Honestly, I should clean my desktop. Too many unused apps and files but one of these documents I keep in front of my eyes on purpose. An unused Ryanair voucher from an originally booked flight from Riga to Dublin last April. I was invited to a wedding, a real Irish wedding at a beautiful country…Read more Making this soul sing
Latvia
There and back : #FreedomWay for Belarus
Last Sunday, August 23, I went on a very special pilgrimage to Lithuania. Quite different from what some may expect when hearing this word, but the kind I find the most meaningful spiritually - for a special cause and on behalf of others. This time to show support for the ordinary people of Belarus who…Read more There and back : #FreedomWay for Belarus
Courage to be available
Courage is something I think about often and have fantasized about it a lot. Whether simply speaking my mind, taking a risky decision, confronting a challenging situation or dealing with a peer pressure. I have noticed that I am always drawn to the real life people or fictitious characters who display the unexpected and practical…Read more Courage to be available
Communicative memory through three or four generations of family
I love browsing through my grandmother's photo albums, especially, searching for visual glimpses of her life before or during World War II, before and during the Soviet, then Nazi and then again Soviet regime. There are not many photos to find.. First of all, they were a simple farming family who did not have many…Read more Communicative memory through three or four generations of family
In the church this side of the barricades
In January expect a real winter in Latvia. Icy sidewalks, snow piles, slush, messy driving... this time of the year I walk the streets of Riga watching every step and practicing good balance. January with its cold temperatures is also a month that brings memories from 1991. Every year Latvia commemorates January 20 and The…Read more In the church this side of the barricades
Wrestling with the antisemitism of the past and of the present
I have wanted to write this for a while but kept postponing... and tried to understand why?! One of the simple explanations is that it is extremely difficult to write about national shame, inhumane ideologies, ordinary people with extraordinary hatred or indifference. It is difficult to say something about all of this without too many…Read more Wrestling with the antisemitism of the past and of the present
Beating the swords into plowshares? One day…
Today is centennial Armistice Day in western Europe and around the world to mark the end of World War I (1914-1918). 100 years is quite the landmark! In Latvia November 11 is named after Lācplēsis who is a national, but fictional hero from an epic poem. He fought for freedom from the evil forces, in…Read more Beating the swords into plowshares? One day…
Ask Latvians about the Corner House and take time to listen
This museum - the former KGB headquarters in Rīga - is not for the disinterested or the deeply traumatized by Latvia's totalitarian past. In the first group, you quickly realize that this is a very somber space. Every room has soaked up fears, tears and witnessed intimidation, humiliation, broken lives and tortured consciences... For the…Read more Ask Latvians about the Corner House and take time to listen
Why the right to vote is my privilege
Election day in Latvia is coming to an end... the important part is behind us but the interesting part is still ahead. The polling booths have closed. Now all is left is to wait for the results. I have bittersweet feelings. While voting today at the nearby polling station, I was thinking about my 95…Read more Why the right to vote is my privilege
Israel-Palestine conflict and my personal challenge
This one is hard. Not because I have nothing to say or because it is too complicated. No, it is because I am a Western Christian and also student of theology/religion. And there is no other international geopolitical issue which can divide Christians as sharply as the Israel-Palestine past, present and future. No matter how…Read more Israel-Palestine conflict and my personal challenge