Post-Independence Day interview

                              Fixing Estonian Food Bank Manager Piet Boerefijn's apron strap

The following is an interview I gave to the newspaper Pealinn (The Capital City). It appeared on March 11, 2013:

In his Independence Day speech, President Toomas-Hendrik Ilves said that for her 100th birthday Estonia should be fixed up.  How much can a State be fixed up in five years?

I don’t know what he meant by „fixing up“.  He mentioned that EU’s support funds should be used primarily for the purpose of creating something permanent.  OK, I agree.  As a citizen I want to see Estonia remain on the world map and life here to get better.  The President did not make any concrete suggestions, but to me it is clear that our language and culture have to endure.  Presently, that poses a challenge to us.

Why do people in Estonia feel so insecure?

The politics in Estonia have caused people to feel insecure and change is needed.  The policies of the past 30 years which got their start in the United States during President Reagan’s administration are no longer feasible. It was the liberal economic policies that led to the crisis in 2008 and now it is necessary to clean up the mess they created.

I am lucky in that I am not young anymore and do not have to worry about my future and I do not have to look for a job in the labor market.  There have been times when unemployment was a big problem - also in the United States - but the economic crisis has never been as long and as steep, except during the Great Depression, as it is now.  It will take some time to recover.  It is political decisions that determine a country’s economic structure and people’s well-being, and decisions are being made to correct the situation in Europe. 

Is there truth to the government’s claim that Estonia’s economy is recovering and that it is admired even by rich EU countries?

Ansip loves to quote statistics – how much GDP has grown and so on.  At the same time, he does not break down the numbers to explain what it means, who is on the receiving end, and so on.  Details are important.  Everybody knows that the devil is in the details. When you move away from the big picture and look at the details, you begin to ask why in a growing economy we have over 40 000 children who do not get enough to eat every day, why inequality is growing?  The economy could indeed be growing, but the beneficiaries could be only one small part – the wealthier part – not the ones who are simply managing to get by.

Our problem is also that a large part of our economy is owned by foreign interests.  That is worrisome.  Allegedly in recent years about 350 million euros have exited Estonia as foreign investors’ profit.

As an example of what is happening, permit me to cite a case in southern Estonia.  My younger sister restored our great-grandfather’s farm in Karksi-Nuia, located near the Latvian border.  Couple years ago a Swede had bought there a farm.  When I asked my sister a year later how farming goes for the Swede, she replied that he interested only in the forest on that land. What is going to happen when our people no longer own the land and the businesses?  It would mean that the policies in the country would be influenced by foreigners.

Can foreign investors really influence Estonia’s policies?

Yes.  That is the reality.  I have good friends among the foreign investors here and I talk with them.  It cannot be said that they are blood-sucking capitalists as the Marxists loved to say.  No, they are nice people with whom one can get along and discuss issues. But my sense is that our own power structure is not interested in bringing about change.  Here is where greed emerges.  It is in their interest to increase their own wealth and that, as a result, could endanger the country’s sovereignty.

Quite evidently many people feel that those in power are first and foremost interested in their own well-being and not to give aid to those who need it.

I wrote the parliamentarians and told them that we cannot continue this way, that the liberal economic policies are destroying the nation.  I spoke with Hans H. Luik (media magnate in Estonia) about this and he said to me, „ Ilvi, you are against the free flow of capital.  You are a Socialist!“  In fact, I believe in a market economy, but it has to be regulated.

By the way, Estonia is not the only country where such questions come up.  During the last elections in the US, I saw and heard how people simply hated each other.  I visited my good friend who is a Republican.  She is a lovely person, but absolutely against changing the extant liberal taxation policies by which the wealthy pay a smaller tax than the ordinary working people.  She is a beneficiary of that tax structure and understandably she does not support making changes.  She fails to see the large picture in which changes in tax laws would benefit the country’s economy as a whole.

Would inequality be reduced by taxation policies in our country?  Can taxing of dividends or progressive taxation bring beneficial results?

We need to make changes.  The current policies make us poorer.  A progressive tax need not be cast in iron so that it remains the same for all time.  Nothing in this world is forever.  No, tax laws have to be changed and adjusted as needed in order for society to be balanced and sustainable.  The current tax system is not sustainable.  For some reason, the President did not touch this topic in his speech.  Our very serious problem in addition to the 40 000 hungry children is the large number of our people leaving the country.  He did not mention that either in his speech.  Instead, he spoke of a metaphorical Eiffel tower: „ Let us bring to our nation’s 100th anniversary a metaphorical tower which shines and can be seen afar“ was one sentence.  Some sentences later, he said, „Everything that is good and dear need not be grand and seen from afar.“  That lacks logic. I would agree with the latter sentence.  Already, when living in the United States, I thought that Estonia is so small that as a State it has to possess quality – that her educational and health care systems have to be of such quality that others admire and wonder how such a lovely country was achieved.  If one takes a look at foreign media, it contains praise for us, but in the area of IT development.  The latter is not the State’s business. 

Big countries have also praised us for our small national debt.  How does the small debt help people’s well-being?

Indeed, we have a small national debt, but we are poor and children go hungry. However, private indebtedness is large.  I remember when the political leaders encouraged people to take loans.  Siim Kallas even told us, „That’s the way to live.“  The old proverb, „Loans and debts make worry and frets“  was ignored.  One should quote that proverb every now and then.  Banks do not give loans out of human kindness.  Their ads are friendly and show smiling children, and men embracing their wives – it’s all very nice.  In reality, banks have to make a profit and that should not be forgotten.

Is Estonia not too small for creating something great?

We have some very talented people and we could build a nice country, but we have the wrong leaders.

What are the values and objectives that must remain in Estonia?

It is very clear to me that they are the language and culture.  That is our challenge, because our language could easily disappear.  I don’t mean in five years.  But in a 50 year perspective it is conceivable, because pressures to use English are strong.  Look around Tallinn – how many of the signs are purely in Estonian?  There are some, of course.  I walk around town and every now and then notice that an English language sign has appeared.

At the same time, there is pressure to use Russian – at least in Tallinn.  However, I believe that the attractions from the West have a greater potential to supersede our native language.

I lived for many years abroad and Estonian was my mother-tongue.  Abroad, the pressures and charms of a foreign tongue do their work, especially if you do not use your mother-tongue every day.  There is an apropos saying, „Use it or lose it.“  It is true that if you do not use a language, it disappears.  Here in Estonia we must use Estonian every day.

What other dangers besides loss of own language threaten us?

My view of Estonian life somewhat differs from that shared by many other Estonians.  Bowing to the golden calf, as someone commented very adroitly, is a very dominant feature in our society.  I would, in fact, like to see in the next five years – well, it’s not going to disappear – less bowing to the golden calf.  Greed – it destroys people.

Nations Fail

                 On Kohtla-Järve ash mountain, author with her son, the driver, and foreign visitors, 1990.



The global economic crisis that also affects Estonia has produced, as a consequence, diverse opinions in our media on how to recover.  Some opinions have very pessimistic views, as if there have not been crises earlier in history, and some identify market economy as the source of disaster, implying simultaneously that the system should be jettisoned.  In such a context it is worthwhile to look at the politico-economic structure proposed by academicians Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their book “Why Nations Fail – The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty”, and to consider its relevance to Estonia.  Acemoglu is an economics professor at MIT and Robinson teaches political science at Harvard.  The book is the result of 15 years of research and it has received high marks from their peers and critics.  

The authors ask why some countries are poor and some rich.  They reach back into history to analyze selected countries and they compare contemporary neighboring countries, such as North Korea and South Korea - one mired in poverty and the other among the richest. Their analyses lead them to the conclusion that, without doubt, the economy plays a role in whether a country is rich or poor, but the country’s political institutions are of greater significance, because they determine its economic policies.  Nations with inclusive political and economic institutions are capable of securing sustainable development, but the nations whose political and economic institutions are extractive – meaning they extract wealth for themselves – are not sustainable.  

The authors maintain that the political foundations of a nation determine the modern level of prosperity.  They argue that investment and innovation cannot occur in an environment in which investors and innovators do not have faith that those in power will not take the results from them.  Consequently, a nation’s prosperity and sustainability rest on three things:  a sufficiently centralized government in order to prevent disorder, inclusive political and economic institutions in order to prevent instability, and the absence of “extractive” political and economic institutions who would exploit the country’s resources for their own benefit. “Extractive” institutions discourage people from saving, investing and being innovative, because “extractive” political institutions support economic policies which increase the power of their institutions.   The authors claim that although extractive economic and political institutions can vary in details, they are always the origins of failing and collapsing nations.

It is quite clear by now that liberal economic policies have failed due to greed and speculation on the financial markets that became a global financial crisis.  The latter in turn developed into a global economic crisis.  Poverty and unemployment grew at the same time as a small percentage of the population became very rich.   It is also clear that Estonia’s current leaders’ political positions and understanding of economic activities will not bring us out of the crisis, because they constitute the “extractive” power.

Having lived with the crisis in confidence for several years, last year public protests finally started.  Teachers and transport workers went on strike in the winter, in the fall health care workers went on strike, and before the year ended a large public gathering at Toompea said that “we have had enough”.

It serves no purpose to enumerate here the mistakes, stupidities, lies, deceptions and even treason that have taken place under the current power structure.  At the moment, the aim is to calm down the public, but considering that power structures are always interested in remaining in power that activity is also driven by that interest.  Those presently in power are inveterate supporters of liberal economic policies and it is futile to expect from them any changes, advancement of sustainable policies or ethical conduct.  If we do not elect new leaders who reject extractive power, our country is on the way to a failed nation.  I recommend to everybody the book “Why Nations Fail.”

Could it be expediency?

              
                                                Estonia Memorial in Tallinn

       

On September 7, 2012, I participated at an international seminar organized in Tallinn by the Women Theologians' Consultation of the Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck and her Partner Churches.  The topic was "Challenges of change in the Church and society".  I had been asked to present the Estonian perspective.  The title of my presentation was "Could it be expediency?"

Last year I visited my daughter’s family in Singapore.  At Christmas, among the presents my granddaughters received was a book that gave an overview of every country in the world.  Naturally, I was curious to see what it said about Estonia.  While it mentioned some facts about her terrain and history, it also stated that the country has the smallest percentage of people who believe in God. This statistic formed a curious contrast to the information that in Estonia is the church whose steeple made it the tallest building in the world in the 16^th century.  Christianity has been here a long time.

I did not discuss that information with my granddaughters, but, no doubt, they stored it in their knowledge bank and a certain impression of their grandmother was formed.

If it is true that this nation has the smallest percentage of people who believe in God – and there seems to be agreement on that - then this is also one aspect to consider when coping with the challenges faced by the Lutheran Church in our society. 

Whenever discussions of Estonians’ lack of interest in organized religion occur some opinions remain on the sieve.  The prevalent explanation is that historically, one foreign power after another – each with its own brand of religious persuasion – has ruled over Estonians.  Stories abound to this day of the resistance to Christianity when it was brought here by the sword and fire.  To many it’s a religion forced upon them. 

The most recent foreign power to exercise its authority here – and it ended less than a generation ago - proclaimed atheism to be the truth.  As a consequence, many Estonians ask: whose is the true belief?  Why should I believe this or that teaching?  To a certain extent, therefore, it is understandable that now, when independence has been restored, many Estonians do not want to be bothered with religion – they want to be left alone.

Here, perhaps, a word about the title of my presentation.  Titles are never easy to find.  But as I started doing research and thinking about the topic, the question occurred to me  whether the Estonian was not historically doing the expedient thing by embracing one religion or another.  Of course, that does not mean there were no genuine believers.  But, we know, for example, that in the 19^th century many Estonians embraced Russian Orthodoxy with the encouragement of the Tsar’s regime – it is also called “Russification” – and the belief that it would facilitate an end to serfdom and they would become landowners.  My own grandmother’s family in southern Estonia, for example, converted to Russian Orthodoxy in order to become landowners.

It is also well known that during the Soviet occupation, one’s success on the career latter was pretty much assured as a member of the Communist Party.  There is a certain holdover from that period, because even today jobs and positions are easier to get in Estonia if one is a member of a political party in power. In the Soviet period, it was left largely to the women to attend to the church buildings and the congregations, because men did not want to risk their careers by being associated with religious institutions.  Expediency? One of the consequences of men distancing themselves from religious affiliation was a deficiency of clergy which led to the ordination of women by the Church. I think that period also demonstrates genuine devotion to the Church, because those church buildings that remained in use for religious observance – many were used as warehouses, weight rooms, movie studios and so on – were maintained solely by the congregations themselves. So, when you look at the cathedral on Toompea, or St. Olaf’s in the Lower Town, reflect on the sacrifices the members of these congregations made for many years.  I am also told that after independence was restored, men took over the leadership positions in the churches and these women were relegated into the background.

But what about the situation today?  According to some studies, the number of people who consider religion to be important in their everyday lives has been increasing after the restoration of independence.  Currently, they constitute about 27 percent of the population.  About 40 percent of the population consider themselves believers when one adds those who say they have their “own religion” (superstitious beliefs).  This indicates that potential church membership exists; the barrier appears to exist in the Church as an institution.

I should add here that in the field of education religion is offered as an elective subject in Estonia’s school system since the fall of 2011.  And in the spring of that year, the Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre organized a seminar at Tallinn University, examining three major religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – from a woman’s perspective.  The seminar was presented as a contribution toward public awareness about religion as a topic for study. 

The guidelines for this seminar recognize that it is “difficult for the Church to reach people, to reconnect with them, to show empathy and understanding with their issues and everyday struggles.”  Steps are being taken.  For example, in January of this year the Council of Estonian Churches issued the book Astu alla rahva hulka (“Come down to be among the people”) which addresses some of these concerns.  Also, there is considerable opinion that the Church should use contemporary means of communication for spreading her message.

According to some members of the clergy, in many cases people’s perception of them is influenced by stereotypical thinking, hostility to religion, or that a religious person is somewhat strange.  A certain amount of distrust exists toward the Church due to her close association, in the opinion of many, with political figures whose activities have been or are suspect.  For example, in 2005 the Council of the Cathedral Church gave a St. Mary Medal to the politician Siim Kallas who has been accused of stealing 10 million US dollars when he headed the Bank of Estonia.  In relation to that, the legal counsel at the Bank was in an automobile accident that left him permanently disabled, and the accountant of a member bank was assassinated on the street in front of his home.  The money was never recovered. Later the Court did not find Kallas guilty due to lack of evidence.  It’s not clear why the Council awarded Kallas with the Medal.

But to get back to the concerns of the clergy.  Some also feel that the media does not give coverage of religious issues, except on those occasions when a real estate transaction or scandal is to be reported.  Members of the clergy are generally not invited to participate in public forums and discussions. However, ETV (public TV) and some radio stations carry good programs on religious topics, but they are not aired on prime time.

The Lutheran Church is in communication – could be considered a form of partnership – with fellow Church in Sweden, the one in northern Elbe, Germany, and as we see here today, with you from the State of Hesse, also (Wiesbaden).  Naturally, it communicates with the Church in Finland and the Baltic states.  The Anglican Church in England and the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in the US are also among her associates. 

The Church as an institution faces many challenges and, in this respect, it is not unlike the Republic of Estonia herself.  The Church drafted a developmental plan several years ago and has had to modify it from time to time.  In the field of education, the Church has to train pastors, not neglect theology, sacred music and liturgy.  The care and maintenance of the church buildings – most of them being old - is a financial challenge.  Among the clergy, debates between the conservative wing and the liberal wing are a constant happening. And as for the future, the sense by her leadership is that all of these challenges have to be approached professionally. 

Anne Kull suggested in her presentation Wednesday that there is a “need for a more self-confident, public and ecumenical role of Christian theology”.  My sense is that during these challenging times there is a need for the Church to be more self-confident and – yes, courageous.  As a political observer of Estonia’s situation, the need for an institution that defends and teaches ethical and moral values – such ordinary values as honesty, trust, fidelity are currently strangers in the land!  I ask myself, who in the country can speak up for those values?  I do not see any other institution on the landscape but a religious institution. 

In her history, the Lutheran Church certainly has giants who stood up against corruption and injustice – no doubt, the most celebrated is Martin Luther, but in more recent history the Church has Martin Niemüller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who dealt with the problem of evil – and the contemporary Church in Estonia could bear witness, as did these men, in order to arrest the deteriorating socio-political situation that is putting this small nation at risk. 

I would like to conclude with a positive note – and by that I mean a musical note!  Namely, among the Lutheran Church’s giants is the world’s greatest composer, Johann Sebastian Bach.  Luther laid the theological foundations for the Church, Bach wrote the music (of course, it was after Luther had written “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”).  Estonia’s strong choral tradition has its origins in the Church.  In other words, “The Singing Revolution” which took place here and is well known, has its roots in the local churches.  I have suggested to some key people in the Church to “turn up the volume on Bach”, as it were, because Estonians are music lovers and Bach, an orthodox Lutheran, could be one of the means to “connect” with the people.