Free from emotional burden by community power

Finland has a strong tradition of non-governmental organisations. Evakkolapset (Child evacuees) is an association of Karelian people founded in Vihti in 2002. The child evacuees’ own organisation was specifically set up to explore and discover common feelings that have emerged as a legacy of evacuation. Evakkolapset has a web page for collecting emotional memories, on which material is still accumulated. Many workshops have been held through the organisation, where emotional burdens have been dismantled by writing, participating in setting up exhibitions, or painting. Remembrance and cultural events are central to the organisation’s work.

Jorma Huuhtanen, the former director with Karelian roots, of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, told about his own evacuation trip at a seminar of the Evakkolapset in 2019. In the relocation district, Juuka, the reception was not good. “I needed milk, but it wasn’t given from big houses. Milk was obtained from the houses of one cow, only.” “We started as chasers in the race” summed up Huuhtanen the position of the Karelians in the local economy of Juuka. When others had completed fields and houses, the Huuhtanens, like other evacuees, had a mere forest from which the fields were cleared. From this rear arc, however, they rose to the forefront of development.

According to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, people have the right not to be ridiculed for their faith. Freedom of religion provides protection for a person’s religious beliefs and religious feelings. Would post-war avoidance of discussing religious differences continue to complicate the debate on differences? The essential element of human dignity is that people have an innate value. We all have to respect it. The state must create laws that strengthen human dignity. Laws and decrees alone are not enough, they must be seen to influence in practice.

Museums carry their share of the task of keeping Karelian heritage and histories alive. Not only material culture, but also intangible heritage is important. In 2017, the Kuopio Museum hosted a Pop-up exhibition ‘Homes of the Heart: Migrant Karelians and their Descendants in Savo’. It presented the experiences of the displaced Karelians and their descendants about the evacuation period and about life in Savo afterwards. The exhibition included their photographs and objects from the evacuation period. Two experienced interpreters with Karelian background interpreted it for YLE’s news reporter. For both Viktor Jetsu, evacuated from the Karelian Strait at the age of 6, and Marja Asikainen, a second-generation displaced Karelian, the importance of their Karelian language community was big. The bullet dug from Jetsu’s father’s shoulder during the Winter war, is infinitely valuable to Viktor. It was hanging by the father’s military image in the museum. Jetsu told:

“Every other evening we gathered with someone’s family and recalled the experiences of the war and, what I most loved, the parents talked in their own Karelian language.”

Asikainen’s mother had not been able to bring anything with her during the evacuation, but she had brought her Karelian language and stories:

“Mom had just a mattress cover bag in which she had put a photo album and something for the kids. She had to leave within two hours” … ”Through my family, I have gained a strong cultural identity.”

According to Kuopio Museum’s director Merja Heiskanen, the lesson learnt from the exhibition was that there have been people in Savo who have had to leave their homes and people who have invited them into their table, in the past, too.