Pekka and I

My first friend was a boy called Pekka. We were the best mates at the age of four. We had the same kind of clothes and toy cars. Then my family had to move and I lost him from my life. Now I feel I have kind of found him again - the feeling I share with many others tonight.

Today we choose a new president for the next six years. In the last year's election an extreme right-wing party who call themselves true-finns won numerous new places in our parliament and I got scared and was ashamed - how could it be possible that so many Finns agreed  with their narrow-minded and racist opinions?

I was disappointed and felt alone with my views of a better life - thought even of starting a secret sister-hood of mothers who fights for the goodness and tolerance, and made my daughters bored trying to recruit them... I was just the kind of green feminist who with open-arms wants to make the world better and whom one of the true-finn parliament members had recommended to be gang-raped by foreigners allowed to enter our country.

We have two candidates left tonight - I hope it will be my Pekka. But how ever it goes the hope is awaken and many non-political ordinary people have shown their colour, and that feels  good. And if it turns really bad I still have my sister-hood, won't I..?

Here is one example of a kind of act ordinary people did to show their support. It is one of our dearest songs called Finlandia by Jean Sibelius,  composed during the years of Russian tyranny before our independence. Enjoy:

       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaKko3VGAnY

http://haavisto2012.fi/