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EESTI ELU reedel, 20. detsembril 2019 — Friday, December 20, 2019
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Donor Profile: Viru Vanemad Katrin Marley
Pillerkaar, Estonian Folk Dancers from the Washington, DC Metro Area, had a busy and festive day when they performed at two holiday markets in Maryland on Saturday, December 7, 2019. The festivities started at the West Annapolis Winterfest and European Christmas Market just around the corner from the Naval Academy’s Michie Stadium where three couples opened the two-weekend market with a rousing folk dance performance. An enthralled crowd gathered around – some warming themselves at a nearby fire pit – as the dancers performed several of the Estonian classics. The performance closed with what has become a Pillerkaar holiday tradition, “Oige ja vasemba”, which was performed to “Welcome Christmas” from the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” The audience was also invited to join in a couple of dances. But the day was just getting started, and – speaking of holiday traditions - the next stop was the German inspired Christmas Village in Baltimore and a joint Christmas show with the BaltimoreWashington Estonian Singers. The Inner Harbor tent was packed with market-goers to see the show, including a large contingent of the Baltimore and Washington Estonian communities, and the performers were prepared to get them into the holiday spirit. Pillerkaar had an extra-long program of ten dances that was split into two sets situated around the choir’s merry medley of Estonian Christmas carols. The two groups also performed jointly – singing and d ancing – for two numbers: “Tuljak” and, the audience participation dance to Curly Strings’, “Kauges Külas.” It was a very jolly performance all the way around, and the ginger fresh piparkoogid, passed out to the crowd, were also a crowd pleaser! JEFF ZELEK, Pillerkaar
Analyst: New mode in Estonian politics ERR, December 2019 Constant short-term scandals constitute a new situation in Estonian politics, but because no coalition partner wants to break apart the government, there is no end in sight, University of Tartu political analyst Martin Mölder said on Vikerraadio. “What we have seen since Sunday (when Minister of the Interior Mart Helme (EKRE) criticized Finland’s new prime minister – ed.) is another epi sode in a familiar series. For the past six months, our politics has seen the national conservatives create one scandal after another that spark short-term media crises but also blow over rela tively quickly. They sometimes include no-confidence motions in the parliament, while these are dismissed just as expediently. Our politics has been shifted into a different gear altogether. Frequent scandals that disap pear as abruptly as they were created coming to nothing – it is a new logic we have not yet adjusted to,” Mölder said on the Vikerhommik radio program. The expert said that there is no solution in sight for the cur rent situation because neither EKRE, Isamaa nor Centre can afford to leave the government. “The political situation is locked down to a degree. We are seeing these crises simply because the government is very difficult to replace. Jüri Ratas
(Centre) cannot replace either one of his coalition partners nor can he form a different govern ment – with the Reform Party, for example – without losing the keys to the prime minister’s office. It is a kind of tense balance that allows EKRE to create these scandals and feed off them,” Mölder explained. The consequences of this are twofold, Mölder added. “For EKRE, it is their modus operan di, the way they operate and shape their image. That said, I believe scandals this frequent will eventually deter people from keeping up with politics and work to deepen conflicts, polarization between supporters of different political forces,” he said. Belittling cashier also hits EKRE voters Asked whether Helme’s criti cism (of Marin and the Finnish government – ed.) has harmed Estonia’s international reputa tion, especially considering it was picked up the international press, Mölder said the effect is likely negligible. “Perhaps there was a smid gen of damage done. But it pays to remember that all of it feels more important here than it does elsewhere. Estonian do mestic politics is not a priority for other countries and no great significance is attached to it,” Mölder said. “I’m sure it caught some
one’s eye, but it would take a lot more time, more consecutive incidents to really ruin Estonia’s reputation. It matters more to some people, those who keep a closer eye on the field, but I see it as only a tiny step toward some people thinking less of Estonia. But it is definitely not the ruination of Estonia’s repu tation for anyone outside the country,” the analyst said. Commenting on the atmo sphere in the government, Mölder believes it might not be half as poor as it looks. “What we need to remember is that how the government looks from the outside and how it looks from the inside are two different things, and what hap pens at the negotiating desk, be hind closed doors, without jour nalists, cameras and micro phones present – it’s something else entirely. I believe coopera tion is much closer than the picture painted by the media suggests,” he found.
E STO N I A N LIFE Your source of news about Estonia and Estonians, home and abroad
Katrin (Kati) Marley admits that she is a born and bred Estophile – and she fully intends to stay that way. This means, that for her and her family, the transition to and support of the new International Estonian Centre (IEC) makes perfect sense. “I am a very pragmatic person,” Kati explains. “I look at all the facts and numbers, and if it makes sense, I get behind it. I know that my family and I will use this new centre, and it is my responsibility to help support it to the best of my ability.” Kati says that her three children had the same strong cultural upbring ing as she did growing up in the active Estonian community in Toronto. Kati’s daughter Taimi Hooper and husband Sean live in Cambridge. Their daughter Maali, 4, is already following family tradition and is enthusiastically partici pating in the Estonian kindergarten. Her son Paul and partner Kairi-Ly Tammeoks live in Tallinn, Estonia and son Allan is in Toronto. Kati had a 40-year career as a clinical pharmacist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, specializing in palliative care and geriatrics. This included providing support to Casey House for 13 years, a hospice for AIDS patients, during the difficult and chal lenging time of the disease’s epidemic. She loved her career, but reports she is busier in retirement than she has ever been. Kati says, “The lectures and events at Tartu College are just fabulous. Anything that VEMU does, I am there.” In addition to the joy of looking after Maali, interests include travel, theatre, music and continuing education in many fields. Kati and her family have always been extremely active in the commu nity. She is a long-time member of the Ööbik choir and participated for many years in guides and folk dancing both as a member and in leadership roles. She also served on the Estonian House board for eight years as secretary. Her parents Bruno and Elsa Lindre were in leadership positions for organi zations such as Estonian guides and scouts, camp Kotkajärve and Vana Andres church. It was natural for Kati to follow in their footsteps. She was also an instructor in the folk dancing troupe and passed the baton for this passion to her daughter Taimi, who now is one of the driving forces behind the popular dance group known as Kungla. “It must be in the genes” says Kati. Taimi’s cousins Karin and Elin are
Journalist: Estonian… (Continued from page 25)
radio station TRE; which has ties to EKRE, Helme called into question the competence of the new government to be able to manage as the executive power. “I would still recall [Soviet leader] Vladimir UlyanovLenin’s saying that every cook could become a minister, or something to that effect,” he said. “Now we can see that a salesgirl has become prime minister and some other street activist and uneducated person has also become a member of the government.”
also folkdance instructors in Kungla’s children’s group and the Toronto Estonian School. “We were thrilled because Kungla was again accepted into ‘Tantsupidu’ (the dance festival) in Estonia this year,” she said. “That was a real honour.” Kati is very pleased that four major Estonian organizations based in Toronto have come together to support and guide the project: Tartu College, the Estonian Credit Union, the Estonian House and the Estonian Foundation of Canada. “The issue of a sustainable future home for the Estonian community was in limbo for so long,” Kati remarked. “I am extremely grateful that now there is a group of talented individuals who are taking on this work. The depth and breadth of the expertise on the team is incredible.” Kati believes that the new IEC will build on the strength instilled by the previous generation. “There is still very much a beating heart in the Estonian community so we need a place to come together and ensure it stays healthy and strong in a sustainable, vibrant new home.” Get involved and help support our future The International Estonian Centre’s capital campaign donor categories are Kalevipoja Laud for gifts over $100,000 (including naming rights for specific areas), Viru Vanemad for gifts over $10,000, and Kungla Rahvas for gifts up to $10,000. Stay tuned for the launch of the Kungla Rahvas campaign in 2020. To make a donation, please contact Urve Tamberg at donations@estonian centre.ca. Donations may be made as a family gift, or in honour of an individual or family. All Canadian and U.S. donations will be issued a tax receipt. Let’s keep in touch! • Visit our website www.estoniancen tre.ca for regular updates • Sign up for our monthly email news letter at www.estoniancentre.ca • Follow us on Facebook: @ EestiKeskus
He commented more broadly on the Finnish government as well. “Now we can actually see to some extent how the historical revenge of the reds on the whites is taking place – that is to say, the reds who wanted to li quidate the Finnish state in the [Finnish Civil War of 1918] already have now come to power and are now desperately trying to liquidate Finland, turning it into some kind of europrovince which may still be called Suomi or Finland as a territory, but which in fact completely drags along the tail of the ideological philosophy of the so-called Fukuyama-esque end of history.”
