06/02/08

Independence

Scene from last Christmas: 10 people are playing Suomi-tietopeli. The asker asks: ‘when did the Finnish Senate decide to declare independence?’

8 Finnish voices yell ‘December 6, 1917!!’ The asker looks at the card and says in a confused voice ‘No, actually you’re wrong.’

1 little American voice says ‘How about December 4, 1917?’ and as the asker says, ‘that’s right’, 8 Finnish pairs of eyes look at the voice.

‘I remember reading something about it in a book…’

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It’s that time of year when people get asked ‘What does independence mean to you?’ so I thought I would take my turn to tell you what Finnish independence means to this American.

Of course it’s not my home country’s independence, so it’s a different thing. On the other hand, no one ever made me learn about this, my second home country’s independence. It’s something I discovered and learned by myself, which also makes it a different thing.

The way Finland became and remained independent fascinates me. I can’t remember when I started reading about Finnish history. I think it’s my husband’s fault. He taught me to watch documentaries and, of course, there are a lot of good ones on TV about history and Finland’s wars.

From there I started reading. I noticed how similar the Winter War was to the American  War of Independence. I learned how amazing it was that the Soviets never managed to take over Finland.

But more than reading about battles, I have focused on life on the ‘home front’ and about the lives of different groups of people during the wars: the women who stayed at home, children, Jews, Ingrians, Estonians, and the women who served in the Lotta Svård organization.

I was fortunate enough that I didn’t have to live through the wars. I didn’t lose any grandparents and didn’t have any relatives who fought there. I was also fortunate enough that I didn’t have to live through the part of Finnish history after the war, when suddenly people started looking down on the veterans and the Lottas.

But I have learned enough to know what it meant to fight those wars the way they were fought. I know the meaning of places like Kollaa, Tali-Ihantala, and Raatteentie, and know that if someone says they were in Kannas in the summer of 1944, they have seen Hell.

I know enough to respect and be thankful to all veterans, and to honor the brave women who did their part. 

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And one other reason I’m thankful for Finland’s independence: if Finland wasn’t independent in 1981, I wouldn’t have come here as an exchange student, I wouldn’t have met Mr. Nurminen, and I wouldn’t have my family.

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VOCABULARY: To be fascinated: to be really interested in something, Home front: kotirintama, Relative: sukulainen, Look down on: halveksia