Skip to main content

The Baltic Way- the singing revolution.

You can learn so much about a people from their history. And history can explain so much about a people and who they are and where they come from.

Today we visited the Occupation Museum which basically told the history of Latvia and their journey of freedom (or journey through occupations). From being occupied by Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and then Soviet Union again, it is amazing to see where they are at as a nation today. But the journey has definitely been a very hard and painful one, which I am sure still affects not only the nation, but also the people.

We had a lovely young man give us a guided tour (instead of just reading the displays), and it really helped bring it to life. He was a well of knowledge, but at the same time it was easy to tell that it was all very personal to him, which it is to any Latvian person I would imagine.

The story of the “Singing Revolution” or “Baltic Way” as it is called, touched me the most. On the 23rd of August, 1989, 2 million people from the three Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania- all illegally occupied by the Soviet Union) joined hands to form a 600 km long human chain in a non-violent demonstration against the occupation. It was called the “singing revolution” because a choir in Riga performed some piece at that time. It is hard to even imagine getting 2 million people to simultaneously join hands across 3 entire countries at the same time. An amazing statement of the will of the people.  And as the young man shared, he added that he too was part of it. His mother had participated with him as a little infant in her arms. So powerful, and really brought into perspective how recent all of this is. This isn’t ancient history, but a history of oppression which affected many people who are still alive today.

And so as I think of Latvia and all they have walked through, I see that even as a nation, it’s a nation walking into freedom. And my prayer is that the people wouldn’t remain in the past oppression, but embrace the freedom they are now living in and building their lives upon.

Popular posts from this blog

Taking in the familiar and a heart connected.

Amsterdam. It still has that muggy feeling in Summer, and a constant flow of people which if you stop to think about it, it's quite amazing that there would even be space to accommodate them all. But then I guess they are not all staying. Just passing through on their way to or from somewhere. It's always good for the heart to visit somewhere that was once home. The familiarity of streets and customs makes it easier to embrace what might be new as well as the joy of being reacquainted with old friends. Friends. So many of them to be found in this city, ready with hugs and good words that are uttered when seeing someone who was away again. Friendship. A treasure that cannot be bought. Cobblestones trodden by many, including myself. Sitting on a bench. Praying. Remembering the first time I stumbled upon this area lined with windows with red lights and curtains. An area which has come to represent no longer windows, but people to me. Some still behind a window. Others who have ...
Read more

Getting to know the local culture.

Life is a strange thing. Last week went…not much happened, and then it was over. The weekend was quite calm without too many wild and exciting things happening. Except, of course, a wee outing to watch the National Championship for Veteran Ploughing. Now, like me, you might be sadly lacking an understanding of what this actually means. So I am delighted to be able to enlighten you in this respect. It’s basically (for the “farm-language-illiterate” like myself) a competition where you use old (hence the name “veteran”) tractors and ploughs, and plough up a stretch of field which is then evaluated and the one scoring the highest sum (accuracy, depth, how well the soil is turned is all given points) wins. I must admit that this information I got by eavesdropping on a conversation next to me where a man was explaining to some of my friends how it all works. So that was a fun adventure….although we only stayed for a bit. What is sort of occupying my mind at present is my upcoming travel abr...
Read more

What was your dream?- scraping the surface of the heart of Albania

“What was your dream when you were 20?” That was a question our guide asked us as we were standing outside a huge derelict cement monument in Tirana, the capital of Albania. We’d spent the day touring and hearing a lot about the history and journey of Albania, a young country with more Albanians living in other countries than in Albania itself. A country where tourism has only really been built up the past 30 years. It was eye opening to hear more of the history, and it made me realise that this country is so much more than meets the eye. A country where the beaches and tourist area of Durres Riviera was packed with tourists, mostly from the Balcan area. A country where hospitality is ingrained in the culture, and where the friendliness of the people was noticeable. After a pause to let us reflect over the question of dreams, for some thinking further back than others, our guide told us that for him it had been to own a pair of jeans. That simple fact said so much. Both of what he...
Read more