Inese Dūka

A promise is a promise

As I promised to Stan last night I did go for a walk in the Old Riga and got some pictures of what was going on. First i passed the Freedom Monument and I actually was a bit disappointed as there were not that many flowers there. I guess I just had expected something a lot more elaborate… Already then I felt sorry for the guards of honour that they have to stand there motionless in the nasty weather last night. But it turned out this time these two were not the only ones… I continued my walk to Bastejkalns. I wanted to find the monuments for the people fallen under the attack on the Ministry of Interior back on January 20, 1991. I have to admit that I didn’t know how many monuments there were… It was nice to see that at all 6 monuments there were guards of honour. At 2 of these monuments these guards were policemen as 2 of the killed were policemen too. At one point I was approached by a Russian speaking lady with the question of what was going on. I did my best to explain and was pleased to see her cross herself and say May God rest their souls…

My next stop was the Saeima where I saw the first bonfire. It was also possible to get some hot tea and something to eat. I ask whether or not you have to pay for that. But judging from my experience later on I think it might have been for free. To resemble the atmosphere on the barricades in January 1991. Back then those who could not spend the whole day and night outside provided those who could with food. It was a great way also for little old ladies to be a part of the whole thing…

I can’t say that there were an awful lot of people but there must have been more than a thousand of people round and about. In the Dome square itself there were 2 bonfires lit. I must say it felt strange. Had never thought such a thing was possible. But I guess that’s what it was like 14 years ago. There was also a small stage where there was a small concert – a children’s choir and to rather well known Latvian singers – Arnis Miltiņš and Gunārs Kalniņš. Lucky for me – both are my favourites… But there were also the occasional dissatisfied people. Mostly in their 70’s. Who wanted the musicians to stop “bellowing” and to let “fighters” like themselves do the talking and share the memories…

In the middle of all that I managed to meet my younger cousin Ilze with her husband and 2 sons. I had a feeling that something like this could happen as I know both of them to be passionate Latvian patriots. It is also thanks to this fortunate meeting that I could get on the other side of the camera as well. One more interesting thing came out of this meeting – they offered me to go with them to Ķīpsala, where there was meant to be a concert. It actually turned out very nice with video materials from the barricades (a very good link), free food and patriotic songs to sing. The most songs the choir sang I hadn’t sung for years. Patriotic songs. Songs about war, riflemen, soldiers and their sisters left at home. At least for half of the songs the audience got to their feet… I think that’s the thing I like most about our nation – we are the singing nation. For better or for worse…

January, 1991

It’s amazing how time flies. Already 14 years have passed... January 20 is now a remembrance day for the events in January 1991 – the barricades and the storming of the Ministry of Interior. Although I was only 11 at the time but I still remember some things rather clearly. Like standing in front of the TV in disbelief about what’s going on in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was just too much to understand for 11 years old that a tank could just drive over a person…

Thinking about many things I have wished to have been born some 5-10 years earlier just to be a part of it. To remember it more clearly. To experience it for myself. Perhaps to take an active part in it… My mom has always said that the night she spent on the barricades in Old Riga was the best time she has ever had in Riga. Everybody was so friendly and good-natured. Singing and drinking tea while warming themselves at the fires. That’s what we hear a lot – at that time people were united. I wish I could have experienced that…

I will try to get a taste of it tonight in the Dome square where there will be a bon-fire lit for the people who stood on barricades back in 1991 and also those who always believed the independent Latvia.

After doing some surfing in the www on this topic I found this quotation that pretty much sums up that time:

In January, 1991, Black Beret troops seized several buildings in Riga. In Vilnius, Lithuania, the Black Berets skirmished with civilians in a fight for the main radio and television facility, killing fourteen Lithuanians. Although fears were high in Latvia that troops would end the drive for independence, an estimated 700,000 people took to the streets, erected barricades around important government buildings, and initiated street patrols. Although the virtually unarmed citizenry posed little real threat to the Red Army, the symbolic and selfless gesture made by the citizenry galvanized support for independence throughout the Baltics and the rest of the world.

In case you want to have more than one variation to this story you can also follow this link.

I’m sorry if this post doesn’t actually give all that much of information as I find it hard to put it all into words. I guess it’s more of a feeling inside. Deeper than words…

How to escape December 32nd…

…was a TV play I used to watch as a child. Now unfortunately I don’t remember any more what it was all about but the title itself sounds well enough! ;-)) Though the question seemed rather topical with the evening of December 31st approaching fast…

After countless phone calls, sms’es and e-mails it was decided the I am going to celebrate only with Arta, which was more than fine with me as during the last month I hadn’t seen all that much of her. Besides we seemed a match made in heaven – one can’t eat while the other is not allowed… And don’t ask me why…

The plan was to have a dinner, then go downtown to see the big fireworks and then return home and tell the New Year’s fortune. Strangely enough we actually did exactly what the plan was… Mother Nature did play a trick on us as already a couple of hours before midnight a thick fog fell seemingly on the whole of Latvia. At least my parents in Saldus (110 km West of Riga) complained about the same. Taking into consideration this you probably can imagine what the fireworks looked like… Not that I’m really complaining… ;-)) But we did learn one thing out of this – don’t stand all too close to the source of the fireworks if you don’t want to stand hooded in order to avoid the rests falling on you head…

The fortune telling part also went according to the plan. First we tried to cast our own future from lead. That is a rather widely spread Christmas/New Year’s tradition in Latvia. If you have no lead handy then paraffin also suits well. The main difference is that fortune cast from paraffin is mostly horizontal and floats while the one from lead is mostly vertical and sinks. Fortune telling is one of the old pagan Latvian traditions for this time of year. If you read any of the Latvian folk songs you’ll see plenty of magic and fortune telling…Nowadays this whole process is made rather easy as you can by lead figurines that have some sort of saying inside them. In a way a fortune cookie, I guess… Then once you melt down what ever material you’ve got (I can tell you from first hand experience, electrical stove isn’t enough for melting down lead… hehehe…) you cast it into a bowl of cold water. Then all the guessing can begin. Though to be more precise the guessing has to be done not by the outcome itself but from the shadow it casts… The second time around both Arta and I got birds. Seems like some changes are to be expected…

Next item on the plan was Arta giving me and herself a tarot reading for the next year. This also turned out to be much more positive than the general horoscopes we had read so far… And we concluded the evening with lighting the good old brinumsvecite – wonder candle – and making a wish…