Important steps on the path to reconciliation and healing

A warm autumn sun poured over Karungi as about 120 people gathered to talk about a dark part of Norrbotten's history. The workhouses were part of a nationalist project where the children of Tornedalen were to be recast as real Swedes. Saturday's meeting meant a few more steps on the road to reconciliation. - We must help each other to free ourselves from shame and guilt, said Birgitta Dahlbäck, Region Norrbotten's representative on site.

During the autumn, four gatherings under the name Askel sovynthoon – steps for reconciliation were held. in Norrbotten. The aim has been to shed light on the history of the workhouses and their role in the assimilation policy of the time, to apologize to those affected and to contribute to healing. There have been meetings filled with sadness, but also warmth, dignity and hope for the future.

– This is a place that reminds us of what we have lost. The assimilation policy left deep traces. Reconciliation is a path we walk together, we can only heal by meeting and talking, said Haparanda's municipal councilor Janne Lind in the introduction.

Speech by the Minister of Culture

The meeting in Karungi on 11 October was the last in the series and for the first time a government representative participated. Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand (M) was given the opportunity to see the former workhouse in Karungi – now a local history museum – before the program began in Karl Gustav's Church.

Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand (M) acknowledged the state's responsibility for violations against the minority. Photo: Emma Berkman.

– The government acknowledges responsibility for the violations that the Swedish state's assimilation policy has caused for individual Tornedalingar, Kväner and Lantalaiset. This has had negative consequences for the minority and these consequences continue to this day, she said in her speech at the opening of the meeting.

– This is part of our common history that must not be repeated in the future. It is a responsibility that rests with the government, but a task that many others contribute to. The culture and language of Tornedalen, Kvänen and Lantalaiset have a clear place in our country, she continued.

“Strengthen our identity and self-esteem”

Carina Henriksson, also known under the stage name Glesbygdsdivan, performed songs in both Meänkieli, Sami and Swedish. With music and talk, she shared her own experiences as belonging to both the Tornedal and the Sami minorities. One of the songs was a setting of Bengt Pohjanen's poem I was born without languageThe audience was also captivated by her The Island of Solitude – Yksinaisyyen saari, accompanied by Roger Norén on accordion.

"We need to tell our own story with our own language. I am convinced that through song and theater we can feel a sense of participation and belonging, strengthen our identity and self-esteem," she said.

GlesbygdsDivan Carina Henriksson represented singing and music based on the experience of belonging to two national minorities. Photo: Emma Berkman

"Finland would be wiped out"

Historian Curt Persson at Luleå Technical University drew a background to the workhouses, what their structure and purpose were like and what consequences they had. The foundation behind the workhouses included the bishop of Luleå diocese and the county governor. Responsibility for the operation of the workhouses lay with local associations.

- You get extra compensation for each child who speaks Meänkieli or Sami, so you select these children to get better finances in the associations. The majority of the cabins are in Tornedalen, all the way to Vittangi and Karesuando. It was seen as a threat to loyalty, "here you speak the language of the enemy". The Finn would be wiped out, said Curt Persson.

There was also a fundamental view of the people of Tornedalen as inferior people, and therefore the language and culture were to be seen as shameful. Therefore, they were to be forgotten, pushed back.

– This is about a massive Swedishization process. There is a strategy to take in children who do not speak Swedish and shape them into Swedes in language and culture.

Historian Curt Persson was responsible for a public education element in the program. Photo: Emma Berkman.

In 1919, the racial biologist Herman Lundborg published his masterpiece Svenska folktyper. Class sets were distributed to, among other places, the workhouses.

– Suddenly the children could see their parents in the pictures, and that it said that they were a threat to the Swedish race. This created a culture of silence. It was taboo, parents and children did not talk about this. It caused lifelong wounds for several generations, said Persson.

“The state is not taking its responsibility”

There is a generation now that is trying to reclaim the language. In a panel discussion, Lovisa Dahlberg, active in preschool and Met Nuoret, Lotta Utter, active in preschool and children's programs in Meänkieli, and Pär Poromaa Isling, researcher and musician, met. They were able to talk about a generation of children and young people who want to learn the language, but have parents who cannot do it themselves. Maybe the parent generation can win back some of what they have lost through their children? It is moving forward, but in small, small steps.

– It takes a lot of individual work from us who belong to the minority when the state does not take the responsibility they owe, said Lovisa Dahlberg.

Pär Poromaa Isling, Lotta Utter, Lovisa Dahlberg and moderator Göran Lahti in a panel discussion about language and identity in the younger generation. Photo: Emma Berkman

“A democratic challenge to be taken seriously”

The meeting was concluded by a series of keynote speeches from key players. First up was the County Governor of Norrbotten, Lotta Finstorp. The County Administrative Board has been tasked by the government to support the state's reconciliation process with the Tornedaling, Kväner and Lantalaiset people and to spread knowledge about the historical treatment of the minority – but without providing funds, she emphasized.

– The assignment also requires that we as an authority have an understanding of how historical injustices have affected and affect trust in us. Ultimately, it is a democratic challenge that we must take very seriously, she said.

The Norrbotten region was represented by regional councilor Birgitta Dahlbäck (C), who highlighted the connection between discrimination and ill health and the responsibility of healthcare, then and now.

Regional Councillor Birgitta Dahlbäck linked discrimination against national minorities to today's public health in Norrbotten, and emphasised that healthcare also bears a responsibility. Photo: Emma Berkman.

- We have reason to pay special attention to those who have been directly affected, that is, the Sami, the Tornedalians, the Kväners and the Lantalaiset. They have a lot of experience of the effects that being exposed to discrimination can have. When I talk about this as the region's representative, I want to emphasize that we also have a responsibility in healthcare to respect that part of the ill health we carry is traces of experiences, she said and continued:

– We need to acknowledge that these types of experiences leave their mark, create obstacles to our boldness and our joy and our zest for life. We must help each other to free ourselves from the shame and guilt that comes with both exposing and being exposed, said the regional councilor.

“Tried to regulate the population”

Askel sakinthoon - steps for reconciliation has been initiated by the Church of Sweden and the Swedish Tornedalingar National Association (STR–T). Archbishop Martin Modéus joined this closing meeting to present the church's apology.

– The workhouses were a fundamental tool for an assimilation process. A Swedishization that tried to align part of the population to fit into the template of being human that was defined from the center of power. Language, culture, faith and history constitute fundamental parts of one's identity. To lose one or more of these parts is to lose a part of oneself. "It is an assault not only on individuals but also on a people. The apology that is being handed over today concerns the church's betrayal of all those who suffered in the workhouses," he said.

Archbishop Martin Modéus came to Karungi with an apology from the Church of Sweden. Photo: Emma Berkman.

“Abandoned by society”

When so one letter, addressed directly to former students in workhouses, was read out, it was an emotional moment in Karl Gustav's Church. It was dead quiet when Ritvaelsa Seppälä, diocesan assistant of the Luleå diocese, first read the letter in Meänkieli, followed by a reading in Swedish by Åsa Nyström, bishop of the Luleå diocese.

– As children, you were defenseless and could not defend yourself against what happened in the workhouse. Your parents could not protect you from what happened either. You were abandoned by society and the church and you were silenced, she read.

– With this letter we would like to express our apology for the church's failure to help you during your stay at the workhouse. Through this apology we also wish to honor the memory of those who were affected but are no longer alive.  

Ritvaelsa Seppälä is holding up the letter with the apology in Meänkieli. Next to her is Åsa Nyström, bishop of the Diocese of Luleå, who read the letter in Swedish.

Askel sakinthoon - steps for reconciliation is a collaboration between Luleå Diocese, Church of Sweden, STR–T, Met Nuoret, Norrbotten County Board, Norrbotten Region and Luleå University of Technology. Kimmo Sulila, vicar of Haparanda, Annette Kohkoinen, vice president STR–T and Maja Mella, project manager for the reconciliation process at STR–T also participated in the program, which was led by Göran Lahti.

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa