The Eurovision Song Contest has come and gone for another year and the winning song in 2016 was '1944' performed and written by Jamala representing Ukraine. The haunting song recounts the singer's family history as lived through Stalin's 1944 mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars from their homeland. The song is sung in English and Crimean Tatar - and is a big hit through Eastern Europe - including Russia and Ukraine. It was not tipped to win, but beat Australia and Russia to take this great honour.
The lyrics in Crimean Tatar are the following:
Yaşlığıma toyalmadım
Men bu yerde yaşalmadım
Yaşlığıma toyalmadım
Men bu yerde yaşalmadım
The choice of '1944' as the 2016 winner is not uncontroversial - given suggested political overtones - but the fact that a song is partly sung in Crimean Tatar didn't put juries and voters off. To watch Jamala's winning performance and to listen to the song in its entirety, click here.
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