In September 1944, fearful of the advancing Red Army, approximately 80,000 Estonians left their country behind and escaped to the West. Elin Toona, who was just 6 years old at the time, gave a speech on 19 September 2022 entitled, “Into exile – last refugee”, at an international conference in Tallinn memorialising the historical event; Estonian World publishes Toona’s speech with light edits for clarity.