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EESTI ELU reedel, 5. juunil 2020 — Friday, June 5, 2020
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Never Again Education Act A few days ago, Congressman Buchanan in Florida advised in an e-mail to his consti tuents that he has co-spon sored the Never Again Education Act in order to educate students about the horrors of the Holocaust and he asked us to share our thoughts. Of course, I support the edu cation of students about the horrors committed in history, and particularly those in the 20th century, lest they recur. As the Congressman quotes Beverly Newman, Director of the Al Katz Center, “Our millennials – our future – must understand that perfect storm of evil”. My thoughts are that if we’re going to teach our students about the “perfect storm of evil” we cannot, and must not, ignore the evil committed by the leaders of countries that embraced Communist ideology. These countries are principally the Soviet Union and Com munist China, whose regimes supported Communist move ments in Latin America, includ ing Cuba, and southeast Asia. So much of U.S. foreign policy has focused on these regimes, and our young people should learn what Communist ideology preaches and that it is as evil as fascism that gave ideological justification for the Holocaust. It wasn’t too long ago when President Reagan named the Soviet Union an “evil empire”. While that state no longer exists, the People’s Republic of China does. It is a country with an ancient, proud civilization and, yet, with a history of unimaginable cruelty under Communist Party rule. It is now a major power challenging the United States. The victims of Communism are so vast in numbers and they span over such a large territory that it will take some time to grasp its full horror. During Joseph Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union, from the time of Lenin’s death in 1924 to his own demise in 1953, an esti mated 40 million people were its victims. During a “cleans ing” campaign to rid the regime of “socially harmful elements” about a million were killed; a similar campaign in the border regions and the occupied Baltic countries and Poland as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact condemned to death hundreds of thousands in order to rid the country of ethnic minorities, as did the mass arrests in 19371938, known as the “Great Terror”, when 800,000 people were executed with a shot in the head. And then there was the sys tem of forced labor camps, known as the Gulag. Scholars have yet to agree on the total number of deaths in the Gulag; estimates run from three to 17 million. Several waves of “dekulakization” of farming re sulted in mass deportation of over half million families to distant regions, where thou
sands died. Probably the cruelest was the man-made famine, known as the Holodomor, in Ukraine, when an estimated four million people, mostly women and children, starved to death in 1932–1933. My sense that of all the cruelties inflicted by the regime on its population, starv ing was the most horrible is based on what my father, who survived Stalin’s Gulag, said. He had known exhaustion from being overworked in the forests and mines, endured the freezing Russian winters, suffered from illnesses, had known torture and hunger, but he said that the most painful to endure was hunger. Thus the innocent Ukrainian peasants slowly dy ing an agonizing death from hunger is to me the greatest Communist evil. In Communist China like wise, the forced agricultural policies of Mao Zedong re sulted in a man-made famine that killed an estimated 30 mil lion Chinese people during “The Great Leap Forward” in 1958-1961. It is the worst famine in history. The country also experienced the devastating “Cultural Revo lution” under Mao in 1966– 1976, when a purging of “impu rities”, a common practice in dictatorship, swept the country. Scholars have given various estimates of those killed from one-half to eight million during those years. Additional millions suffered imprisonment, torture or public humiliation, and seizure of property. Altogether, an estimated 60 million Chinese died as a result of Mao’s merci less attempts to create a socialist China. The word “merciless” is central to Communist ideology and to any dictatorial ideology. The Estonian writer Jaan Kross has said that the Soviet Communist dictionary did not contain the word “mercy”. Considering the histories of Communist regimes and Nazi Germany, I submit that Stanford University Professor Naimark is correct in saying that „Both Hitler and Stalin chewed up the lives of human beings in the name of a transformative vision of Utopia. Both destroyed their countries and societies, as well as vast numbers of people in side and outside their own states. Both, in the end, were genocidaires.“For that reason, our students should be educated also on the “perfect storm of evil” that Communism created and the subject should be in cluded in such legislation as the Never Again Education Act. I strongly recommend Congress man Buchanan to include Communism in his statement, “We need to do all we can to combat this evil ideology.” And finally, it needs to be noted that something is being done to learn about the full horror of Communism. A museum and an international center for research on the crimes of Communism is in the
Photo: Elis Jaansoo
Excelling in the midst of adversity: A Chaordic Design and Estonian Life collaboration Estonian Life newspaper is very excited to present a new collaborative series with Chaordic Design, a design and business innovation firm in Toronto. Chaordic works with business leaders to emerge value with new ideas that drive engagement, and boost revenue, to scale clients’ businesses. Their specialty is creating opportunities to ‘Thrive in Disruption’, in any climate. In addition to their con sulting directly with clients, Chaordic has generously of fered a multitude of insightful panels, workshops, and industry events globally. In the GTA, some of these events have been shared in support of projects held by other organizations and institutions, including the Government of Canada; while others have been independentlyrun, including the “Design for Emergence” workshop at Sick Kids. The initial partnership be tween Chaordic Design and Estonian Life came about with a little bit of luck and good tim ing. Ana Matic, from Chaordic Design, was looking for a new venue partner for her Women in Leadership League panel event, after an initially scheduled venue was flooded. After this unexpected, last minute change of plans, she reached out to Tartu College Events. Although November is a very busy time for the events space at Tartu College, the CEO Linda Karuks and Elis Jaansoo, Marketing and Sales of Estonian Life, were able to accommodate the arrangements with only days to
spare. Thus, a beautiful partnership was born – celebrating female leaders and entrepreneurs, and Estonian leadership everywhere.
works at the historic Patarei Prison complex on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland in Tallinn, Estonia. The complex, built by Tsarist Russia in 1828–1840 as a naval fortress, was the central prison during the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Estonia in the 20th century. Estonians targeted for the Gulag were imprisoned there and the occupying Nazi forces held there Estonian resis tance fighters and European Jews in transit to death camps. The execution chamber in the basement became the final destination for many political prisoners.
Shores of Lake Peipus to cater to gourmands
ILVI JÕE-CANNON June 2, 2020, Tallinn
The Chaordic Way: The Opportunity Space Between Chaos and Order In discussing the upcoming event, Ana, Linda, and Elis d etermined that Chaordic Design and Tartu College had many common values: women in leadership and innovation were key concepts. But the panel’s intimate, interactive conversation about thriving in life carried forward the possi bility of a long-term collabora tion. Women leaders from diverse paths of life shared their insight and guidance on what helps them thrive in life. After sharing their ideas and networking, the event’s participants left feeling uplifted and inspired. With such a successful event, Chaordic Design and Tartu College agreed to support each other with events throughout 2020, with Tartu providing the space and Chaordic facilitating the events. As Elis and Linda also met in person with Goran Matic of Chaordic Design, they dis cussed how the collaboration could be deepened and how it could be brought to our community beyond the events offered. The word “Chaordic” itself alludes to the fruitful, produc tive state of flow that exists in working between chaos and order. Chaordic Design refers to it as an “emergent, opportuni
ERR, May 2020 People living on the shores of Lake Peipus invite everyone to sample culinary delights at the III Peipsi Food Street 175 km festival to be held on August 22 and 23. Temporary open-air restau rants will open on 175 kilo meters of roads following the shoreline. Visitors are offered everything that can be made from local ingredients, both tra ditional Peipsi foods and dishes with a more modern accent.
ty-filled space.” For employees and entrepreneurs alike, it can be an intimidating spectrum to venture through, alternating between knowing exactly what to do and being unable to plan a week ahead. Business can be unpredictable, and in times of adversity and disruption, it’s easy to feel alone. If we use the right tools and strategies, we can strengthen ourselves (and our teams) to find a manageable and productive process to work with. This is where Chaordic Design’s resources make their impact. In their communication, Ana, Goran, Linda, and Elis realized the necessity to bring this in formation to the readership of Estonian Life, so that anyone interested could bring out their own value and stand out in their careers. So what are the specific, practical ways we can all in crease value, engagement, and scale in our careers? It was determined that there was a strong foundation of leaders in the Estonian commu nity of Canada that could provide this knowledge in a relatable way. Estonian women in particular have made a mas sive impact in the world of Canadian business and in our communities. So come along for the jour ney and stay tuned for upcom ing interviews, where we will be putting a spotlight on emi nent female leaders in the Estonian community, the history of Estonian female leadership, and the six key methods used by successful leaders to excel in times of adversity.
The organizers of the festival say that late August is the most bountiful time, with ripe vege tables, mushrooms and game in the woods, fish from the lake – all of it fresh, fragrant and juicy. The festival will also see vessels offer pleasure cruises and food on the Emajõgi. The Peipsi Food Street is or ganized by NGO Peipsimaa Kogukonnaköök and members of the Peipsi Toit network who are also behind the Rääbise festival (Whitefish Festival) to be held on July 18, where sales points, workshops and activities will be scattered all over the Kasepää linear village in Jõgeva County.
