Tsivye Sukhenko

This photo of my mother, Tsivye Reitech Sukhenko, was taken in Kiev in 1970, a few years before she died. My mother was born in Chisinau; her father was a house-painter. My mother was illiterate, but she had talent. She used to mold glue into animal figures; they were very expressive. Of course, in that uneducated environment, nobody appreciated it properly. My parents had 10 children; four of them died young. The first boy died when he was eight days old from blood poisoning when he had circumcision. My elder sister Taube (Tanya) was born in 1902. My younger sister Inna was born in 1920. My younger brother Fima was born in 1925 and was killed at the front when he was 18 years old.