The history of people who not only suffered under servitude for centuries, but the story of those, who fled the terrors of communism, and of those, who had for what ever reason to stay back home.
Most of those trapped behind the Iron Curtain kept the faith. However, obviously, whether due to plain human nature or some other intangible, such as power or money, others did not…
Hence, the question to be asked is why should the efforts of all those who fled the Red Terror – at great cost - be all of a sudden be in the domain of a recently resurrected Republic. A Republic, that was resurrected, it can strongly be argued, thanks to the efforts of those living in freedom, under the laws and rules of their adopted lands of residence. The heart was still in Estonia… There are plenty of examples of how the present government of Estonia - or its representatives – has truly failed to appreciate this effort.
Estonian community life in Toronto is well and strong. I encourage those with even a rudimentary command of Estonian to watch the video appended to the Estonian language article. The title of the video does not translate well into the English idiom, but “Palms covered in tears” gives an inkling, if not more. And ask for translation help from your relatives or friends in the community, if needed.
Truly, the big question is: qui bono?
TÕNU NAELAPEA
EE Online
The following video very accurately reflects the efforts of those Estonians forced into exile by the illegal Soviet occupation in demanding the restoration of freedom for their nation. It was through the global ESTO festivals that this was perhaps best exemplified. Estonians gathered from all over the world by the thousands. At the height of the ESTO festivals over 20,000 came from all over the free world to express this desire for freedom, all done in a peaceful and democratic way, in the process capturing the attention of not only the media, but also of the leading politicians of the nations where the festivals were held. Can one think of another people, who united in this way, who were able to emphasize the illegality of Soviet occupation while keeping their culture thriving abroad?
What makes this video all the more special is that many efforts were made to not only suppress but also cancel its premiere at the last ESTO held in Münster. Why? This is a question that demands to be answered.
