Pradžia / Radikaliai
 

Writer and filmmaker Imbi Paju: “To deal with the legacy of totalitarianism is a hard work”

According to Wikipedia, famous Estonian writer, journalist and filmmaker Imbi Paju is a specialist in the Baltics. She won international attention with documentary film and book Memories Denied (2005), in which she told story of her mother’s experiences in a Soviet slave labor camp, the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and the attempts by totalitarian regimes to destroy human memory. The next documentary film Sisters across the Gulf of Finland (2009), which deals with terror and totalitarianism, is a story about how Estonian, Finnish and other Scandinavian women around Baltic Sea worked together to prevent the onset of crisis and war their own unique actions. Now her book “Sisters across the Gulf of Finland” was published in Lithuania by publishing house “Homo Liber”.

Mindaugas Peleckis
2015 m. Kovo 04 d., 15:48
Skaityta: 195 k.
Imbi Paju: "Lithuania has inspired me and I thank you for that."
Imbi Paju: "Lithuania has inspired me and I thank you for that."

Imbi Paju answered to interview questions.

With what feelings did You arrive to Vilnius to present Your book? It is a big and interesting work. How did it start?

The publication of my book in Lithuanian and the recent book fair represents a short life story. Last year at this time my documentary film “Sisters across the Gulf of Finland” was presented at the Vilnius Officers' House. After the presentation I appeared together with the previous Finnish Defense Minister, the United Nations special representative Elizabeth Rehn, professor Dalia Leinarte, as well as both the Estonian and Finnish ambassadors. Among the attendees were people of culture, military personnel, writers and so on. I was surprised by the deep spirituality that reigned amongst these people. Sometimes it is said in Estonia that Lithuanians are "the King's people" and seriously, these profound, mature, culturally rich origins were felt the entire time. The Lithuanian translator for my film, Danutė Sirijos Giraitė, introduced me to writer Vilius Gužauskas (publishing house “Homo Liber”) and then things started happening very quickly.

Now I was at the Vilnius Book Fair with my own book. The Vilnius Book Fair was organized very well. I am grateful that all the Lithuanian journalists and intellectuals who interviewed me, no matter what their gender or age, understood my individual style and message as well as the proximity to psycho­history. I simply didn't have to elaborate any further. This was the first time I'd felt a special satisfaction from this.

It was a good fit for all of us, both for the professor of politics Mindaugas Jurkynas and the literary scholar Rima Pociūtė.

The first seeds of thought for my current body of work came to me fifteen years ago. “Memories Denied”, which is a story about my mother, her twin sister and others of her generation who were deported in 1948 to slave labor camps in Russia. Before that I'd written a massive number of articles for Finnish as well as Estonian newspapers. I thought that when the Soviet Union collapsed then the entire Western World would already have known about the terror and mass murders that had taken place in the Baltic republics. In reality the propaganda instigated by the Kremlin had established in Finland as well as the West a favorable impression by way of organizing and funding young peoples' festivals and peace marches. Westerners didn't know anything about the history of deportations to the gulags. The intellectuals of the West had rationalized the occupation of the Baltic republics. I had two options: study in a Helsinki university and be employed as a writer in Helsinki. But I was bitter.

Should I consider myself as a victim or should I take the reins in hand and speak about what really took place in Estonia and the other Baltic republics. I have not deviated from the hard facts about the Cold War. I've taken the historical facts, peoples' life stories, and with empathy embedded in the language together with a social and psychological perspective, I create conversations, essays which reveal the Soviet system as it was. That is why my work is referred to by historians, researchers in life stories as well as psychologists and psychiatrists to investigate the trauma of the collective. All my books are, in a way, therapeutic. History is nothing more than peoples' lives and when you start to talk about this life it can be painful. But by speaking about pain it's possible to heal the wound. Thus my book the "Sisters Across the Gulf of Finland" was preceded by the documentary film and the book “Memories Denied”, as well as the collection of articles that both the writer Sofi Oksanen and I wrote, entitled “Fear Was Behind Everything”.

In my book “Sisters Across the Gulf of Finland”, I try to remind people that war could have been avoided if the smaller border countries would have worked together.

But this didn't happen. Poland and Lithuania argued, Finland turned its back and turned towards Sweden but Sweden was indifferent about cooperating with Finland.

However, the women in Finland, Scandinavia, the Baltic republics and Poland created a network between themselves. They had no political power but they had moral empowerment. Their cooperation has not been researched properly.

In Finland there is a Master's thesis program and the Finnish lotta museum has research material pertaining to this subject. Most of the more active ladies were sent to Siberia and killed. The Finnish lotta organization was labeled by the Kremlin as fascist and was forbidden to exist.

While writing my books I hoped that with this work I could hold back military conflicts. The senior editor for the Economist, Edward Lucas, wrote that “Memories Denied” represents a mild protection for Estonia. Yet we are now in a situation where the old political patterns are coming to life again. I have described this pattern in my book. I have also tried to offer people an understanding and some solace and inspiration. Last year my book was also published in Sweden. Now in the fourth country, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Lithuania my book is being discussed. One book can't solve our problems from the past but one book can inspire future discussions and in this was awaken that which supports life.

Being a journalist, writer and filmmaker, You are a specialist in the Baltics. It's probably the casual question, but still possibly unsolved: why (if) Baltic States differ so much? For example, Lithuania and Estonia.

I'm not really convinced that we are so different. Before coming to Lithuania I read Canadian born writer Andres Kasekamp's book, A History of the Baltic States (2010).

I hope that this book will be translated into Lithuanian as well. I don't know the Lithuania of today very well but that which appears outwardly interesting and culturally rich astonishes me with its great culture. The President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, is an intelligent and confident woman and she has a fantastic visiting card in Europe. If Estonia is for some reason ahead, then perhaps we've been lucky that we have Finland for a neighbor. When Estonia became independent then thousands of Finns came to Estonia to help. They were ordinary people but this is what woke Estonians up, namely NGOs. Estonia is full of actively involved grass roots people. This is what people have learned to do. To work together means that the world will change and the ordinary person's word carries clout. The professor of History Aigi Rahi­Tamm said that in 1941 when the Soviet Union initiated their occupation, the first people to be deported to Siberia were those from volunteer organizations because they were the most dangerous to the Soviet system. Now all of these kinds of organizations have been re­established. A lot has been accomplished in Estonia by way of these organizations. Estonia is almost entirely free of any corruption and we have very little bureaucracy.

Information technology is well developed. But I don't think that the world has yet become aware of Lithuania. The Nordic countries put a lot of importance on cultural diplomacy. It is my belief that the Baltic states don't know how to do this very well yet. For example, the Finnish Foreign Ministry and Cultural Ministry are involved in a lot of work in making sure their people are well informed about other countries. In Estonia, it's only when the Cultural Ministry finances a project that this gets done. . All three of the Baltic states should work together to promote each other and especially in the field of tourism so that interest towards us will be aroused. I just recently discovered Lithuania and I am completely enamored with Vilnius. Many however, have still not come to this realization themselves. The Russian propaganda only focuses on Baltic Nazis.

We must not hold ourselves back from each others' countries and our respective creativity, notwithstanding from each other.

Your documentary film and movie "Memories Denied" (2005) which was awarded is about Your Mother's experiences in a Soviet slave labor camp, the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and the attempts by totalitarian regimes to destroy human memory. How do You see our postsoviet societies, Estonian society after such post­traumatic stresses? How did it change?

The history of the work is quite difficult. The Germans have done this for a long time. Take for example the Topography of Terror museum that recently opened in Berlin in 2010. This was built where there used to be the Gestapo Headquarters. The Germans said that the process of constructing this building was very painful. And any conversation about the Holocaust wasn't started until two decades after the end of the war. Where there were forcefully occupied regimes, there you will find people who in the name of self preservation will do what it takes and thus morals will succumb. Many people have told me that their parents worked in the KGB and they experience deep guilt about their parents and some are actually depressed over this. So, it's not just the victims and their descendants who carry the burden of history. In my books I have tried to write from the point of view of the actual system. Then each reader can decide for themselves how to proceed forward with the information that was provided for them. Even the Vilnius Book Fair provided in its own way a kind of therapy where we shared our experiences. Contemplation provides freedom and it's a personal, cleansing process. Shared experiences and empathy is most important. Writing therapy is very popular in the Nordic countries and it's a painless way to think about one's life and going forward, to live one's life in a better way.

"Sisters across the Gulf of Finland" book is finally in Lithuanian language (by wonderful publishing house “Homo Liber”). How does it differ from "Memories Denied"? You also explore the themes of terror, totalitarianism and humanity. What hidden pages of history did You find?

“Sisters Across the Gulf of Finland” is in its own way a sequel to “Memories Denied”. “Memories Denied” is not only my mother's story but I also contemplate, ask, examine how, for example, our understanding of justice was influenced by the Soviet Russian code of law. This legal system was like Orwell's book “1984”. In the film and in the book “Sisters Across the Gulf of Finland”, I discovered the forgotten and shared history of the Baltic Sea women. In Finland they talk about the war and their Finnish heroes' in battle. Beginning in the year 2000, a couple of influential Finnish people started accusing the Estonians and other Baltic states that they were themselves to blame for the occupation because they didn't fight against Stalin. This has caused many Estonians to experience a sense of low self esteem. I show in my book how absurd these accusations are because Finland was forced to sign agreements with its neighbor that went against its conscience. In my mind's eye, this needs to be discussed even today because it has caused us to become weaker in terms of working together in the eyes of larger nations. Then we will have learned something from history.

Historical denial is a big and common problem, isn't it? What main and hardest historical denials could You name as You lectured about it in lots countries of the world?

History is a painful thing. For example, it's only just during the last couple of years that documentary films are being made focusing on the fact how not a single country in the West, including the US, didn't want to help the Jews even though it was known what was happening in Nazi Germany. Up until recently, that is how the West has typified Eastern Europe; rather than heroes they blame Eastern Europe. It is not possible to become free from the past by relying on blame but rather by listening and sharing. I talk about all of this in my book. Whenever there is war, there is always an emergence of archetypes: instigators, collaborators, winners, losers, victims. When I appeared in Taiwan I couldn't understand why my film “Memories Denied” was chosen for the second largest Asian film festival. After viewing the film just about everyone in the room was crying and they asked me how I could get my mother to speak in front of the camera. They have the same trauma vis a vis China.

One woman stood up in the room and said she now understands her mother. Working with history is painful and slow. I very much admire how Vilnius remembered its Jews where the walls of the houses where the Jews lived displayed their names. This says a lot. We can no longer get these people back but by talking about the stories of these lost people, we bring to life something good inside ourselves and address our sense of guilt and ask for forgiveness. In the Berlin metro there are large pictures of Jewish innovators who enriched German culture up until they were sent to the concentration camps.

The Vilnius Occupation Museum is powerful and much better than the Tallinn museum. It shows us the blind side of humanity.

What are Your feelings to Lithuania and Lithuanians, Vilnius Book Fair? How do You see / know Lithuanian society?

I felt really good at the Vilnius Book Fair. I made a lot of new friends and my heart stayed behind in Vilnius. I will be returning to Vilnius in the spring. The first night after the fair, I stood at night in front of the Cathedral and cried. Not a single city has affected me in this way with its beauty. And the people were polite and it seemed as if they weren't quite aware of the powerful and beautiful culture they have been assigned to support and carry. Lithuania has inspired me and I thank you for that.

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