The next life

Left: my family as refugees in Germany in the summer of 1945.
Right: the Cambodian refugee couple in my home in November 1975.



Estonia, a member of the European Union, is presently debating the issue of accepting refugees from the Middle East and northern Africa.  I wrote an article on the subject that appeared in the weekly Eesti Express, on August 12, 2015.  Following is my translation of the text: 

Wars are the cause of refugees.  Our experience in Estonia serves as an example of the refugee tragedy.  During World War II, my family fled from our home in Tartu to my mother’s parents’ farm in Kõo township in Viljandi county as the battles were moving closer to the city.  Our relatives from Valga came, also to the farm and together we were displaced persons.  When it became clear that the advance of the Red Army into Estonia cannot be stopped, we fled to the West in the fall of 1944, as did tens of thousands other Estonians.

Our family – mother with four children – managed to make it across the Baltic Sea in the midst of war to Germany.  The persistent bombing by the allies had Germany in ruins, but we succeeded in crossing from northeastern Germany, where the ship had docked, to southwestern Germany where lived my father’s relative who had left Estonia with her Baltic German husband when Hitler called the Germans “home” from the Baltic States in 1939. 

When the war ended in the spring of 1945, Germany was divided into four occupation zones by the victorious allies, and the region where we were became part of the American occupation zone.  One of the immediate tasks was to attend to the refugees and by fall of that year, refugee camps were established and we were taken to one.

Millions of people had become displaced persons during the course of World War II and most of them returned home after the war ended.  But the refugees from territories that became part of the Soviet sphere of influence presented a special problem.  Finally, it was decided that the refugees from the Baltic States do not have to return home and gradually opportunities to immigrate to the United Kingdom, the Western Hemisphere or Australia.

We succeeded in immigrating to the USA where we arrived just before Christmas in 1950. I was 13 years old.  My sisters and I started school at the beginning of the new year. We did not know English nor were there any programs to teach English to foreigners.  The teachers were considerate and with their accommodation we became fluent in English by Easter.  My younger sister even forgot Estonian during the two years that we lived in the completely English speaking environment.

Many years later I had a different refugee experience in the US.  It was related to the practice of warring parties withdrawing from a territory and including in the evacuation procedures the local people who had worked with them during the war. At the end of the Vietnam war, hundreds of thousands – mostly politicians, military personnel, and professionals – fled from Indochina and upon arrival in the US were placed in refugee camps.  The media was filled with news of the fall of Saigon in the spring of 1975, showing the panic and people desperate to be evacuated.  I decided to take one of the Vietnamese families in my home and contacted the refugee camp in Texas.

I was contacted in November.  They said that if I’m agreeable a young Cambodian couple is ready to come to my home.  After they had become settled, they told me that they had had other offers, but had decided to accept mine because I had been a war refugee.  There were people in my community who did not approve of refugees, because they take away jobs. In this case, my neighbor had contacts at McDonald’s and the young Cambodian got a part-time job there.  That did not meet with resentment in my community and at Christmas some members gave presents to the young couple.  On the whole, the community was friendly to them.

We spoke in English as much as possible in order for them to make a new home in America. One morning the young woman came to the kitchen and declared, “In my next life I no want to be Cambodian woman”.  She was a smart woman of 27 and when they moved in the spring to Providence, Rhode Island, where a community of Cambodian refugees had settled, she became a cook at the home of a wealthy widow and her husband became the chauffeur.  We continued to stay in touch for years and their story, although very interesting, does not belong in this context.

As long as there are wars there will be refugees and now Estonia is faced with that question.  I live again in my land of birth where I follow the debate over accepting refugees from war-torn countries in the New East and north Africa, and I thought it useful to share my refugee experiences in the hope that it may abate fears.  I think that our country can take about 200 refugees over a two-year period provided we prepare for it carefully and thoroughly.  

Why the pause?

Yesterday I happened to look at my business card and noticed that my blog site was on it.   I realized that events had kept me so busy that I had not had time to think about my blog.  The last entry was more than two years ago!!  What had preoccupied my time?

It was in 2013 that the Occupations Museum in Tallinn observed its 10^th anniversary and in preparation for that, the museum director had asked me to help with the translation of the exhibit texts into English.  In order to translate correctly the text about the museum founder’s biography, I contacted the daughter of the founder, Olga Kistler-Ritso, in the U.S.  As often happens, correspondence developed between us and I asked her whether she had read the book “Carrying Linda’s Stones”.  She had not, but she had read the book “When the Noise Had Ended:  Geislingen’s DP Children Remember”.  She had encouraged the Occupations Museum to incorporate stories from the Geislingen book into an exhibit at the museum and after she had read “Carrying Linda’s Stones”, she felt that the stories were powerful and should reach a wider audience.

It was also in 2013 that the Estonian language edition of “When the Noise Had Ended” appeared (Estonian title: Kui sõjamüra oli vaibunud.  Geislingeni põgenikelaagri laste mälestused).  I was asked by my Estonian colleagues abroad to help with the book’s presentation in Tallinn and I arranged for it at the Occupations Museum in August of that year. 

Simultaneously, the 70^th anniversary of the massive fleeing to the West came into focus and my suggestion to publish an Estonian language edition of “Carrying Linda’s Stones” for presentation in the fall of 2014 gained the support of the book’s editors, authors and other pertinent parties.  Having drafted a budget for such a publication, I turned to Estonian organizations in North America, Australia and Europe for funding.  As it turned out, contributions by end of 2013 were insufficient to carry out such a project and that’s how the reissue of the book, Mis teha - siin ta on (“Refugee”), was born (picture of the front cover appears at the top).  

As the editor of the reissue, I wrote in the Preface:

“As a schoolgirl in the Geislingen displaced persons camp, I read Mis teha - siin ta on (“Refugee”).   The book was popular in our refugee community and, later, it was on the bookshelves of our new homes abroad. 

One can hardly find a comparable piece of Estonian exile literature that describes so aptly - and in tones of dark humor - the experiences of the Estonian displaced person in wartime and post-war Germany.  

By 1946, it was certain that the Estonian refugees’ wish to return home cannot be realized and their future was uncertain.  It was in that environment that Arnold Sepp and Endel Kõks wrote and illustrated Mis teha - siin ta on.  It was published in 1947 with UNRRA’s permission.  While providing hearty laughter, the humorous text gave a psychological uplift to thousands and a glimmer of hope for the future.  

The republication of the book by Arnold Sepp and Endel Kõks with an introduction by today’s historians and with English translations is part of the activities taking place in Estonia to mark the massive fleeing to the West from Estonia 70 years ago. 

The reissue also endeavors to make available the refugees’ narrative to the Estonian reader, especially the readers who grew up during the Soviet occupation when the fate of Estonians who fled to the West was a taboo topic.

It is thanks to the support of the Estonian American National Council, the Rotalia Foundation, the Foundation for Estonian Arts, and Maano and Epp Milles, Aire and William Salmre, Richard and JoAn Conner, Mall Blumfeld, Karl Noor that this book appears.  The good collaboration by the Estonian Diaspora Academy historians Maarja Merivoo-Parro and Sander Jürisson during the compiling of the book and the Introduction they wrote deserve a special thanks.  Invaluable advice and good suggestions were given by numerous people whenever I discussed the book with them and I thank them for their input.

The hardships caused for Estonians by the Second World War are past.  But again, refugees are a reality.  The UN High Commission for Refugees reported this year that forced migration had exceeded the 50 million number of the World War II era, half of them children under the age of 18. Most of them are faced with a situation similar to what Estonian refugees experienced.  May they, at least, have a resource, which would make their misery more tolerable as did the book by Sepp and Kõks for us.”

So, most of 2014 was spent on preparing for the fall event which was to include the presentation of the reissue. Hence a lot of my time was spent as the editor and translator into English of Mis teha – siin ta on. 

After the observance in September, I left for the U.S. in October to visit family and friends, starting in Connecticut and ending in Florida.  In Connecticut, I visited with good friends in my former home town as well as in Norwalk and Greenwich.  After that I spent many wonderful days, including Thanksgiving, with my daughter’s family in McLean, Virginia.  My son lives in Sarasota, Florida, and I had planned to spend Christmas with him. I headed south at the beginning of December, stopping to visit my good friends since the days of my life in South Carolina.  I arrived in Florida about a week before Christmas and didn’t get back to Tallinn before early January 2015.  

Not long after returning to Tallinn, my younger sister who lives on a farm founded by our great-grandfather in southern Estonia became seriously ill and I went to the farm. Part of her illness prevented her from remembering the password to her computer. After she was released from the hospital, she was not to be left along for two weeks, and that's how most of the winter month of February was spent.  It was tranquil, yet busy. 

Having returned to Tallinn, I began to write a project application, based on a proposal made by activists in Norway, for the Estonian Women's Studies and Resource Centre.  The deadline for submission to the Nordic Council of Ministers was May 31, and it was met.  Almost forgot to mention that during the same period, my Rotary club's Assistance to Large Families Project Committee, which I head, visited families in Valga County for two days at the end of March, and the follow-up work to those visits I finished by end of June.  

Now it is mid-July and I've had time to reflect on the past two years.

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.

About trust

In Tartu with European Human Rights Court judge Julia Laffranque when she was Julia Vahing

 

Increasingly one hears that it is not possible to trust anyone in the country.  Some good friends of mine who lived here during the Soviet occupation say that back then they knew whom to trust and whom not, but now they no longer know who can be trusted.  Lack of trust has increased especially in recent years.  No doubt, part of it is due to the economic depression which has contributed to theft and deception, but a lot of the blame can be placed on the political leaders in Estonia.

Prime Minister Ansip has been a leading architect of the crisis in confidence with his statements, such as his assertion that his party’s politics will place Estonia among the five richest countries in Europe within a certain number of years, or his remark that if this is a crisis, then it is the very crisis with which he wants to live – this at a time when the numbers of unemployed and people leaving the country were increasing. 

The strategy followed by the Prime Minister’s Reform Party and its allies has been divide and conquer and for its implementation the Bolshevik principle „end justifies the means“ has been adopted.  An esteemed minister even stated in an article he wrote that human beings have not been created to serve truth, but for the purpose of staying alive.  In the political arena that can be interpreted as staying in power.  Accordingly, betrayal and mendacity are permissible in order to remain alive or in power.

The Reform Party developed an image as the political party with economic smarts after the country’s independence was restored which occurred simultaneously with the period of liberal economic policies’ popularity in the market economies. They were elected into office, but in order to remain in power - especially after the financial crash – expedient measures were needed and being astute politicians, they knew that fear is an effective tool.

Rather than agree to consensual transfer of the Bronze Soldier, which had been agreed upon by the interested parties, to the new location, the removal of the offensive Soviet era statue by the Reform Party coalition government was used to stir fear, resulting in violence. The question remains: why did the event have to be accompanied by violence and destruction when in contrast an extremely confrontational situation of considerable duration – from March to September 1991 – was handled non-violently and the aim of freedom from Moscow rule and restored independence was achieved. 

To this day arguments persist about the Bronze Soldier episode.  In my opinion, divide and conquer – that is, create hatred and fear – tactics were used in the removal.  Agreement on a peaceful removal existed, but the powers that be wanted to sow fear and have Estonians and Russians clash in hatred. 

Additionally, the role of the state Security Police remains a question mark in the above episode.  Questions have emerged since then, including the period of the political campaign preceding the parliamentary elections in March 2011 when the powers that be used the office against political opponents, thereby undermining trust in the state’s security apparatus. 

The 2011 Annual Report of the Security Police does not contain any of the charges made against the leader of the opposition during the campaign.  Instead, suspicion is cast therein on three members of the opposition party and, for an unexplained reason, the academician Ivar Raig is implicated.  Albeit in the Introduction it is stated that facts and processes are described in the yearbook, documentation which would be a professional requirement for the accusations made against the four individuals is lacking.

Opinions have been expressed that the content of the Annual Report is reminiscent of the Soviet era stigmatizing of people and the abusive practices that prevailed then.  Such practices are dangerous and should not be tolerated in a society that respects human rights and freedoms.  Silence on this matter by the head of state as well as the chairman of the political party gaining popularity in the country indicates the presence of the time-honored „silence means consent“ position.  Also, when the Director of Ethics Centre at Tartu University was asked for her opinion she replied that the Report cannot be criticized for the stated facts not being true (sic). At the same time, she does not ask why the Report does not include the residence permit sales, organized crime’s business, and money laundering – all of them threats to state security. 

The resultant situation in the country can be rightly called a crisis in confidence.  Even sports are not excluded when one considers last year’s drama surrounding the nation’s Olympic medal winner Andrus Veerpalu.  Summer Olympics will be played in London soon and Estonian athletes will be competing there.  My daughter and son-in-law have been invited to the games as VIP guests and I would be glad to ask her to wave Estonia’s flag among the guests, but I cannot do that because trust in our nation’s decision-makers is gone.