Opinions

Dear Mr. Aage Myhre:

Kindest regards from Venezuela! First of all, let me introduce myself: my name is Vytenis Folkmanas and I’m writing you from Venezuela. As you might realize from my name, I’m son of a Lithuanian emigrant who arrived with his parents and sister to Venezuela in 1948. I’m very proud of my Lithuanian heritage and actually I’m the President of the Lithuanian Community of Venezuela, in an effort to rescue the traditions, customs, and language within our small community.

I’m also very happy to be one of the worldwide privileged receiving VILNEWS. Right now, I’ve just finished reading your wonderful article "LOOK TO NORWAY" and it makes me sadder because I compare it to what is happening here in our country Venezuela and find a similar situation. Although our country could be one of the richest countries in the world just thanks to oil income, the internal situation doesn’t reflect it AT ALL!!! I think that it couldn’t be worse!! As you mention the situation with Lithuania and how Norway has tried to help them, here is the same. Our country is seeking help and support from countries as Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Libya, and China in economic, social, energetic, tourism and industrial topics instead of from developed countries. Just with the tourism, Venezuela could gain the same or more income than with the oil production, as we have one of the most blessed countries, geographically speaking, in the world, but our governments have always been blind to this industry (tourism)...That is just a small example. How I wish that they could see the example of Norway, Finland, and other countries, especially if they offer their cooperation. Here we say that is a “false pride" not to receive support and advice from others!

And speaking of Lithuania, is also true , specially the comment of Mr Sliupas when he wrote:

”One of my American colleagues, who was sincerely trying to help Lithuania, said "Sending e-mail to Lithuania is like sending it to the black hole of the universe. Everything goes one way and nothing comes back". That is so true. I myself wrote emails to Lithuania, to the ministries, etc offering to help them promote Lithuania as a tourist destination here in Venezuela, as here is almost as unknown country and never had no answer at all. Is very sad, and I love everything what Lithuania means.

Once again, thank you very much for sending me your VILNEWS, many regards and I remain here at your disposition!

Vytenis Folkmanas

Hello Aage
I have just read the latest edition of VilNews, thank you for another good job. I agree with your editorial comments. In particular: "Being a Norwegian, I believe Norway and the other Scandinavian countries would have been willing to stretch to great lengths to provide help and advice for the crisis–hit Lithuania and the two other Baltic States. But they had to be asked. Our Lithuanian leaders should refrain from arrogance and avoid ignorance by seeking advice where good help and advice is to be found, domestically and internationally. Can they do that, there is every reason to foresee a bright future for this nation."

I have two comments to make on that. First, I believe that even now it's not too late to ask the Scandinavian countries for help. But you are exactly right: the Scandinavian countries would want in return a guarantee that whatever help they give will be used wisely, listen to Scandinavian advice, not arrogantly assuming that we the Lithuanians know best. Closely linked to this is the second thing: no one wants to give help if they think it's going to be wasted corruptly. Lithuanians need to be able to give the Scandinavian aid-givers a chance to supervise what is going on, the right to inspect and audit, to make sure that the aid is being used as agreed, and not to build the villas of mafiozai and corrupt politicians and public servants on land that they have misappropriated from public forests and lakefronts.

Which brings me back to my key theme (sorry if I'm repetitious): Lithuania will not make much serious progress until bigger efforts are made to stamp out bribery and corruption.

Gintautas Kaminskas
Wollongong, Australia

I have a T-shirt bought in Vilnius University with "I love Lithuania, hmmm ... but where is it?" on the front. Obviously that ignorance doesn't apply just to Brits and Americans. LIETUVA IS NOT IN EASTERN EUROPE. Countries east of Polska are in Eastern Europe. Lietuva is in Northern Europe. In fact, as you know, the French claim that the centre of Europe is in Lietuva; though I'm sure that even the French would not claim that Lietuva is in Central Europe. It's an important distinction, and I believe it is vital to the tourism success of the Baltic States, that they disassociate themselves from the notion they are in Eastern Europe. To people in the West, Eastern Europe is the Balkans, the former Yugoslavia, an area of ethnic hatred and wars, some of which NATO became involved in to stop genocide. That’s not an image Lietuva needs in order to bring in tourists to its lovely country.
Tony Olsson
North Devon, UK

Would a ‘Genealogy Section’ in VilNews be of interest for you?

Please contact our Associate Editor, Vin Karnila, as soon as possible if you think a ‘Genealogy Section’ in VilNews would be of interest for our readers around the world.
vin.karnila@VilNews.com

 I think it would be a great idea to put in a Genealogy section, with so many people trying to find their ancestors and families it would be a great addition.

Love this site! Keep it coming...

Joe Barlow
Connecticut

Yes, and I’d be happy to share what I have for Imber and Ember.
Eric Ember
Washington

I think that would be very appropriate. There is a growing interest in genealogy worldwide.
Jurate Kutkus Burns
Florida

Yes, please! I live in America and have grandparents who used to live in Lithuania.
Paulette Rynkiewicz Wise
USA

Regardless of the fact that I've made contact with some relatives, they have chosen not to continue corresponding. I tend to believe that the major wars and regimes in the last century have had a great effect on records. Please keep a Genealogy section in the publication. It fascinates me and I'm so happy to hear of links being made for others. The information you provided gives some starting places. Many thanks.
Anita

Replying to the initial/central question:
"Would a ‘Genealogy Section’ in 'VilNews' be of interest for you?"

YES !! Very-much so! Please consider to have a 'VilNews' section about genealogy ...

Such a focus-point would be helpful to:
LITHUANIANS-WHO-ARE-NOT-IN-LITHUANIA, for them to find their relatives who are IN Lithuania ...
(AND, also: in other places) ...
[a number that is certainly, by any/all accounting(s), much-more than 1 million persons]

AND,
such a focus-point would be helpful to:
LITHUANIANS-IN-LITHUANIA (!),
for them to find relatives who are NOT in Lithuania
[a number that is certainly, by any/all accountings(s), much-more than 1 million persons)

Thanx much for your article ...
much-therein can be addressed ONLY if there is a 'VilNews' section on this topic .
Such topic is an extremely-complicated subject -- requiring much dialogue / discussion / sharing-of-info ...
KR Slade
Vilnius

How I agree with the heading statement "Lithuania is a cultural treasure the world still knows far too little about" [see our Section 14 – CULTURE & EVENTS] I have been visiting Lietuva since 2003 and quickly fell in love with your country.

Two aspects are of special interest to me: your railways (I assist the editor of Baltic Railways Magazine with the translation of the articles into English) and classical music.

Despite a stream of letters to the BBC since 2004, I haven't been able to persuade them to take an interest in Lithuanian music. I did manage to have Ciurlionis' Miske played in a request programme, but that was all. Offers to prepare a series of five programmes on Lithuanian music in the Composer of the Week series fell on deaf ears ("too far off the beaten track" they said) as did my suggestion that the Radio 3 Breakfast programme play the cd of Vytautas Landsbergis playing some of Ciurlionis' piano works on Black Ribbon Day ("we don't do anniversaries").

With the Ciurlionis 100th anniversary imminent, I will certainly have another go at the BBC to celebrate it.
One excuse for not playing Lithuanian music was that "we don't receive much from Lithuanian Radio, unlike Estonia which sends us lots". It would help if the appropriate organisations in Lietuva bombarded the BBC with Lithuanian music.

Regular broadcasts of Lithuanian music would probably help to promote the Lithuanian musicians based in England (such as Evelina Puzaite) who never get a mention on the BBC.

Tony Olsson,
North Devon, United Kingdom

Intolerance in today’s Lithuania

Intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and homophobia. These are words and terms we unfortunately have heard and seen far too often in Lithuanian media in recent years. Read more…

What says the Catholic Church in Lithuania ???

Ken-Russel Slade

It would be nice to know how our Roman Catholic Church addresses such issues ... albeit, it may not be currently perceived as an 'issue' ...
or, be perceived as 'proper' to respond ...
Is there not one priest, or one sister, in Lithuania: who will respond ?

Or, is this subject another RC "unspeakable" ?

Will there be some response:
from The Vatican ... a Papal Nuncio ... a Cardinal ... a Bishop ... a Priest ... a Monk ... a Friar ... a Sister ... ???

Will any such response be available to be subject to question(s): open dialogue ... discussion ... examination ... analysis ... commentary ... ???

Or, will this subject, and any 'response' thereto -- by the RC Church -- be 'closed' ?

A Personal Observation: The Pendulum -- It Swings ... !!

HOWEVER,
'VilNews' is a 'young' publication ... as an e-publication, not yet 14 weeks old!!

Perhaps, it is appropriate to make 'invitation' to our RC church (and other churches / denominations / faiths)
to write to 'VilNews', to comment, to publish ... to be welcome(d) here ...

I would like that my message here might be such an invitation !
Ken-Russel Slade

 
Dr. Stan Backaitis, Washington

Dear Aage,
Thank you for the very moving story about the post WWII partisans.
Unfortunately on page 6 you are giving some credit to the British intelligence, even though later on you mention Philby as having been responsible for the vicious death of thousands of the Baltic partisans.

In fact the entire top levels of MI5 and MI6 since late 30's through early 70s were thoroughly penetrated by Britishers serving the Soviet espionage services.

Peter Wright in his book "the Spycatcher" identified Maclean, Burgess, Blake, Sinclair, Roger Hollis and numerous others who participated in setting up contacts with the partisans while assuring that the KGB was in full knowledge and control of their every movement and contact. Unfortunately, the doomed fighters sincerely believed for a long time that the British were on their side while being betrayed and delivered into the hands of the KGB.

In my view, it is also the British who have much to apologize to the thousands and thousands of victims for the vicious treachery in peace time of their MI5 and MI6 services.

Stan Backaitis
Washington, D.C. , USA

 
One of the many killed Lithuanian partisans, Juozas Luksa – "Skirmantas", "Daumantas", after his death on the 4th of September 1951.

You in the West preferred not to know, "the inconvenient truth" is.

I learned that the hard way, from my grandparents & other family who closely worked with Skirmantas and other top Lithuanian freedom war leaders in the Seinai-Punskas (Sejny-Punsk), Poland, during their secret border crossing missions to the West (via Gdansk and Warsaw) and back to Lithuania in 1946-50. My family was put in hard-regime prisons for that, all the hard earned property confiscated, and I was born a communist slave, so to speak. While in high school I rebelled against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, was arrested and thrown out of school, persecuted for a long time by communist secret services, and finally made my way to the West: Glory Be to God!
Yours sincerely,
Valdas Samonis,
Canada

P.S. My family was decorated with Lithuania's top freedom medals by President Adamkus. I was officially recognized by free Poland (IPN) as the freedom activist persecuted by the communist regime.

Hi Aage,

I found your article interesting and would like to get more of them. After looking at those young faces, who lost their lives for the freedom of Lithuania, I realize that these days we have freedom, but the spirit of Lithuanian is still not free, rather haunted by the past challenging experiences. I believe that eventually we will become free and will start feeling worthy again.

Sincerely,
Aušra, USA

Dear Aage

The Second World War in Europe was a war fought against fascism – in particular the German variant exemplified by Nazism – and including also Italian fascism. The Second World War in Europe ended with the surrender of Germany; a surrender to which Russia was the major contributor because Germany was largely defeated at Stalingrad and Kursk and was always in retreat afterwards.
The Resistance in Lithuania against Soviet occupation was a heroic effort by some Lithuanians to obtain freedom for their country. In my opinion it is a mistake to confuse resistance to occupation and the Second World War. After the end of the Second World War there have been many occupations of many countries by Capitalist and Communist powers and each side has tried to characterise any resistance to its forces as an act of the ‘Other’ side.

Resistance to Occupation has a very long and courageous history in Europe and throughout the world and no ‘side’ has a right to claim the heroic activities of resistance fighters/activists to support its ideology. Inevitably that requires misrepresentation of the motives and objectives of the resistance; part of the theme of the book “The Ugly American” about the then developing Vietnamese war. It is also the type of misrepresentation that leads to one 'side' claiming “We are all Georgians now”.
This misrepresentation is a major cause of the inability of ‘Western’ countries to think in any clear way about the activities grouped under the label of ‘terrorism’ and it is better to avoid such ideologically driven commentary/analysis.

Kindest Regards
Robert Jennings, Ireland-Lithuania