Finland’s war veterans’ website sotiemmeveteraanit.fi says there are 24,000 war veterans still living in Finland, with a median age of over 90. Close to 4,000 of these veterans were disabled in the fighting. Finland fought three wars during the Second World War that defended and secured Finnish independence: the 1939-1940 Winter War, the 1941-1944 Continuation War and the 1944-45 Lapland War.
Over 600,000 men and 100,000 women fought in these three wars; the youngest were just 17 years old at the time. Every eighth person was killed in battle, and every fourth soldier that returned from battle was disabled for life. Finland’s fight to retain its independence during the Second World War left 30,000 widows and over 50, 000 orphans in its wake, and over half a million people without a home.
In preparation for Finland’s celebration of its 98th year of independence, Yle recently interviewed a sampling of the brave men that fought in the wars and the ‘lottas’, women who worked at the fronts as nurses and assistants. Here are their responses to nine statements on issues that are currently the source of much debate in Finland.
1. “Finland has a responsibility to take on asylum seekers as part of the pan-European refugee crisis.”
The clear majority, 62 percent, of Finland’s war veterans and lottas agree that Finland should accept its share of displaced people streaming through Europe. 25 percent completely agree, while 37 percent somewhat agree. Just 15 percent somewhat disagree and 10 percent completely disagree.
War veteran Reino Toljander said, “I believe that people in distress should be assisted.”
2. “Immigration will bring more good than harm to Finland.”
Of the five options offered to this question, most respondents chose ‘can’t say’ as their answer. 28 percent completely or somewhat agreed, while 44 percent completely or somewhat disagreed.
3. “Same-sex couples should have all the same rights as hetero couples.”
20 percent of war veterans and lottas completely agree, while 39 percent completely disagree. Another 27 percent are on the fence: somewhat in support or opposition, while 12 percent said they couldn’t say.
Lotta Aune Rauhola said, “As long as they act responsibly, people who want to live together shouldn’t present a problem to anyone. The only thing I don’t support in this regard is church-sanctioned gay marriage.”
4. “Today’s youth have a lesser ability to cope with adversity than the veteran generation.”
Here the older generation is almost of one accord in its answer: a resounding yes. 32 percent completely agree with the statement, while another 28 percent somewhat agree. Just 23 percent somewhat or completely disagree, while another 16 percent can’t say.
5. “Should Finland join NATO?”
30 percent say yes, while 44 percent say no. A full 26 percent say they can’t say.
Veteran Antti Savela commented, “I’m not sure it’s the right organisation for us. What if we fall in with the wrong crowd? Maybe we would be better off on our own, negotiating.”
Lauri Lehtinen has a different take, however: “I believe that Finland should join NATO. No one else is going to come to help us. NATO is the only force that might.”
6. “How likely do you think it is that Russia will threaten Finland’s security sometime in the future?”
For the generation that grew up with the very real fear of Russia aggression, their outlook on today’s situation is of interest. Among the veterans and lottas surveyed by Yle, just 8 percent thought there was a very good chance of a Russian belligerence against Finland on the horizon, while 32 percent thought there was a somewhat good chance. 34 percent felt that there was little chance of an incident, however, and 11 percent dismissed the idea altogether. 14 percent said they couldn’t say.
Tuure Suominen: “They’ve got that kind of leader over there - no one knows what he will think of next.”
7. “In general, how do you personally feel about Russians?”
Nine percent of those responded say they have very positive feelings about Russians, while 41 percent say they are somewhat positive. 27 percent have no positive or negative feelings, while 14 percent have somewhat or very negative emotions on the subject. Nine percent said they couldn’t say.
Veteran Uuno Kempas said, “On an emotional level there is a bit of uncertainty, but after all, the Russians are people too.”
8. “What do you think of introducing visa-free travel between Russian and Finland?”
25 percent of those polled support the idea of uninhibited travel across the Russian border, while 51 percent oppose it. A full 24 percent preferred to say that they couldn’t say one way or the other.
9. “In general, when you look at Finland’s prospects for the future, do you think things will get better or worse?”
Answers to this final question where pretty equally spread among the three options available. 41 percent said that Finland is moving in a better direction, while 35 percent said things were getting worse. The remaining 24 percent said that they couldn’t say.
