Did you know that the two Big Bens both are Litvaks?

Monika Bončkutė

What do Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve leading the United States to economic recovery; one of the most-famous American singers of all time, Bob Dylan; the rocker Pink; British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas all have in common?

All these people have roots in Lithuania. As do hundreds of thousands, or perhaps even millions, of Jews around the world, whose parents were driven from our country by the Tsar’s restrictions, fellow Lithuanians withdrawn into a closed farming culture and the mass murder organized by the Nazis in World War II.

What would Lithuania look like now as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, if almost all Lithuanian Jews had not been exterminated during the last century, and instead of 50 years of the artificial “friendship of nations” promulgated by the Soviets, our parents and grandparents had lived as true citizens of the free world?

What would the map of Lithuanian politics, economics, art and pop culture look like if Jews today comprised seven percent of the Lithuanian population as they did before World War II? Maybe we would have had, finally, a Nobel Prize winner, world-renowned actors and actresses and highly capable businesspeople and politicians.

Who knows, Sacha Baron Cohen might have made “Borat” in Lithuania, and Binyamin Netanyahu would now be prime minister of Lithuania, and would now be preparing a plan for the improvement of our country’s economic situation and solving complicated relations with Russia instead of tackling the problem of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Last year we marked Lithuania’s millennium, this year we will celebrate twenty years since the re-establishment of Lithuanian Independence. So far we have spent in total around 60 million litas for the government to create Lithuania’s image [improve and propagate country’s image abroad], but the only thing we are really known for is probably that two Lithuanians have made it on the United Kingdom’s most wanted list.

Perhaps now that the first decade of the 21st century has passed, a decade of terrorism, war and economic crisis Time magazine recently said was “sent from hell,” it would be a good time to learn from the mistakes of history and to start to build Lithuania’s image and civil society upon foundations of tolerance and inclusiveness?

I bet money that a video clip presenting Lithuania as the land of the parents and grandparents of world famous artists, scientists and politicians would be much more successful than some guy named Jonas making clown faces and pushing boring facts about Lithuania in the form of a deck of cards on the screen, telling the world how well Mazeikiu Oil is doing.

Of course, it needs to be told to a society dripping with anti-Semitism and intolerance in general that the most famous people from Lithuania and those who have achieved the most in the world are Jews. Jews who call themselves Litvaks coming from the territories of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania who immigrated to Western Europe and the US did not spend their time idly.

Jascha Heifetz, the wunderkind born in Vilnius, used to play for the picky audience in Kaunas when he was seven, until he entered the US and became one of the most famous violinists in the world, ever.

The Howard brothers, fathers of Vaudeville and comedy in America, known as “The Three Stooges” also have Lithuanian roots. As does American composer Philip Glass. This grandchild of Lithuanian Jews is one of the most famous composers of the end of the 20th century and works with some of the most famous artists in the world, including Canadian singer and descendant of Lithuanian Jews Leonard Cohen.

You could continue this list indefinitely, because in every country in the West, wherever there is a moderate-sized Jewish community, you will find those who say they come from Lithuania.

Ben Bernanke, whose grandfather registered as Jonas Bernanke at the Immigration Registration Center at Ellis Island in New York, was Time magazine’s man of the year last year. A Time editorial claimed that if not for the chairman of the Federal Reserve, there would be a much worse economic situation in America and the world right now.

Incidentally, this was probably the first time the Lithuanian origin of the US “finance czar” was mentioned in the press. Only in the issue of Time dedicated to Bernanke was it noted that the grandparents of the head of the Federal Reserve Bank survived pogroms in Lithuania.

Before the anti-Semites open their filthy mouths, I would like to remind them that practically every head of a Hollywood studio, many actors and actresses and Nobel Prize winners of all fields are of Jewish origin. But they speak English, and are understood first as Americans. Does America benefit from this? Undoubtedly.

Try to picture the film industry without Harrison Ford, Gwyneth Partlow, Sarah Jessica Parker or Zack Efron.

What if Americans had slaughtered Jews as the Nazis did in our country with the help of Lithuanians? It’s possible that the US would even now not have one of its most influential cultural icons, Hollywood.

As if it weren’t enough that the contribution of Lithuanian Jews and their descendants was not appropriately recognized when Independence was restored [1990-1991], recently anti-Semitism has only been gaining ground in Lithuania.

In 1991, 10% of respondents said they didn’t view Jews favourably, i.e., four times less than now. According to results of a survey conducted by the Pew Research centre, in 2009 some 37 percent of Lithuanian residents said they viewed Jews negatively.

Viewed from outside, this appears totally incomprehensible and unjustified. Currently just under 3,500 Jews live in Lithuania, so the possibility that the 3.5 million people living in the country, mainly “pure” Lithuanians, are personally acquainted with even one Jewish family is quite small.

Our forefathers looked askew at Jews because they were farmers shut in to their own world, while many Jews were merchants. For them, Jews were probably the most foreign group of people. But at least they met Jews at the store or when Jews came calling with their goods at their farms.

But now, self-respecting citizens of the independent Lithuanian state that belongs to international organizations, many of whom have never during their life even had a beer with a Jew, never mind any deeper acquaintance, feel themselves entitled to judge negatively the entire Jewish people.

And now for a bit of statistics: 92% of Americans believe that diversity is good for society. Only 51% of Lithuanians share this view. This is also one of the lowest indicators for the value of diversity in Europe.

Will we be able, in 2010, to draw the interest of the world as a country of pure-blooded, blue-blooded Lithuanians, not just for surrendering our most creative and intelligent members during occupations, wars or through stupidity, but also for the stubborn persistence of our fear of diversity?

The translated version of this article was found at the web site www.HolocaustInTheBaltics.com,

and extracted from the page "BOLD CITIZENS SPEAK" www.holocaustinthebaltics.com/132423.html

This page features several Lithuanian citizens who have spoken up for the country's Jewish minority.

Let’s build a new town!

A large and truly unique shopping mall should be a prominent element and symbol of the new town. 

Five years ago I started playing with the idea of developing a brand new town outside Vilnius. I worked with the idea over a period of two years, and I also invited others to provide input on how the new town could best be developed. We came as far as to issue a sketch project and a draft description (our 2007 concept description follows attached; please note that dates and more remain unchanged), and we entered into a principle agreement with the owners of a large land area at the highway between Minsk and Vilnius, 10 km from Vilnius city centre and 5 km from Lithuania's international airport. The land covers an area of 260 hectares, which is about the same size as the centre of Vilnius between the parliament and the railway station. 

I gave the project the temporary name 'Aqua City', as I wanted to introduce water as a key element. 

My vision was to create this as a “city of its own”; green, safe, energy efficient, environment friendly, and well prepared for pedestrians, bicyclists, playing children, with very limited car traffic within the area.

The concept would be that people’s living places, jobs, schools, shopping, sports, entertainment etc. all would be located within the very same area, all activities within walking distance from each other. This would mean less polluting car traffic both on internal and external road systems.

The main focus would be neighbourhood and community building – with the final goal to create a warmer society where young and old, rich and poor, disabled people, and people with different skin colours and backgrounds could live and work together in true harmony.

The new town should function as a leading “flag-project” for Lithuania - contributing to increased investments and activity within many sectors, return of emigrants, increased travel and tourism, and exceptionally strong branding and marketing of Lithuania vs. world markets.

The plan was that Aqua City should be developed with the application of technology and methods that are highly relevant to our time, be it with regard to environmental friendliness, efficient energy sources, waste treatment, limited use of cars, low pollution levels, etc. 

This should be the town where many of Lithuania's and the world’s best brains could unfold; within research, development, business, advanced technological production, top education of future generations, etc. Aqua City should be a leading contributor to the making and development of Lithuania as a knowledge society - with strong focus on education, science and different other intellectual activities.

More particularly, the idea for the project was to create a diverse and forward-looking city with:

• Housing for up to 20 000 inhabitants (village, villas, town houses, low risers, high risers)
• A separate business quarter with office buildings, specialised shops, and some manufacturing
• Shopping mall, design outlet, various other shops
• Hotels, restaurants, street cafés, etc.
• Large international conference centre, a meeting point for experts from many fields and nations
• Culture and sport facilities, indoor and outdoor
• Schools, kindergartens and other facilities for children activities
• Universities and colleges, within economy, management, technology
• Scientific institutions, within technology, energy, etc.
• A modern clinic, including  laboratories and research departments
• A tolerance garden, multi-religious and multi-cultural, a forest room for contemplation and more
• Special roads, lanes and squares for pedestrians, bicyclists and small electric vehicles
• A park and large green areas for horse riding, leisure activities and more 

The idea was that Aqua City should be a joint project between:

• The authorities of Lithuania (infrastructure, schools, environmental friendly transport, etc)
• Institutions and companies within research, teaching, health care, culture, sport etc.
• Firms and individuals from various business areas participating as investors and developers 

Aqua City would also be the city Lithuanians living abroad could return to and work in teams with people and entities from here to create a truly unique and forward-looking project that Lithuania could be proud of for many generations to come, and an excellent basis for teamwork between many trades and professions.

Aqua City should be developed as a strong, common, international project, and later become the place to live and work, for Lithuanians and many others from all corners of the world.  

When the economic crisis in the world started in 2007 we found it best to put the project aside for a while. But now, when it seems that the world economy again is improving, it might be time to start looking into it again. One has to expect that the planning and preparation process will take three to five years, and that the construction time will be going on over several years. 

So, dear readers, I would be very interested in your response, especially from those of you who would like to participate in the planning of a project I believe can give Lithuania a significant push forward, create new dynamics, new optimism, new jobs, and become a tremendously strong  symbol for a country that again should demonstrate its very best of abilities to its own people and the rest of the world.

This is a project that would make me and many others continue staying in Lithuania, and it is a project that would bring thousands of smart Lithuanians back from the foreign countries they today live in!

Aage Myhre

The residential village should incorporate all the best qualities of former times villages, with focus

on human dimensions and outdoor areas created for a good social life.

Is the idea of a Lithuanian New Town realistic? 

Many nations around the world are in full swing developing similar cities, so it’s not a question of inventing the wheel if we now get started also here in Lithuania. Still, as far as I know, Aqua City would be the first New Town development in Eastern Europe!

Most of the world’s new towns of today are extraordinarily dynamic, often with very much focus on research, experiments and developments within technology and sciences of different kinds. I have myself been visiting and observing some of them, from the time of my studies in France in the 1980s to Cape Town’s Canal Walk and India’s Navi Mumbai. The latter is the world’s largest new city, where as much as 20 million people are supposed to be living when it is completed!

All our Scandinavian neighbouring countries are at this very moment building several amazing new towns.  

Still I believe Lithuania can find its own variant, quite different from what other countries are doing. I fully believe it is very realistic that Lithuania can build its own new city that will represent:

• New optimism, new work places, new initiatives, new energy, more creativity
• A visionary model for new urban developments in Lithuania and internationally
• An outstanding engine for Lithuania’s economy and Lithuania as a knowledge society

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_town

TIME TO LEAVE?

“You are crazy still staying in Lithuania. Look what

you have done for this country, not even getting  a

thank you in return; pack your things and leave.”

A long time friend told me this not many days ago.

Ever heard the expression "If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it is a duck."?  The same is true for a country like Lithuania.  When you find yourself constantly making excuses for your relationship it might be time to throw in the towel.

When you're in a serious relationship it's supposed to bring happiness to your life.  Of course no relationship is perfect, but when the bad starts to seriously outweigh the good, it might be time to bail.

Deep down we all have a mental list about what we want in a relationship.  It's a "wish list" of common interests, backgrounds, personality traits and more.  When you find someone that possesses a large amount of the items on the list; that's when it usually turns into a relationship.

However, it was the "good list" that I paid attention to when I first came to Lithuania.  It has taken a longer amount of time to come to terms with the fact that Lithuania has more of the things that I don't want than those that I do.  Lithuania, after all, is good looking, intelligent, fun and charming.   

Why do I stay?  I stay because the relationship is so "good."  At least that's what I keep telling myself and others.  We're the best of friends and have tremendous chemistry together. We have all the same interests and understand each other without words.  Sounds simple enough right?  

The unfortunate reality is that Lithuania is still "damaged goods."  It's probably incapable about being serious about anyone for a long time. 

It has only been 20 years so far, and that leads me to still rationalize out why I stay.  Past experience has shown me how quickly years can turn into decades.  I also don't want to admit that the longer I stay the more painful it will be to leave.  I estimate I have only about 10% odds of this relationship working out.  So why do I stay?

Neil Sedaka said it best.  "Breaking up is hard to do."  If I possessed the incredible ability to "turn things off" I would walk away today.  Instead I run the scenarios in my head of what it will feel like after I’ve left.  The pain, the anger, the loneliness; who wants that?  The worst is when you second-guess yourself: 

Aage Myhre

Editor

PS 1:

In the next issue of VilNews I will tell you why I may stay in this relationship, after all…

I may also say something about why I think there are reasons for many of you

who emigrated to move back to your beloved home country…

PS 2:

I have received some appreciation from Lithuanian officials,

so my friend was not absolutely correct : ))

In 2007 I received a wrist watch and a diploma from PM Kirkilas. The diploma text goes as follows:

“Acknowledgment to Mr. Aage Myhre, for solidarity with Lithuania in 1990-91; for solid

contribution to the development of Lithuanian-Norwegian bilateral relations.”  

PS 3:

The above love story is based on a ‘true’ story from the site www.datesurvival.com  

A reader who responded to our latest VilNews issue argues that we have begun to go in the footsteps of other Lithuanian media in describing Lithuania in a rather negative way. I can well understand such a reaction, but it must also be said that unfortunately there has been a relatively large number of cases and circumstances in this country that deserve to be described in quite critical terms, such as:
• Lithuania's economy and population, especially the weakest groups, are very hard hit by the economic crisis that has affected the world over the last couple of years, and one must be allowed to make critical remarks on how this country's authorities have acted in the handling of the crisis. It seems to me that Lithuania's government has been more concerned with finding their own solutions, trying to ‘reinvent the wheel' rather than to learn from what other nations have made with regard to stimulus packages, lowered interest rates, etc. in these times of crisis, which in my view unnecessarily sets Lithuania several years back in time compared to many other countries.
• There has been little done for increased foreign investments in Lithuania, and also the country's own industry has largely had to fend for themselves without the kind of facilitation and support one sees taking place in countries frequently compared with Lithuania.
• The country has been constantly ill-placed on Transparency International's statistics on corruption and transparency, compared with other European countries, a situation which clearly has hindered economic growth and a better society for its own citizens. That corruption and bribery is still a part of the country's 'culture' in business and public institutions is nothing less than a big shame!
• The country's press must, unfortunately, largely be described as underdeveloped, with too much emphasis on celebrity and scandal reviews, and too little emphasis on constructive and investigative journalism that focuses on corruption and other undesirable conditions that continue to hold this country down. But many would also say that the media focus too much on the negative, too little on all the positive things going on here.
• A huge proportion of Lithuania's population has emigrated in recent years, including many of those with higher education, and one can rightly ask what is done to create new jobs and make necessary provisions to keep these groups remain in their own country.

• One of Lithuania's most prominent human resources is undoubtedly the country's large diasporas around the globe, groups of people and their descendants who left their mother country because of war, difficult economic conditions, political persecution, etc. These diaspora groups are in my view too little listened to or consulted from the Lithuanian authorities, which is very sad for a nation that so desperately needs all possible support and assistance from the hundreds of thousands who still have Lithuania in their hearts.

• When Lithuania's Constitutional Court in November 2006 ruled that the country's Law on Citizenship should be interpreted in disfavour of dual citizenship for large groups of Lithuanians and their descendants having citizenships in other countries, this became the start of a still heated debate around the world, as many within the country's numerous diaspora groups felt that their country of origin did not want them back or did not want to appreciate them as full Lithuanians. Many felt that the Court's decision in its interpretation of the law was more influenced by hidden motives and intentions rather than common sense. As previously stated, Lithuania desperately needs goodwill from all of its huge diasporas, and should be more eager than most other countries to allow dual citizenship. Lithuania’s welcome-back-door must be kept constantly open, never closed. We need everyone who is ready to contribute and make an effort for the mother country.

• The Lithuanian school system, especially at higher levels, is still dominated by Soviet-era thinking and there is good reason to ask what has been done the last 20 years to make it more conducive to more advanced and modern education, research and collaboration between education, businesses and government.
• Health Service has major and serious deficiencies, and also suffers under the fact that many of the nation's doctors and nurses have emigrated to Western countries.
• The focus on travel and tourism has largely been unsuccessful, partly because of the disproportionately high airport taxes (the good news is that this was finally understood and these taxes were drastically lowered a few weeks ago), under-developed ports for ferries and other ships in the Baltic Sea city of Klaipeda, poorly developed infrastructure, as well as little support to hotels and other tourist industries.

• Vilnius as European Capital of Culture in 2009, must also be described as a flop due to the fact that the number of visitors to the city was sharply down instead of up as expected, not least because of the unstructured and poor planning, and as several flights were cancelled due to FlyLAL's bankruptcy, too high airport charges and poor decisions by authorities. The planned main symbol of the year of culture, the re-created royal palace at the cathedral in Vilnius that should have been completed in all its glory during the culture year, still stands there as a ghostlike skeleton surrounded by construction cranes.
• The country's pensioners and other disadvantaged groups continue to live under very miserable conditions, and have additionally and unnecessary been hard-hit by the financial crisis.
• The statistics for suicide and violent crime in Lithuania is sad reading, and the country is among those on the very bottom of all these statistics compared to the rest of Europe.
• Lithuanians make up for a disproportionate share of criminal gangs in Western Europe and the United States, something which increasingly creates major problems for the police and the judiciary in many countries and also leads to frequent negative headlines about Lithuania in the Western media.
• Lithuania is still suffering under a lot of pending historic "dirt", for example with regard to its dealings with the Holocaust and the fact that relatively many Lithuanians collaborated with the Nazis in the extermination of the Jews here. There was also an extensive collaboration between the KGB and senior Lithuanian politicians through the Soviet time, and it is still missing a wide clarification of what actually took place in the post-war partisan war. Reconciliation must be the obvious target, but based on all the facts laid on the table in a most scientific, objective way so that whatever might have been of injustice or illegal actions come to light and can be reacted to. A firm and fair treatment of these historical conditions will provide Lithuania great honour both domestically and from the international community.

• Participation in voluntary organizations is record low in Lithuania compared to other EU countries, and it seems that people in this country has relatively little liking for and willingness to teamwork and to work jointly with others within their neighbourhoods, local communities or on a national level. Is it perhaps selfishness, greed and mistrust of other people behind this?

But, then, there is so very much positive that can be said about this country that many of us have become so fond of during the years after the liberation from the Soviet Union in 1990/91. 

I have attached my 'Chronicle of Lithuania', with some of the historical and contemporary circumstances I think this country deserves to be praised for, and I hope the articles can contribute to a more positive and nuanced picture of Lithuania as the great nation it is today and was for hundreds of years.

Lithuania has in many areas undergone an admirable growth for several years until the economical crisis started, which I recently saw very nicely symbolized by the many great new buildings that have shot up in the outskirts of Vilnius since I first came the same road into town in November 1990 on tour from my native Norway. Vilnius was by then a city that I experienced as sad, dark and worn, but is now a modern metropolis on a European level. An important part of this picture is the incredibly beautiful Old Town in Vilnius, which has now been renovated and re-emerged as one of Europe's finest and most attractive tourist magnets.

Also, coastal areas have undergone phenomenal change for the better. A summer stroll through the newly renovated Palanga city or at Europe's largest sand dunes in Nida are good experiences fully on par with what one finds in other countries' tourism destinations. The spa-town Druskininkai in South Lithuania has similarly undergone great improvements, and stands today as one of Europe's most attractive for anyone who wants to 'recharge the batteries' and at the same time enjoy the truly wonderful sceneries of Lithuania’s forest and lake landscapes.

It pleases me very much every time I visit my in-laws lush garden outside Vilnius. The practice of garden-towns is still alive and well here, and represents, in my opinion some of the closest you can get to this country's soul. Worth a visit!

Let me also mention the fantastic cultural life that so much characterizes this country. Music festivals that mark the cities and towns every summer. Most professional theatre, ballet and singing performances that fill the country's many stages throughout the winter months. Art exhibitions of all kinds, and spontaneous performances of various theatre and music groups in courtyards, squares, settlements and villages across the country. One needs never get bored in Lithuania!

And, let me share with you what two late statistics say about Lithuania:

1.     According to the “2010 Quality of Life Index” published by the “International Living” magazine http://www1.internationalliving.com/qofl2010/, Lithuania is among the 25 best countries in the world to live in, with better quality of life than most other countries of Central and Eastern Europe (even ahead of some West-European countries).

2.     Vilnius can boast of the cleanest air in Europe according to the „Economist Intelligence Unit“ and „Siemens“ in a research study called “An Index of Green European Cities” in which 30 cities-capitals of Europe were participating. http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/topic.php?tid=84&aid=2304

So it is my hope that Lithuania's authorities, businesses and people in general seriously start to cope with the still remaining problems and negative conditions, so that we can put behind us the negative features and once again see and experience a Lithuania with similar positive guts, profile and multi-cultural constellations that this country was once so famous for.

The initial question was what we can do to improve Lithuania's reputation to the rest of our world. 

Many would probably say that what we need is more positive attention in international media. And, in fact, over the years there have been spent large sums on advertising Lithuania and Vilnius on CNN and in other media. It has been printed countless brochures, and it has repeatedly been created commissions that should propose new logos, new slogans, new profiles and new ideas for international promotion of Lithuania. But I hardly exaggerate when I say that the usefulness of all this has been extremely limited.

My answer to the question would therefore rather be to open up for a broad process with the aim to overcome, and actively improve the problem areas I have outlined in my bullet points above. I believe this would be a far better starting point and professional platform for improving Lithuania's reputation. Such a process would in itself attract attention and recognition in international media, as well as among leaders and ordinary people around the world. 

Nothing gives better reputation for a nation than when the country’s authorities and citizens join forces into a positive and determined development process based on openness, fairness, honesty, genuine concern for fellow human beings, true respect for law and order, hard work, and attempted professionalism on all levels.

Lithuania has the historical and contemporary power to again become a leading, prominent example nation for other developing countries and many others around the world. Let’s take the opportunity.

Welcome to 'my' Lithuania!

Aage Myhre

PS: I am fully aware that I have embarked into a minefield by writing the above comments, but after living in Lithuania more or less continuously for 20 years now, I feel that I have some background to indicate an ever-so-small number of perceptions. Giving advice to others, however, is always a risk sport. To be a bit critical is even more risky. I have no roots in or from Lithuania, but I have my 'branches' here, and I would so dearly like my descendants and all other Lithuanians again to feel pride when they tell of their Lithuanian background. Therefore, I have written this, and I hope it will be well received as a constructive contribution with the best intentions and wishes for a brightest possible future in and for Lithuania.