Saeima re-elects Vīķe-Freiberga as president

Andris Straumanis | 

In an 88-6 vote during a special meeting of the Saeima, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga has been re-elected president of Latvia.

The 65-year-old Vīķe-Freiberga, first elected as a compromise candidate four years ago, was the only candidate considered this time by the 100-seat parliament. Her second term will expire in 2007.

In a speech immediately after her re-election, Vīķe-Freiberga thanked legislators for their overwhelming support.

“I see it as a sign,” the president said, “that we in Latvia are able to unite over those major goals and ideals that we would like to see brought to life.”

Vīķe-Freiberga has managed to maintain consistently high popularity, despite being someone who returned to Latvia after five decades of exile and despite a few unpopular decisions. Most recently, she was criticized by some for her support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

A few critics also questioned why members of the ruling coalition pushed for an earlier presidential election in March. A vote in the Saeima was originally set for March 12, but was canceled after legal experts suggested such a move could cause constitutional problems.

In Latvia, the president is elected by parliament, although some political leaders have pushed for a switch to a direct election by voters. At least 51 members of parliament have to support a candidate for him or her to be elected president.

The role of president is largely symbolic, with day-to-day management of the country given to the prime minister and the Cabinet of Ministers. But Vīķe-Freiberga, who holds the distinction of being the first woman president of an Eastern European nation, has used her office to draw attention to Latvia especially as it sought and won invitations to join both the European Union and the NATO defense alliance.

Vīķe-Freiberga, at the time a dual citizen of Canada and Latvia, was elected in 1999 after the parliament failed to choose a president from a slate of five candidates. A retired psychology professor at the Universite de Montreal, Vīķe-Freiberga had returned to Latvia to run the Latvian Institute, a government-sponsored effort aimed at shaping the nation’s image abroad. To become president, she had to renounce her Canadian citizenship.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Sailors’ story comes back to life

Andris Straumanis | 

Many years ago, my parents took me along on a vacation to Nags Head, a small town in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. For a young boy, it was place where history became cool. Pirates used to roam the Atlantic Ocean off Nags Head. To the north is Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright brothers experimented with flight. And to the west is Roanoke Island, site of the mysterious late 16th century “Lost Colony.”

And though I didn’t know it at the time, it is also the place where Latvian sailors became legends during World War II.

Latvians in America had for years known about the story of the Ciltvaira and seven other Latvian merchant ships (the Abagra, Everagra, Everalda, Everasma, Everelza, Ķegums and Regent). Upon learning that their country had been overrun by the Soviet Union, their crews refused to return to an occupied nation and instead volunteered to help the Allies. Not all the mariners were Latvian.

On Jan. 19, 1942, just weeks after the United States had been dragged into the war, a German submarine torpedoed the Ciltvaira off the coast of North Carolina near Nags Head. Two of the 32 sailors died, but the rest were rescued.

Five more of the ships fell to torpedos that year: the Everasma on Feb. 28, the Abagra on May 6, the Regent on June 14, the Everalda on June 29, the Everelza on Aug. 13. Only the Everagra and the Ķegums survived the war.

Their story was detailed in a series of articles appearing earlier this year in Chas, a Russian-language daily newspaper in Rīga. Because few in Latvia knew the tale, the series saw broad interest, even earning a commendation from Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete. The Latvian-language daily Diena published a version of the story in its Sestdiena magazine. And the Associated Press carried the story around the world.

Back in the United States, the tale of the Latvian sailors took on special meaning for two communities. One, of course, is Nags Head, where for many Ciltvaira perhaps was no more than a name on a street sign. And the other community is the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, whose archives revealed that many of the sailors of the Ciltvaira and other ships had been members of the congregation during World War II.

The two communities came together May 8, when cermonies honoring the sailors were held in Latvia and in North Carolina. At Nags Head, local officials, staff from the Outer Banks Sentinel newspaper and members of the New York Latvian church gathered by the Atlantic Ocean to pay their respects, complete with a 21-gun salute.

The night before, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution honoring the crew of the Ciltvaira.

For the New York church, the event also serves as a reminder of its own history.

A 1944 biography of the Rev. Kārlis Podiņš, who served the New York church for decades, notes how in 1942 the congregation held a special summer service to remember the fallen Latvian sailors and to bolster the spirits of those still living. “Having received their blessing and communion, they returned to the fight with twice the strength and courage,” wrote Austra Truce, who compiled the minister’s biography.

Before and during the war, the arrival of a Latvian ship in the port at New York had been a big event for the congregation, according to the June 1954 issue of the church newsletter, Baznīcas Ziņas, sent to me by Ēriks Niedrītis, a member of the church board.

“Our sailors attended events and came to church,” the article reported, “(and) there were parties in homes and receptions aboard ships.”

But the loss of Latvian lives and ships during the war changed the atmosphere. “The sacrifices of the war at sea brought great losses to Latvian sailors and cut deep into our active membership,” the article continued. “With that, to a great extent, our celebration of the sailors was quieted.”

If you vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, take time to appreciate the history of the region. Read about the pirates. Visit the Wright brothers museum. See the theatrical production of the “Lost Colony.” And if you walk along the beach, pause a moment to remember those Latvian sailors.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Album introduces listeners to songs about birds

Amanda Jātniece | 

Putnu dziesmas

Putnu dziesmas is a strange little recording. It is a collection of children’s songs about birds. But between the songs one hears not only actual recordings of real bird songs, but also the bird song imitations and interpretations (“bird languages”) that have become a part of Latvian folklore. Think “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” and “whip-poor-will.”

Thus, the compact disc includes a great variety, from the long songs “Meža malā klausījos,” “Zvirbuli zvirbuli” and “Visi putni skaisti dzied,” to the standards “Kur Tu teci gailīti mans” and “Skaisti dziedi lakstīgala,” to the very short bunting’s, chaffinch’s and cuckoo’s ditties. The credits on the liner notes even mention an ornithologist, so Putnu dziesmas is obviously well-researched.

The style of Putnu dziesmas is quite similar to Labrītiņi rītiņā, another album in UPE Recording Co.‘s “Latvian Folk Music Collection.” Both reflect the vision of Ilga Reizniece, who also produced both CDs. Following Reizniece’s philosophy that children’s music should be very natural and not pretentious or over-produced, Putnu dziesmas has simple arrangements: kokle, violin, guitar, and whistles—but no synthesizers. All of the songs and verses are sung and said by normal, everyday young children, complete with giggles here and there. It sounds like they had fun during the recording process!

The kids are cute, but not overly so.  Still, Putnu dziesmas may not be for everyone. It fits well into our household, though, because our young children really pay attention to the children’s voices.

Although there truly are many songs and verses about birds in Latvian children’s folklore, many of those on Putnu dziesmas seem to be a bit less well-known, at least to Latvians outside Latvia. That said, I hope this recording will serve to introduce these songs to many children and adults, too.

Details

Putnu dziesmas

Latviešu tautas mūzikas kolekcija

UPE Recording Co.,  2002

UPE CD 040