten Sea Journeys) that Estonians in Sweden contacted the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in Stockholm to investigate the possibility of a large group of refugees settling in South Africa. The embassy reportedly contacted the relevant authorities, but the government was not interested in welcoming the would-be immigrants. 

Consequently, Estonians quietly began making plans that would bypass official channels, just as their brethren had done sailing to other parts of the world. The refugees collected funds, bought ships, and set plans in motion. Little did they know how long and difficult the journeys to South Africa would be. It is known that six boats left Sweden for South Africa. Three of them, the Dagmar, Ann-Mari, and Ly, were successful and transported about 70 refugees to their new homeland. 

The boats that didn’t make it are described in Broken Journeys.