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EESTI ELU reedel, 16. oktoobril 2020 â Friday, October 16, 2020
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EU foreign ministers agree on sanctions on Lukashenko, Russian officials English-language supplement to the Estonian weekly âEESTI ELUâ Tartu College Publications Founding Chairman: Elmar TampĂ”ld Editor: Laas Leivat 3 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S2 T:â416-733-4550 âą F: 416-733-0944 âąâ E-mail: editor@eestielu.ca Digital: www.eestielu.ca
âIt ainât over, till itâs over.â And then what? Hundreds of meetings, social gatherings, rehearsals, supÂple mentary school classes, camps, all face-to-face group events of any sort â have been canceled or postponed, since March. These were the activi ties that gave the Estonian communities abroad some tangible substance and pur pose. The physical presence and personal interactions with Âothers of a similar heritage help us confirm our identity as being connected to the same ethnic background. But can vÂirtual group activity, even temporarily, be replacement for the real thing? A virtual community, itâs said, is a group of people who exchange information and ideas by interacting through cyber networks. Now itâs as if orga nizers of online group connec tions within Estonian communi ties abroad, somehow anointed with the same IT talent and wherewithal as their inter nationally touted compatriots in Estonia, were easily able to adapt on-line platforms to keep groups functioning during the pandemic. Meeting virtually has now become common in our com munity, but it doesnât allow the chance encounters, spontaneous interactions and discussions that occur face-to-face. Being iso lated and contained may actually be re-orienting our relationships with each other in the Estonian community. Unlike some other ethnic communities that congregate within defined urban neighbour hoods, Estonians are spread far and wide throughout Toronto, which probably has the largest concentration of active compa triots abroad, not counting Brussels and cities in Finland. In short, members of the Estonian community donât in teract face-to-face on a daily basis anyway. However during normal times, scheduled events provide this personal contact. But is personal contact al ways the only way to stimulate interaction for community members? As strange as it may sound, for some, the presence of others does not necessarily provide the comfort necessary for some to remain a
member of a group. Online communication in herently carries a paradox. It obviously creates more dis tance. But it can also create more connection. Itâs able to provide more frequent occa sions to communicate for Âpeople who are physically fur ther and further apart. Still, a Zoom meeting, with 10 or 40 or more people attend ing, listening patiently alone, not seeing the silent reaction of others also listening, simply doesnât cut it for many. One canât gather into little groups and chat spontaneously over coffee. Video conferencing simply does not replicate natural social interactions and discussions that are always expected if the Âgathering took place in authen tic face-to-face form. Once the pandemic is even tually over, and group interac tions occur face-to-face, one can logically ask: âWhich is the more convenient form for gatherings? Is there a compel  ling reason to do this online? A good reason to do this in per son?â Itâs in our genetic code to adapt, to roll with the blow. It was expected that in organizing the formalities of a meeting digitally, Estonians, especially the âdigital generationâ, would be quite adept at it. And so it was. Very early on scouts, guides, supplementary school, fraternities, sororities, etc., were Skypeing, Zooming, getting on with it. Itâs said that previous events/ crises, like 9/11, actually did Âreshape society in a lasting way â how we travel, the level of security and surveillance come  to mind immediately. With the pandemic demanding physical distancing and isolation, do we want a permanent virtual community? Even a lingering  virtual community? Because people of Estonian heritage abroad, even in normal times, are situated in physically distant locations, in essence isolated physically from each  other, group gatherings and so cial interactions face-to-face are necessary for the community to thrive and probably for the community to survive. Our community over the
The Baltic Times/BNS, October 2020 Photo: used with permission from Erik Laar
Weâre Listening with EMW: On October 24th, Spin to the Beat on the Turntable with DJ Erik Laar Vincent Teetsov On October 24th at 8 oâclock in the evening, Estonian Music Week is keeping the groove of the Live-Stream Concert Series going with a virtual party led by DJ, producer, and all-around music innovator Erik Laar. Laar is an important name in the Toronto turntable scene, as a performer and as a teacher of the next generation of DJ artists at Off Centre DJ School. Founded on his knowledge of keeping peopleâs ears perked and heartbeats going, Laar start ed the school in Torontoâs Little India neighbourhood in 2004, as a fun and comfortable envi ronment to learn about the tech nology and creative processes behind DJing and production. Before he drops the needle next Saturday, though, we wanted to get to know him as a person and see what goes into each of these shows. First off, can you give us a hint of what we can expect musically and otherwise from your Live-Stream Concert on the 24th? In this day and age, live video streaming is the most  Âviable alternative that we have, which is cool because itâs more intimate that way. And I think the music that Iâm going to be performing reflects that as well. My general background and Âinfluences are more like down tempo, trip hop, chillstep â very moody genres. And thatâs very much where I get my inspira tion from. Generally, my music is super layered and has at mospheric backgrounds that are accentuated by these really hard and punctuating beats. Thatâs the vibe usually. I do it all on
years had established a weekly/ seasonally routine. In Toronto for example, parents had to be deployed for activity Tuesday nights, Saturday mornings, July and August for camps. De cember for a large celebration. February for solemn commemo ration, etc. It was a rhythm that attached itself to active house holds. The pandemic destroyed it. A new routine, not as satisfying, but one which provided an effortless alternative that re  placed it fairly effortlessly. Will it be onerous, if at all, to return to old practices?
electronics and turntables, so itâs a live performance where Iâm using the turntables as a musical instrument and adding live production to it as well. Iâm adding beats on the fly, triggering loops and samples, and things like that. Iâll also be doing some singing and looping of my vocals. We see DJs at clubs and parties, building lots of energy in a room with their mixes, but as an experienced practi tioner yourself, what do you think is the most misunder stood part of creating music with turntables, your own voice, samplers, and the like? It really is a musical instru ment like any other, so itâs not just pressing play, which I think is what a lot of people have this idea of. Some DJs do that, where youâre pressing play on one track and then pressing play on another track. For that, the art of it is in the tracks that youâre selecting, and creating a playlist essentially. With turn tablism and live beat making, the focus is placed more on Âmanipulating sounds and push ing artistic boundaries to create something original. Youâre said to have a vinyl collection with around 2,000 records. What have you been taking out to listen to most recently that we should listen to ourselves? Yeah, give or take. I havenât counted lately, it might be more than that! Iâve been drawing a lot of influence from a UK artist  (Continued on page 11)
In a shrinking community situation, we need more people to pull themselves out of the massive cultural melting pot surrounding us and re-establish their relationships and interac tions with a tiny but feisty Âcommunity. Weâre known to be resilient. Will our adaptability in inter changing face-to-face interac tions with digital solutions help or hinder the return to normal gatherings at the same or even higher (necessary in a diminish ing situation) attendance levels? Should we be proactive in this? LAAS LEIVAT
TALLINN â Foreign ministers of the European Union have agreed on imposing sanctions on Aleksandr Lukashenko and on Russian officials. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu recently attend ed the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. The ministers agreed on impos ing sanctions on Lukashenko in response to the situation in Belarus and on Russian officials in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. âAn important item of the agenda today was the situation in Russia, mainly in light of the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Those respon sible for the poisoning of Navalny must be held to ac count and I am glad that the foreign ministers of the EU supported targeted sanctions on Russian officials for this terrible crime,â Reinsalu said. He said that the EUâs policy towards Russia must remain united and principled because Russia was continuing its de structive behavior and disregard for international law, demon strated by its non-compliance with the Minsk agreements. On the topic of Belarus, Reinsalu noted that the situation had not improved. âWe as the international community must pay more attention to supporting the  democratic future and civil  Âsociety of Belarus,â he said. âAs the EU, we must decide how to pursue dialogue with Belarus in the future. In a show of soli darity with Lithuania and Poland, Estonia has already recalled its ambassador for  Âconsultations. The sanctions Âalready imposed by the EU are also a welcome step, and today we agreed with our colleagues that Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is responsible for what is happening in Belarus, would be added to the list,â the foreign minister emphasized. Reinsalu also condemned the armed attacks in NagornoKarabakh that continue despite a humanitarian ceasefire. âThe situation must be re solved peacefully, the use of Âviolence must end,â the foreign minister said. He said he hoped the parties would return to the negotiating table in the OSCE Minsk Group formula. The EU foreign ministers also discussed the BelgradePristina Dialogue, issues related to Latin America and the Caribbean, the situation in Mozambique, the EU-Ukraine Summit, Venezuela, and the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.
