The photo above of the Haler family, Joseph, Maria and their two daughters Silvia and Marian, appeared in the Sarnia Observer on July 25th, 1957. An interview with Joseph about the family’s escape from communist Yugoslavia accompanied the photograph. The family was happy to have finally arrived at their destination but uncertain about what was in store for them here in Canada.
In 1957 Slovenia was a part of Yugoslavia, a communist country ruled by Joseph Tito. In the 1957 interview, Mr. Haler spoke about Tito saying he only maintained control of the country through a strong military and police presence. Though Silvia and Marian were very young when they lived in Slovenia (8 and 6 respectively), they remember the climate of fear that prompted their emigration to Canada. “With the communists, nothing was for sure and if you didn’t do exactly as they say, they would kill you,” said Marian.
Joseph Haler, who worked as a police officer for most of his career in Slovenia, knew the dangers of going against the government’s agenda firsthand. “When my dad’s life was threatened I guess that was when the decision was made that we had to get out of there,” said Marian. In 1957 a man came to the Haler’s house and warned Joseph that the military was planning to kill him. Marian and Silvia were not told the exact reason behind this threat but said that they were always told it had something to do with Joseph’s actions during the Second World War.
Joseph left the country first and arranged for his family to follow him soon after. Silvia and Marian recall having to climb mountains along the “Iron Curtain,” the guarded border between communist and democratic Europe, to meet the professional border crosser Joseph had hired to take his family into Austria. Although the two remember being nervous about crossing the border, they were not entirely aware of the situation they were in. “We were kids we didn’t have to clue what was going on,” said Silvia.
After crossing without incident, save the loss of one of Marian’s shoes, the family headed to a bus station and traveled to Maria’s sister’s home in Austria. “We were told to keep our mouths shut and not say a word while we were on the bus and from there on it was party time for us,” said Marian.
The Halers stayed with Maria’s sister in Germany and then at a refugee camp where the sisters attended school while their parents organized the details of their trip to Canada. The Halers left a port in Trieste, Italy on what the sisters describe as a very nice, luxury Italian ship. “Not that we were staying in the luxury section,” added Silvia.
The journey took around two weeks. “I know it was at least two weeks because we had fish on Fridays and the fish was not good,” recalled Silvia. The boat arrived in Montreal on Marian’s seventh birthday and after clearing customs, the Halers got on a train headed to Sarnia.
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