OK, I will join the great
chorus in saying how great it is that Latvia regained its
independence in 1991 and nothing could have been worse that continuing to
stagnate under the Soviets. The Soviet occupation was a truly
horrible time, especially the beginning of it all, with deportations,
war, deportations again and repression and fear that only eased very
gradually toward the end of the 1980s. Add to that the bizarre
economic deprivation, queues, shoddy products, blat-level
corruption, dismal everyday life with little or nothing changed, no freedom to travel, etc. etc.
The occupation left indelible marks on
the Latvian nation, and those are the reason that, at the end of the
day, we are happy to have our freedom, we say we cherish our freedom (and we
probably do), and we should never, never lose that freedom again. Of
course!
But what have we made of that freedom?
What did those of us who lived outside Latvia expect? We grew up as
“refugee/emigres” wherever we were, a status that kept important,
vital parts of our lives focussed on Latvia and on the impossible
dream of Latvian independence. The dream came true, but we who
grew up in freedom knew that freedom was the most important kind of
opportunity, often the first step. Freedom is to be used, filled out
with a vision, a path chosen together with other free citizens.
Yes, Latvia used its freedom. The
country made its way into the European Union and NATO, two visions
that it automatically adopted once free. But after that? There is no
realistic, coherent vision for the future.
To be frank, Latvia achieved freedom
from the Soviet Union, but is still far from free from being a nation
of far too many homo post-sovieticus. It
has lost up to 300 000 inhabitants to emigration, a good part of
them, perhaps, for largely economic reasons, but also because what
the political and economic elite of this country has done and failed
to do has broken any trust they had in the government and any faith
in the future.
I put
myself among those who have lost this trust and faith – for reasons
that I have argued many times over in this blog. Latvia could have
done a lot better with its freedom over the last 20 years by making
many choices not made. Many of these choice not taken involved
actions and changes of behavior that would have cost very little
money. It is not case of failing to do as old rich countries did with
their wealth, but failing, with few exceptions, to behave as old rich
countries did in order to become both rich and reasonably civilized.
Much
of this I have described in earlier posts. There is really nothing
new to say on the 20th
anniversary of the Soviet coup and independence. I don't regret
spending much of my life growing up in the US, living and working in
Germany and Sweden, while always trying to “be Latvian” and do
things for “the Latvian cause”, even as a journalist. I can say, too, that I have also “served my time” here in Latvia, for better or
for worse. We have what we have. Been there, done that, yet again.
But I've had enough, too, in one sense. I want to be somewhere else
and do something else next, before going even further into “advanced
youth” where my options will shrink.
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