August 23, 1989: Two million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians form the Baltic Way, a 600 km human chain that was the first major freedom demonstration within the Soviet Union.
600 km human chain, stretching over 3 countries - a plea for freedom
But no one really remembers it, apart from maybe the Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians themselves. I remember. How can I forget? I was born in a free country, but just because people rebeled for years, and only moths before I was born Lithuania became a free country, again. (Yes, we were occupied quite a few times. Seems like everyone wanted a piece of us. I guess it explains why we’re so small now[as a country, our people are tall and play in NBA]) My parents stood in the Baltic Way, they guarded radio and tv stations. My mom was pregnant with me, when she was in the Telecom, making sure there was such a thing as a working telephone in the country. Making sure we could speak out, making sure someone heard what Soviet Military were doing.
It’s a 20 year anniversary of the Baltic Road, and maybe I feel like no one remembers the sacrifices made around that time, because I’m not based in Lithuania anymore. But it wasn’t a local matter. Americans watched us on TV, listened to our struggle on the radio. They supported our cause, admired the courage it takes to face a tank and sing your heart out, because it’s all you can do. They trembled, along with the rest of the world when Soviet Military slaughtered protesters with shovels in Georgia (their philosophy was: no guns used=no wrong done?).
But now, we hacve something more crucial to worry, the economy. So it’s alright to forget the Holocaust, communist movements and what governments can do for the so-called greater good. Do you not see how nazis are having the time of their lives again. Look at Germany and who is getting favour of the majority for the next election, yes, you guessed it. Mein Kampf is getting published again, so when people are desperate they can find someone to blame using Hitler’s idealogy. Now what’s wrong with that? Oh yeah, a demographic group was almost exterminated the last time that happened. And the second World War came around.
Now stop and think. Who’s gonna get blamed for this crisis? My guess would be imigrants, for taking up jobs. And of course no one remembers that most European countries were built on imigrants. Celtic tiger would have not existed in the first place if the poles and lithuanians wouldn’t have worked their butts off building it with a hard work that’s beyond the conception of a lot of Irish people. Yes, you heard me right, without imigrants, there wouldn’t be a strong Irish economy (which is an economic phenomena by the way.) that could deflate the way it did. If not imigrant labour, the irish wouldn’t worry about credit card interest rates, they would try to come up with ways to survive (as in, not to starve between the wages).
But track back a little. Jews did the same all over the world. Sure they owned all the banks, and they probably were damn stuck up about it too. They owned most business and so on, BUT everyone forgot that they built that, they worked for it, they did things no one else managed to do. So didn’t they had a right to have all that money, to take up so much room in the economic environment? Hitler didn’t think so. Will people now remember?
Will the people that don’t even watch the news anymore and believe every word some cheap tabloid newspaper says remember that they were a lot like that years ago, that they ran to U.S.A, and that everyone considering themselves American, are technicaly most likely not American.
So remeber that the next time you want to blame an imigrant for something your ‘true’ country men screwed up.
But today, even if a little too late, celebrate the anniversary of the Singing Revolution with me. 20 years ago, there was a revolution without a party, without a leader. It set nations free. And that percisely is the greatest power of people. Unity is our greatest weapon.
