Archive for February, 2012

Why dignity matters for Lithuania

Jonas Basanavičius (23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of Lithuania's National Revival and founder of the first Lithuanian language newspaper Aušra. He was a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania on 16 February 1918 Basanavičius is often given the unique informal honorific title of the "Patriarch of the Nation" for his contributions and help in re-establishing the Lithuanian state.

By Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

“A man's country is not a certain area of land, of
mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and
patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”
- George William Curtis

It is 16 February 2012. It is today exactly 94 years since a group of brave men wrote the Lithuanian declaration of independence after the country had been under Tsarist Russia's iron heel through more than 100 years. These men represented a generation that certainly felt an overwhelming sense of pride at the dawn of renewed independence. The Act of February 16 was signed by all 20 representatives of the Council of Lithuania, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles. The meeting and signing procedures were chaired by Jonas Basanavičius, the man often given the unique informal honorific title of the "Patriarch of the Nation" for his contributions and help in re-establishing the Lithuanian state.

What these men presented from the balcony of a house in Pilies street here in Vilnius Old Town was not much more than a piece of paper. But it was a paper that symbolized a nation willing to throw off the yoke. A nation that had won back its self respect and dignity in spite of the injustice and oppression that had been going on since the Russian occupation started in 1795.

We salute these men for their courage and foresight. We salute them because they, in faith, hope and dignity clearly showed that Lithuania wanted to live up to its proud history as a nation of greatness.

Great nations are founded on self-belief!

As we now know, the newfound freedom was not going to last much more than 20 years. But they were 20 important years in which Lithuanians showed the world and themselves that the citizens and the country's leaders had the ability to collaborate an utterly successful reconstruction of the nation. Pride, dignity and courage came to characterize the inter-war years of this country.

The years 1988-1991 were also characterized by dignity and confidence. The quiet revolution that defined the Lithuanian and the other Baltic States' revolt against Soviet rule was almost like a textbook on how a nation's inner strength can lead to freedom originating from within, from its own citizens.

The 21 years that have passed since 1991, have not in the same good way as the 21 inter-war years demonstrated a nation where citizens have regained pride and commitment to joint efforts for the home country. Distrust, corruption and greed has unfortunately become all too characteristic of the last two decades. Hundreds of thousands have left

Lithuania during these years, frustrated by the absence of expected progress, of seeing that cheating on many levels is still going on, and that a small minority have made ​​themselves rich at public expense.

It is in this situation easy to blame the nation's leaders. And for good reason. But the country's own citizens, especially the young, should be united in a common effort and take responsibility for a better future. Politicians and leaders should show the way, but the exertion must come from within, from the people.

"Ask not what your country can do for you –
ask what you can do for your country."
- John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

VilNews wants to contribute to the cause of supporting the Lithuanian people, wherever in the world they are located, to once again feel pride and enjoyment of their homeland. We would like to see many of those who have emigrated and their descendants to return home again. We want to see a joint effort for the home country among Lithuanians all over the world. We want the team feeling back.

Patriotism, pride and dignity are important elements in order for such efforts to succeed. We have, with this as background, invited a group of prominent individuals who represent dignity and patriotism in an outstanding manner. They are all born in Lithuania before World War II, a period when Lithuania flourished. Some of them have lived most of their lives in this country while others fled to western countries when Stalin's war machinery rolled into their homeland.

Common to them all, however, is that they continuously have fought for the fatherland, wherever in the world they have been living or working.

On this very special day for Lithuania, the 16^th of February, it's a great pleasure to honour and thank these individuals for their tremendous efforts and attitudes to the homeland. They have something to teach us. They have, through the way they have lived their lives, and their wisdom, something important to share with all of us who are related to Lithuania.

They represent the sort of dignity and patriotism that we all should let us inspire by and follow.

Why is dignity important for Lithuania?

For me dignity has to do with the feeling of self-worth. Something every person and nation needs to have to succeed and feel good. Still my experience is that in spite of its universal appeal, this remains a topic rarely discussed. We all have experience of it but may not have words to describe it or a wish to talk about it.

We all know how great it is to be seen, heard, and acknowledged for who we are and treated as if we mattered. Who doesn't enjoy the praise of being recognized for doing a good job or being honoured for going beyond the call of duty?

We also know what it feels like to be treated as inferior, discriminated against, ignored, misunderstood, criticized and excluded. There is little worse than being in a situation where you are treated unfairly and can do nothing about it, or being excluded from something that means a lot to you.

We are all too well aware of the feelings that accompany these violations of our dignity. What is not so common is to bring them up for discussion. It is often too embarrassing to admit that we have been treated so badly. It is why attention on matters of dignity and to give us a language to bring these issues to the surface so that we can legitimize the suffering that accompanies these painful human experiences and do something about them.

We don't have to just live with them, we need to address them. So does the nation called Lithuania.

Matters of dignity are at the heart of every interaction we have with other people or nations. They show up in the work, in schools, at home, in intimate relationships – everywhere human beings come into contact with one another. All over the world dignity violations abound. In work or social relations people often feel that they are not treated well, but have no way to "speak-up" for fear of retribution. Many feel it would be career suicide to go to their bosses and tell them that they have violated their dignity. The end result is that there is a lot of resentment on the part of employees and little desire to extend themselves beyond what their job requires. It is infuriating to them that they are being mistreated and that there is no way to give voice to it. Conflicts over dignity are an everyday experience but very few people feel skilled in handling them.

This is why I think matters of dignity are of highest importance both for and within Lithuania. The time has come to shed light on something that we may not have either the courage or language to discuss. The shame that accompanies being treated badly prevents us from doing the very thing we need to do to recover from violations of our dignity: bring them out into the open, validate them, and give them the attention they deserve.

We wouldn't think twice about getting help when we have a physical injury. When we have a wound to our dignity there is nowhere to go; no emergency call or room. Bringing the issue to light can help us all heal from the many subtle and not so subtle ways that indignity has found its way into our lives.

We, Lithuania, can do better and we should do it with dignity.

“Dignity does not float down from heaven it cannot be purchased nor manufactured. It is a reward reserved for those who labour with diligence.”
- Bill Hybels

Text: Aage Myhre

A reader who responded to one of our VilNews issues last year argued that our publication had begun to go in the footsteps of local 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.

The bad

• The Lithuanian people, especially the weakest groups, are very hard hit by the economic crisis that continues to affect much of the world. The country's pensioners and other disadvantaged groups continue to live under very miserable conditions, 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. Fortunately, it appears that the immediate panic that came to characterize both the government and the banks in 2008-2010, was slowly taken over by more mature attitudes in 2011.

• There has still been far too little done for increased foreign investments in Lithuania, even if there were some good efforts made during 2010 and 2011. 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 over many years, 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 home 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 22 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 some time ago), under-developed ports for ferries and other ships in the Baltic Sea city of Klaipeda, poorly developed infrastructure and promotional activities, 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 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?

The good
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.

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:
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).

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

Conclusion
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.


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 more than 20 years, 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.