James Pennell wrote:
Subject: Protest
Hi again,
I understand your sentiments on protests. Often they are ignored by both
the public and the folks in power. In addition protest is associated
with crack-brained people with matching issues. Let me tell you a little
about Latvia.
In a deal with Adolf Hitler the Soviet Union took over the country. It
was a disaster as 300,000 Latvians were given an all-expense paid
holiday to Siberia and many Soviet citizens were instructed to colonize
the place. Those Soviets were not welcome neighbors so mixing with
Latvian society was impossible. They also lost contact with friends,
family and their own culture in their former homes. Everybody lost.
Russians got the best jobs in government and industry. Latvians who
wanted to carry on a sucessful life had to speak Russian. Meanwhile,
because the Baltic states bordered on Sweden they were used as a place
to show how kind the USSR was by arranging Latvian folk dances and such
public displays. The resident Russians just worked and with no other
culture became "Super-Russians." In 1989 Latvia became free through the
collapse of the soviet system.
Over 30% of the population of Latvia is of Russian ancestry. Despite
most being born in Latvia few of them are citizens. They were obliged to
take special non-citizen passports purple in color compared to a
citizen's blue. Their language has been banned in the schools, in the
workplace, business and in government. The are unable to attend
universities unless the can speak Latvian and pay to take exams on
Latvian history and culture; becoming full citizens. Not only are they
ineligible for jobs, there are stiff penalties for employers who hire
workers who don't speak Latvian. Now that Latvia is in the EU it's
possible to find work elsewhere if they can afford to travel and support
themselves with housing, food and utilities for a month or more before
they receive pay. They are not citizens of Latvia, so that would mean
abandoning friends, home and family.
Should the Russian-Latvians abandon their culture and language
completely? I don't know the answer. They thought as they had no
political power they would try to communicate through protest of 10,000
Russian-Latvians on March 1 as Latvia joined the EU. In response there
is a new law imposing a 5 year prison sentence for protesting or
planning to protest. All this can be laid at the feet of their Canadian
President, who can fire the legislators individually or in total. Yes,
the EU contains dictatorships. It sounds impossible, but Nazi youth
groups are not only tolerated, the Latvian government erects monuments
to their brief Nazi past.
I know people of Russian ancestry in Latvia. They didn't plan to be born
there. Without a method of affecting their own lives they are almost at
the point of picking up weapons. The government would love that. Aren't
we all fighting "terrorism?" The point is this: When a government denies
people everything all they have short of obliteration or war is protest. |
