They don’t seem to make the news any longer, this pioneering (translation: idiotic) family of ten who sold their farm in Canada, packed up and moved to the golden land of opportunity and anti-LGBTQ: Russia.

No longer able to tolerate the perceived immorality of their native land, the parents, Arend and Anneesa, sought refuge in the one place they felt they could be free — get that? free! — to be their natural, ultra-conservative selves, raising eight of their nine children in peace and harmony.

Oy!

The ninth child — a son — opted to stay behind in Canada. Smart kid.

But, for all of their obvious ignorance of the facts of life, I can’t just write them off, because I can’t stop thinking about those eight youngsters now growing up Russian. So every now and then, I check in on their YouTube program, even though I know it’s closely monitored for political correctness, Russian-style. At least it assures me that they’re all still alive.

The dad, Arend, goes on endlessly about the details of building their big new house on their big new farm, which is pretty boring to watch. It’s also a nice piece of propaganda, supposedly demonstrating what can be accomplished in Russia with a little hard work and perseverance. And money.

Speaking of which . . . their original bankroll must surely be running low by now, and they don’t seem to have any local source of income. But their YouTube channel does mention something about donations . . . And in another episode, Arend said something about a septic tank “that we were provided.” He didn’t say by whom.

*. *. *

Anyway, about the youngsters. I’m sorry I don’t know their names or much about them. They seem like really nice kids, who just happen to have been born to a couple of well-meaning though seriously misguided bigots.

In the episode I watched the other day, the children were harvesting vegetables from their farm: huge pumpkins, zucchini on steroids, beets, carrots, onions, and the like. Even for such a large family it seemed a lot — perhaps they are able to sell some of it. More likely, Mom will be doing a lot of canning for the long winter ahead.

The conversation among the children was obviously scripted, all having to do with the wonderful vegetables they were gathering. What impressed me was the ease with which the kids are obviously picking up the Russian language. The eldest — a daughter who looked as though she should be getting ready for the prom, not grubbing around in the dirt — spoke for the camera in full Russian sentences. Though she hesitated from time to time, and obviously was still thinking in English, her pronunciation was excellent, she was grammatically correct, and she knew the names of all of the veggies. And the younger siblings understood her and responded appropriately.

So yes, they’ll adapt and fit in very nicely. Which is what bothers me. Not that I want them to be misfits; I’d just rather they had been able to remain Canadians. But that decision was not mine to make.

Also, the second oldest daughter — the one with glasses — had a big patch over her right eye in the video. No mention was made of it, so I don’t know the reason for it. I just hope that, out there in the countryside, they have access to decent medical care.

But for those of you who, like me, continue to be concerned about the welfare of the Feenstras, at least we know that they’re doing better than they started out that first week.

I do wonder, though — and I really don’t know the answer — about what will happen when the oldest boy reaches conscription age.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/3/24