To mark the 71st anniversary of the Crimean Tatar deportation, singer Jamala presented the song “Way Home,” her press service reported. “How often do you talk to your parents about your family roots, or your homeland, or who are you? Do you discuss your path and purpose in this world? In my family, we discussed these issues a lot, debating what is homeland, after all? Where is one’s home? Is one’s home one’s birthplace, or is it one’s ancestors’ burial place? My father and grandmother told me about the Crimean Tatars’ difficult return to our homeland. Thus, the song ‘Way Home’ (‘Artinni Unutma’ in Crimean Tatar) is a continuation of this conversation with my father (he appears as baba in it, meaning ‘father’ in Crimean Tatar). When I left the parental home to study, he always told me: ‘artinni unutma,’ as people say to those departing so that they remember that they have a home and hurry to return. He ended his farewell message with the words ‘ozune baq,’ meaning ‘take care of yourself and start with yourself.’ Parents often say such words when seeing their children off, because they know that our path is full of frustrations, resentment, and innumerable obstacles. This song is a confession. I dedicate it to all those looking for their way home! Home is a place where they like you and await your return, it is not always the place marked by a stamp in one’s passport,” the singer wrote.
