The road
From Telšiai to Malmö, the places of her life, in the order they happened.
19 May 1983 · Birthplace
Danguolė's birthplace on May 19, 1983. It is here, in western Lithuania, that her story begins, long before her name crossed borders.
1983 to 1996 · Childhood & Friendships
The cities of her childhood. In the Šančiai district of Kaunas, along the Nemunas river, Danguolė grew up with her friends Dalia and Kristina. She loved late-90s pop music. She was a warm and spirited young girl before her mother left for the United States.
1996 to 1997 · Studies in Germany
In 1996-1997, at age 13, she stayed in Germany where she studied in the 8th grade at the prestigious Lithuanian high school Vasario 16-osios (Rennhof Castle), supported by her older sister Jolanta.
The Lithuanian gymnasium Vasario 16-osios, Hüttenfeld.
1997 to 1999 · Youth & Departure
In late 1997, she returned to Lithuania and lived in a family apartment in Žiežmariai with her best friend Kristina Ašmenaitė. It was here in autumn 1999, around the time before receiving her official visa to join her mother in the US, that she was deceived by a false job promise and taken to Sweden.
Sept. 1999 to Jan. 2000 · Courage
The darkest chapter, yet one of immense courage. Confined in Arlöv, she wrote three poignant letters. Despite the events of early January 2000, her humanity and dignity endured until the very end.
From the letters she wrote in Arlöv.
Jan. 2004 · Rest & Remembrance
According to her mother's statements in Lietuvos rytas (December 2003), Danguolė's ashes were brought to the United States to be laid to rest in a village cemetery near St. Charles, Illinois, where a religious tribute was planned in her memory four years after her passing.
Her mother, in Lietuvos rytas, December 2003.