Dear Aage, dear Mr. Kaminskas,

I need to reply to the March 27 VilNews, as the very same reasons, which are driving Gintautas Kaminskas away from Lithuania, are keeping me drawn to Lithuania! I was born and raised in Finland, one of those wealthy Scandinavian countries Mr. Kaminskas keeps comparing to Lithuania. I am currently living in the US, in another well organized, wealthy society. However, my life in Lithuania is far more interesting and fullfilling than my lives in Finland and the US. That is because in Lithuania I have a chance to make things better.

Yes, hospitals in Lithuania can be scary places! So for five years now I have been part of International Charity Christmas Bazaar, a charity event, which for example in 2007 collected 100.000 lt for Vilnius University Children‘s hospital. I am part of the change for the better! When my children started schools, I realized that it might take some years for the government to improve the quality of education in Lithuania. So I started a school with my friends! Vilnius International School is now an example and inspiration for many government schools and teachers working in them. My favorite hobby, horse riding, is also still suffering from post-Soviet recession. I joined a private initiative riding association and started organizing competitions, fundraising events and seminars to raise the standards and make opportunities for young riders to dream about big competitions – who knows, maybe Olympics some day! Yes, any of these things I could do in Finland and in the US, but for sure the effect of my actions would not be so dramatic and concrete than in Lithuania. Sometimes the change is not about money. Sometimes I just need to smile and compliment an overworked, stressed government emloyee to get better service.

The quality of life in Lithuania is not about perfect order and wellfare. It‘s about relationships between people and being in control of your own situation, just the way life should be! When a traffice police stops me in Finland, they write me a ticket, wish me a good day and let me go. Everything is very well organized and polite. When a traffic police stops me in Lithuania, they first yell at me for whatever bad thing I was doing. Then they ask ask me where I am from. Then they want to know something about Finland. I might end up spending a good half an hour by the roadside chatting with the policeman. He learns about my life, I learn about his life. So who wants Lithuania to become an organized Scandinavian country? Not me!

No doubt a lot of corruption and robbery takes place in every day life in Lithuania. Well, I have read my 13th century Livonian Chronicles. Lithuanians appear in the pages of the chonicles as mysterious troops from the woods, riding their fast, little horses, spreading fear, stealing everything, killing everyone and again dissapearing into the deep woods. This is something unique! The way Lithuanians still know hundred and one ways to bend the rules has nothing to do with the Soviet era, in my opinion. It is almost 1000 years old tradition of mischievious entrepreneurship spirit!

So please stay in a country where people still matter!

Best regards,
Liisa Leitzinger
Florida, USA