Dear members of the Popular Front of Latvia!
Ladies and Gentlemen!
I would like to begin my address with a dialogue that is taking place between a priest and his disciple:
"(...) We must say that the fog is about to clear.
But will it clear?
We must say.
Even if it was a lie?
It will not be a lie. The fog will clear (...)".
These words belong to the characters of the play "Living Water", written in 1987 by the poet Māra Zālīte. The main character of the play, The Priest, struggles with himself and with the people around him because he does not know how to disperse the fog. How to dispel the fog in people and how to wake up from the endless fog and regain faith.
Today we look back on our Third Awakening. What is Awakening anyway? When did it begin and is it over?
Thirty-five years ago, the fog cleared and we awakened. If there is an awakening, it was obviously preceded by sleep, and in sleep there was a dream. So, we talk about regaining our freedom, but before that the Soviet Union was a nightmare, not a dream.
Thirty-five years ago, we individually and then collectively concluded that we were indeed living in a nightmare. Different generations, different mindsets. I say "we" deliberately, because I, too - then as a 15-year-old - felt part of this process.
To realise that you are dreaming and to wake up are not the same thing. The Popular Front of Latvia began to awaken the whole of Latvia. Everyone, regardless of nationality, regardless of age, regardless of profession. There were many discussions about the best way to wake up. It would be a fallacy to think that this happened without arguments, that everyone had the same opinion about everything and that everyone got up and went to bed with a folk song on their lips. Everyone had their own vision of the pace, the participants and the future. But one thing was clear: we had to keep our eyes open and get up on our feet. And the controversy that preceded it no longer matters. Because we succeeded - we woke up.
Thirty-five years ago, the Popular Front of Latvia galvanised and awakened Latvian society. Every member of Popular Front in his place and in his own time did what he could, and it turned out to be exactly what was needed. And the fog of uncertainty in the world about the Baltic States gradually cleared. For it was the visible and invisible work of each participant that put Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia back on the world map. The fog dissipated and we woke up!
But not all dreams end happily. This is what has happened in Ukraine, where the evil empire, Russia, does not want to allow one more nation to wake up. Ukraine is not and never will be Russia's backyard, because Crimea is Ukraine, Donbass is Ukraine, Kharkiv is Ukraine, Kherson is Ukraine and Zaporizhia is Ukraine. Latvia is and will be by Ukraine's side and will support it until it moves away from the empire of lies and evil.
Dear members of the Popular Front of Latvia!
Often, historically significant milestones occur and decisions are taken not in parliamentary debates, but at another level - when the yearning for freedom of countless people falls into it. The wheel of history turns at the moment when each individual, with his own perseverance and faith, is able to change the course of history. The Popular Front of Latvia is a vivid example of this.
Dear members of the Popular Front of Latvia, you carry Latvia's yearning for freedom on your shoulders. It was you who dispelled the fog of insecurity and made the majority of the Latvian people believe that the Republic of Latvia proclaimed in 1918 was not a dream, but a renewable and realisable ideal of our people.
Ladies and gentlemen!
We are located in the Riga Castle. It was here that the recent jubilarian Alberts Bels, together with Ēvalds Valters, at a demonstration organized by the Popular Front of Latvia on November 11, 1988, raised the national flag of Latvia for the first time after the years of Soviet occupation in the Tower of the Holy Spirit. And another dream became a reality.
Many of you will probably always remember and cherish the daina recited by the legendary actor Ēvalds Valters at the founding congress of the Popular Front of Latvia:
My fatherland belongs to me
With all set-aside,
It is my duty to be my own master,
To be my own ploughman.
You did it. We have succeeded. But it would be funny if the most important event of the day was waking up. With the Awakening, it all just began. Then we had ploughing. It was up to us to determine how we would live and work here. Where to start? Where to plough? Where not to plough? What to plant? Who gets the harvest? And do those who are entitled really get the harvest? Of course, opinions diverged. But waking up we were already fighting for it - for everyone to be allowed to have an opinion. I hear, both in the past and now, that many people are disappointed because the ideals of the Awakening have fizzled out and have not been achieved. I think the main thing - freedom - has been achieved.
It's not uncommon to hear people say that we were united then, that we believed in the same ideals, but now we are just bickering. Not true. Enough sprinkling ashes on our heads. I think that many of you here will agree with me that there were many disputes and disagreements during the Popular Front, but you were unanimous on what was important: we must win our independence, our chance to argue, to demand, to discuss, to do. The same is true today. We are different, but at important moments we can unite for a great cause - we can argue about many everyday nonsenses. For example, we can argue about the content of education, we can complain about the planning of street repairs. But! When it comes to practical support for the victims of the war in Ukraine, our everyday noises can recede.
Suddenly, it turns out, the greatest nationalist and the most open-minded citizen in the world can listen and cooperate. A grandmother in Ķengarags and a young family from Cēsis work together. Because we share values that unite us. And for their sake, we are able to completely forget about our differences.
Sometimes, after a long sleep, there is a great temptation to turn to other side and sleep further. Thirty-five years have passed since you made sure that the whole nation woke up and did not sleep away this historic opportunity. Thank you for that!
I have no doubt that history is important. But even more important than history is the future. With each passing day, your work of that time is not forgotten, but becomes more and more important.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Independence is constant. As soon as we relax and show no interest in our freedom, someone else becomes interested in it. As soon as we start to cultivate our land more lazily, others come out of the bushes - foreign ploughers. We fought for our freedom thirty-five years ago, we are fighting now, and we will have to fight in thirty-five years. Let us fight with our work, with our love. Let us fight for a happier Latvia, for a more prosperous society, for a safer home. Let us fight for a Latvia where we can proudly say "Thank you, I am doing well!" Let's fight for a Latvia where we are happy that others are doing well.
The ability to join hands at important moments shows that our ideals have not gone anywhere. And we have goals for a better educated, wealthier and happier Latvia. Goals, not dreams. Because a goal means that we are ready to do something. But a dream would mean that we want to fall asleep and let others do it. And our task is to get rid of this intrusive daily slumber. Because the Awakening never ends.
Thank you!
