European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday november 11, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 3 army doctor recalls leap to Freedom 10 years ago soviet jumped ship literally by Gary Pomeroy staff writer Frankfurt Germany ten years ago Ema Sautina was a 27-year-old doctor who had gathered much of her medical experience while serving the military of her native soviet Union. She was a russian citizen trapped in the nation she had dreamed of leaving since childhood. Then in the wee hours of nov. 11, 1981, Sautina out of the army and working As a doctor on a russian fishing boat took her shot at Freedom by swimming ashore As the ship was anchored two Miles off the coast of Panama. It was the first step in a Gamble that led her to jobs As a bartender maid and ultimately a position As a pathologist in one of the most prestigious cancer research centers in the United states. Today on the 10th anniversary of her leap to Freedom she is an american citizen a a staff pathologist at the Frankfurt army regional medical Center a and a major in the . Army. The soviet Union offered a no Hope for anyone to have improvement a she said her parents told her repeatedly when she was growing up in Lvov a ukrainian City about 38 Miles East of the polish Border. Her parents whom Sautina described As a dissidents a encouraged her As a youth to learn about Western culture in addition to her native studies. This upbringing whetted her appetite for Freedom in the West. Although her chances to flee were minimal she said a a in a kind of bold and if the Opportunity presents itself from 1977 to 1980 she was on Active duty in the soviet army with service taking her from nuclear submarines to Afghanistan. While visiting friends in East Berlin in 1978, she spent considerable time plotting around checkpoint Charlie and a tried to convince some . Soldiers to sneak her into a but she did no to follow through. A i would jeopardize the people who invited me Over. Their kids and careers and everything a she said. After she left the army in 1980, she was a obsessed with getting out of the her Chance came while serving As a physician aboard the Alexander Griznova a fishing vessel that had sailed from Murmansk in Northern Russia to Central America. On nov. 10,1981, the ship was anchored about two Miles off the coast of Panama City. On that Day a i was Able to take a walk with a few Crew members on Shore. And i spotted a military a i done to remember which installation said Sautina who spoke German but no English. She merely recognized the . Flag. After returning to the ship she cleaned her room and waited. Sometime after Midnight she sneaked out to the . Before she jumped she thought about her family. She and her brother a were raised very independently very competitive and i think our parents did Good by not attaching us too much to them. They were considering that we Are their products and we have to be on our own. Its a very close family. If they had not taught me the Way they taught i never would have done then carrying no identification or proof of her medical expertise she swam for her life. A after i landed on Shore i started looking for the . Military base a she said. A my Only goal dictated by fear and panic i guess was to enter to Cross the when the soaked and frightened woman approached the guards a communication was impossible. The gis. Naturally did no to know any russian since it was Early in the morning of a Holiday the americans were unable to find someone in authority to decide what to do. A it took longer than expected. While they were talking and trying to Contact someone they left the guardhouse door open. I just ran and snuck in. It was a meter Between outside and inside. They could not kick me out. They could not drag me they did not try but she was prepared to give them serious resistance. A they could negotiate As Long As they wanted but i was already on their territory a she Saia. An officer who spoke some German arrived and asked her what she wanted. She said she was German and requested a chaplain. The presence of clergy she Felt increased her Chance for a local German speaking chaplain was summoned and she told him the real Story. A amps Jim dwt Elm or. Mfg Erna Sautina ponders treatment for a patient at the Frankfort army regional medical Center. The americans took her into protective custody and guarded her at the Home of an officer while details were worked out to move her to the states. Her Story was validated by an and in a local newspaper that sought a russian doctor missing from a ship in the Bay. In about 10 Days after entry into the United states was granted she was told that she was Lucky. A it was rare for someone to seek Asylum in the . By sneaking onto a military facility overseas a she said. After flying to Washington d.c., on a military plane she lived in Delaware with relatives of a military official until april 1982. For six months she taught herself English mainly by watching television. She was Given a russian English dictionary to help communicate with her hosts. A it was one of the worst periods of my life. Hav. Ine brains but not being Able to communicate to talk a she said. A it was really in april 1982, she was turned Over to Catholic charities in Philadelphia and was Given a place to live it was rare for someone to seek Asylum in the . By sneaking onto a military facility overseas a army maj. Erna Sautina and work As a nursing aide in a Convent in Meadowbrook a. She stayed there until november of that year. Then a they decided to move me to Chicago where i was on my she said she drifted from Job to Job collected welfare and a i guess i became Street she was preparing for a probable future out of Medicine and enrolled in English and business courses at Roosevelt University. Around that time she Learned that a medical test was available in English for foreign medical graduates. She passed it but was told that she could not see the results until she proved she had a diploma. However she was Given a document confirming that she passed. After securing a Volunteer position in the microbiology department at the University of Illinois Chicago she showed the document to doctors there. A so it at least gave them the proof that i was not lying a she said. In 1984, she was hired As a research associate at the University of Chicago and began publishing medical articles. Baulina was eking out an existence living in a Home for battered women. A it was a shelter $70 a month. It had a bed Why not i could save some then came her turning Point. She had tried since her arrival in the United states to communicate with a Friend in Russia to obtain her education documents. In the Winter of 1985, she received a phone Call at the shelter from Washington d.c., and was told in a perfect English that her diploma had arrived and would be forwarded in a few Days. A and believe it or not i fainted a she said. She never found out who the caller was. Two years later she received a letter from her Friend in Russia who wrote a i Hope you never asked who gave you the the diploma enabled her to apply for residency positions in hospitals. She opted for pathology despite her training in Anaesthesiology and intensive care As a Way to better a a accommodate herself in american Medicine. A i disagree that the doctor has to explain very totally very detailed each procedure to the patient because it wastes a lot of in the United states a you have to be not Only a doctor but a Good player an actor not to lose clients. I done to think i was Good at those in 1985, she became a resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Northwestern University medical Center in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. On aug. 15, 1987, she became an american citizen. In 1989, she received a Fellowship in surgical pathology at the . Anderson cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston. A your Fellowship is the largest in the . For pathology a said or. John g. Batsakis chairman of the pathology department at . Anderson. Quot very the department receives applicants from All medical schools in the country Batsakis said. A the Odds arc very Strong against someone to go through a Utina a experience and land a position there he said. A she really impressed us with her Diligence intensity. She was very competitive a Batsakis said. A she livens that intensity on occasion with a Good sense of humor. She can laugh at he said Sautina also adjusted Well to capitalism a a she checked with her broker she contemplated private practice interviewed for several jobs but did not think she could handle it for the Long term. A so Here i am entering old boy groups Well situated Well established making $150,000 to $200,000 per year having their wives and children a she explained. A and Here i am a a single the air Force offered Wilford Hall medical Center in san Antonio but she wanted out of Texas. The Navy Wasny to an option she added because it is a too the army provided travel and she came on Active duty in May 1990. The doctor revels in army life. She enjoys the firing Range has applied for jump school and plans logo into the special forces if women Are Ever accepted. Batsakis Wasny to surprised. A with her background her greater Comfort zone was being in an organized environment a he said. She stated it simply a i need
