To my new friends from Canada. (Translated by A. Aidarkhan from Aron Atabek’s letter in Russian)
C.Hudson
2260 Dalton Road
Campbell River
BC, Canada
V9W1Hb
They write me letters from Canada —
Children send their drawings,
Why to waste their time (money!) for a prisoner —
Or they might have lost their mind!
Of course, no! They are humans —
Who feel one’s pain with their hearts,
And share their love —
With an old prisoner, me.
A colourful rainbow in sky,
And a man who leads the horse,
A girl with oriental name —Layla
Splashes water on me!
And Tomas of six,
Handled me a sword with sharpened edge,
Saddled the nomad in the saddle —
To cut a steel fence or a dark forest.
Karl, a 3-year tot,
Painted stream of consciousness,
Interweaving of lines is interweaving of ties,
Metaphor of the unity of creation!
Ah, what do I know about Canada? «Ontario Shores —
Ottawa, the «Ottawan» band, hockey, and a maple-leaf,
Freedom, democracy — everything is right,
I am a politzek, I am Chingachgook of ‘politique‘!
Kazakhs are new Indians,
Indians are ancient Kazakhs,
And the continents are parts of the broken heart,
Over Niagara Falls our Aruakhs* are crying.
Before the flood in former times,
Nomads — Kazakh the Arians
Have gone by bridges of the sunken Beringes
Linking vast lands!
I follow the ancestors path —
The Honour calls to fight for Freedom,
Oh, the free world, oh, the free wind —
Hello to you from Chingachgook behind the jail!
…Ah, Mister-Missis Craig and Clare Hudson —
From your far abroad,
You delivered the prisoner much happiness,
Even English I never spoke.
A.Atabek
Explanations:
1) I received letter from Craig and Clare Hudson on 19.03.2013 in the «PLS» of high-security prison of the city of Arkalyk. In letter they congratulated with my 60th anniversary, they expressed solidarity to Shanyrak and wished my sooner release;
2) Children: Layla (7), Tomas (6) and Karl (3) sent me lovely paintings. I will try to keep them, as long as it is possible in prison;
3) «Ontario Shores» — famous feature film «Adventures in Ontario shores» (GDR ‘Defa’);
4) «Ottawan» rock band is my famous music band with «Music People» (probably ‘Crazy Music’ — editor’s note);
5) Chingachgook the Great Serpent — famous literature (F.Cooper) and movie (Gojko Mitic) hero;
6) *Aruakhs — Ancestors’ Spirits (kazakh);
7) Beringes (Beringia) — a strait, current Bering Strait, before the flood (5 thousand years B.C.) it was connecting America with Asia, along which great-kazakhs (Arians) did nomadic inter-continental existence; coincidence of tribal structure in Kazakhs and Indians — are astonishing, as do many others.
19.03.2013, УЧ УК 161/12, high-security prison, PLS, Arkalyk
Dear Craig and Clare Hudson!
Dear Layla, Tomas, Karl!
Thank you for letter and kind wishes. I respond you in my poem — this is the highest expression of respect for great Arians (Kazakhs). I am going to forward your letter and my reply (if censorship is not against!) to my son, Askar, who lives in Almaty. He speaks English and will have to translate and send it to you. Keep in touch with him, write him and he will forward to me.
Prison is prison — possibilities are limited here.
I wish you success.
Yours respectfully,
Aron Atabek,
19.03.xiii