The Big, Bad Bear

Here we go again.

Where there is Russia, there is a war. Even in the 21st century. I mean...Unbelievable. Or is it?

First, when the Ukraine war started I was in shock and surprised, then I realized that, of course, this is why we have a compulsory military for all men. This was on the cards all the time. Time does not bring civilization automatically, but the right choices of leadership.

Currently, our lovely neighbor is threatening us with "political and military actions" because we are on the path to joining Nato. I mean, after all of the years of playing nice and neutral and this is the reward...

%&?%&%!

Nato application should be in the mail already if you ask me. Or if it is not, I am off to somewhere else (at least a bit further than the 20 min from the Russian border where I live currently).

My poor mom is terrified of the war as her father (my grandfather) fought in the winter war in 1939. My grandfather fought in the first line but survived, but his brother didn't, he died in "a rain of bullets instantly" (from the war unit's war diary). 

After the Ukraine war started, I told my mom that I really thought that no more Finnish generations wouldn't be traumatized by war but apparently, I was wrong. Now the fear of war has passed into my generation as well, although I thought that in the 21st century that would never happen. But here I am, pondering my family's future living side by side with a country that slaughters its sister nation. If it can do that, what else it is capable of?

Like the pandemic wasn't enough. And climate change hasn't even fully arrived yet! What a future we are facing. I wonder how all of this will affect the birth rate in the future.

Well, I try to stay positive as I always do but it is difficult, especially here that near from the Russian border. I have renewed passports, checked the bunker in our building and now I have to prepare a 3-day survival kit for possible (likely) cyberattacks from Russia, if (when) we decide to join Nato. So now we wait what kind of harassment and bullying they invent for us. A nice year ahead indeed. Again. 

I wasn't that keen on joining Nato because we will be stuck here forever with our unpredictable neighbor, it's not like we can cut ourselves loose and go floating next to England. Some sort of relationship with your neighbor would be important. But I think that we don't have many options left. Although we Finns know exactly how the Russian government and its propaganda work and could live listening to their threats, harassment and mischief, I doubt that foreigners would stand for it. They could work, invest and travel elsewhere, and that's what I am afraid of, bit by bit slipping under the dark wing of Russia, trying to stay neutral at the expense of our own country's flourishment. Not to talk about Russia´s other expansion plans, they might want to secure the 1350-kilometer borderline we have with them someday.

What a bad situation, being here in the middle, but nothing compared to the Ukrainians' fight. They are experiencing something so horrific that there aren't words or sentences to describe it. It's so horrendous, that you keep quiet. Although that's the last thing anyone should do. We should make our opinion clear about this "special operation", and never forget, never forgive. Just like Zelensky said. Russia should not be given a pass to international communities anymore, just let them finally have their bubble of propaganda and paranoia. It has always been there and sorry to say but, it always will, whether the president changes or not.

It would need a revolution to change this country´s idealism, and I don´t see that happening. 

I hope for a good ending, but I don´t see it. I think that from now on, there are only bad options left. 

This has affected especially Europe years to come, and I hope that we Europeans would understand the importance of our unity now more than ever. Democracy is not just a fancy word, is the foundation of our way of life. If protecting it means higher expences, I am happy to join in, the Ukrainians are loosing much more than we who are not in the battlefront. We only pay for the material, and if we stopped doing it, Europe would face a lot darker times ahead of it, believe me.