Editorial Mutual trust is Finland’s strength even in bad days

Editorial|Editorial

Independent Finland’s strength in the face of great adversity has been unity in the face of the threat. It is based on an exceptionally strong mutual trust between Finns internationally. We have each taken care of our own plot and knew that others would do the same.

This culture and attitude has come a long way in the conditions of a pandemic. Nurses and doctors have stretched out, teachers have done long days at times, and bus drivers, waiters, and many other customer service workers have taken care of their own health at risk.

Employees have worked hard at telecommuting, and the problem has not so much been to go to bed as to work too much, often even a little sickly. Parents have not taken their children to school or kindergarten if the children have had the slightest flu. Students have also complied with the restrictions on gatherings. No curfews have been required.

So business has been taken care of. If new strict restrictions are still needed, they will probably be complied with on a voluntary basis, as long as rationale is given for decisions.

In many in other countries, coercive measures have begun to provoke strong opposition. In November, 35,000 people in Austria protested against nationwide restrictions on outdoor mobility. The same number of protesters gathered in Brussels, where the events turned into violent riots. In Helsinki, 1,500 people gathered to oppose coronation.

Distrust becomes expensive. In Russia, more than a thousand people still die from coronavirus a day, despite having had their own vaccines available since the beginning of the year. However, the Russians are not going to be vaccinated because they do not trust their leaders or the system. The same phenomenon plagues many parts of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc.

Russia has tried to circumvent the damage by sowing distrust beyond its borders through information. However, it does not strengthen the Russians’ confidence in their own leaders.

The Russian disinformation campaign has received political side support from the United States, where President Donald Trump turned a political baton into a pandemic. Fortunately, this wave has only reached the shores of the Baltic Sea in small colors.

In Finland, vaccines have been received mostly with gratitude and admiration of the efficient vaccination machinery. The anti-vaccination crowd may be loud, but it is small. The intensive care units treat all those who have not taken the vaccine with all their might, whether the reason for non-vaccination was fear caused by disinformation or lack of control over life.

The vast majority of Finns are not stuck in any pottery in terms of fighting the pandemic. This situation is worth cherishing.

Finns the downside of solidarity and resilience is the instinctive belief that threats could be stopped by protecting oneself either within the country’s borders or ultimately in one’s own home. However, the coronavirus epidemic does not follow this logic. The pandemic will not go away, and the borders will not stop it for a long time.

While instincts have driven people to protect themselves by turning inward, common sense has reminded us of how dependent independent Finland is on the rest of the world. For example, in today’s world, security of supply does not mean stocks excavated in the rock, but well-functioning supply chains and, even in bad days, lasting relations with other countries.

Nor can the coronavirus be defeated in one country, most likely the most recent example of omicron transformation in Africa. As vaccinations progress in Africa, it will also protect the safety of Finns – and perhaps more effectively than ever new rounds of vaccination in Finland.

The editorials are HS’s statements on a topical issue. The writings are prepared by HS’s editorial staff and reflect the magazine principle.