C u r r e n t E v e n t s
Stasys Lozoraitis Reburied in Kaunas
The last will of prominent Lithuanian diplomat, Stasys Lozoraitis, jr. has been fulfilled – the remains of the late diplomat were reburied in the Petrašiūnai cemetery of Kaunas city on June 15th.
Lozoraitis’ widow Daniela and his brother, Lithuanian Ambassador to the Holy See and Malta Order Kazys Lozoraitis escorted the remains from the U.S.
Thousands of Kaunas dwellers flocked to Vytautas Magnus Church to pay homage to the late ‘President of Hope’, the name given to Lozoraitis as he contested the presidential post in Lithuania in 1993.
President Valdas Adamkus, Speaker of the Parliament Vytautas Landsbergis, and Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas attended the mass.
"I cannot speak without emotions about the person with whom I had shared joy and sorrow for half of my lifetime. Stasys Lozoraitis opted for a mode of life, which affirmed existence of truth in life, and he never ceased to protect and safeguard it. The title of ‘The President of Hope’ will remain in the memory of people and history textbooks," Adamkus had stated.
Adamkus handed the Vytis Cross 1st Grade Order to the late diplomat’s widow, Daniela, which was awarded post mortem to Lozoraitis. The leader of Seimas Vytautas Landsbergis, foreign ministry official Rimantas Morkvėnas and Mayor of Kaunas Henrikas Tamulis also spoke by the coffin of the late diplomat.
"We will manage to perpetuate the remembrance of the deceased if we give sense to his hopes and expectations by our work. Your respect for Stasys Lozoraitis proves that he still lives in your hearts," said Kazys Lozoraitis, the brother of the late diplomat.
To perpetuate the name of Lozoraitis, a street and school were named after him in Kaunas. Moreover, there was a chapel-pole erected in the 6th Kaunas fort in 1994 and a monument in 1996.
Geothermal Plant Under Construction
A demonstrative plant of geothermal power that is to extract hot water from the Earth’s deep layers and utilize it for municipal needs has already concluded about one third of construction.
After the installation is done in the deep part, the over-ground construction of the buildings is to start. The plant is planned to be put into operation by the end of 1999.
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All the equipment is ordered and being manufactured, but there are some fears that the funds will be exhausted soon, according to UAB Geoterma Director Bronius Radeckas.
The PHARE program, as planned earlier, is expected to allocate one million U.S. dollars, but the funding was delayed. The PHARE funds were planned to finance laying geothermal pipelines. Hot water is to flow up from more than a one-kilometer depth and after utilization, it will be returned to the same section under the ground. The wells will be joined with the city boiler by geothermal pipelines. Two extraction wells are to produce 400 to 450 cubic meters of water with its temperature being about 38 degrees Celsius.
The Klaipėda demonstrative 40 MW geothermal power plant project costs are to exceed $18 million. Previously plans were to provide Klaipėda citizens with heating and hot water from the hot groundwater resources. However, Geoterma estimations showed the plant would be able to meet about 80 percent of Klaipėda demands for hot water. Experts still don’t know when and who will pay for the high expenses of plant construction.
Officials Decorated for Supporting Lithuania
President Valdas Adamkus awarded high Lithuanian orders to U.S. and UK officials and officers who participated at an international conference on NATO in Lithuania on May 31st.
US Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State Ronald Asmus was decorated with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas 2nd Grade Order. International Defense Advisor Council Chairman General Sir Garry Johnson; U.S. Defense Department -- European and NATO Policy Department Director Major General Henry A. Kievenaar Jr.; and RAND Corporation experts Stephen F. Larrabee and Robert C. Nurick were awarded the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas 3rd Grade Order.
The Presidential decree stated that the orders were meant to show Lithuania's gratitude for the personal attempts to support Lithuania's integration into international defense structures, and for the strengthening of co-operation between Lithuanian and foreign defense forces.
Schools to Benefit from World Bank
A part of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) loan granted to Lithuania by the will be used for educational institutions in five municipalities to renovate heat insulation, as well as for regeneration investment projects.
Varėna, Šiauliai, Širvintos, Kupiškis and Klaipėda municipalities have already applied for the support, with the total sum reaching $1.03 million. The next Cabinet meeting is to allocate the loan among the five municipalities for a 10-year period.
Three years ago, a loan agreement was signed with World Bank for $10 million for a project on energy saving and housing demonstration purposes. The agreement covers also the above-mentioned school heat insulation projects. The projects have already been implemented in Vilnius and Kaunas, where seven schools were renovated during 1997 and 1998.
World Bank decided to revise the loan allocation and proposed an additional $2.9 million for school renovation to be completed in 1999.
Indicators Show Lithuania Faring Well
Lithuania is one of the leading Central European states regarding inflation, wage growth, and volume of direct foreign investments, according to the Business Central Europe Journal.
The Business Central Europe Journal publishes monthly reviews on the main macroeconomic indicators of the Central European states based on different sources, including JP Morgan, Nomura, Reuters, national statistics bodies and others.
Lithuania took first place among twelve CEE states registering the lowest 2.4 percent annual inflation. The highest inflation among the twelve countries was registered in Russia (84.4%) and Romania (40.6%). Polish inflation stood at 8.6%; Estonian at 6.5%; and Hungarian at 10.3 %.
Lithuania also shares top standing with Bulgaria regarding growth rate of average monthly wages. In the last twelve months Lithuania posted 26 % wage growth; while, in Bulgaria they soared to 27 %. Lithuania also took the leading position in the field of direct foreign investments. Slovenia, Latvia and Bulgaria attracted the lowest amount of foreign investments.
On the other hand, Lithuania was in second position according to GDP growth rate and employment. According to other indicators -- budget balancing, industry production growth, foreign debt/GDP ratio – Lithuania stood at 3 to 6th positions among twelve CEE states.
Trivia Quiz!
The Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai Andreevich (1844-1908) is best known for his most famous symphonic suite "Scheherazade" that is based on material from "The Arabian Nights". The question is, who were his ancestors?
a) a Lithuanian family.
b) The mythical god, Jupiter.
c) Pompey the Great.
Look on here for the answer.
— Ed Shakalis
Baltic Sea Made Safe
Four Swedish war ships with the Lithuanian frigate ŽEMAITIS, a patrol ship DZŪKAS, and a patrol warship HK-21 participated in joint naval exercises in the Lithuanian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea searching for unexploded mines and destroying them in late May.
The main goal of the exercise was to detect and destroy the explosives which had been hidden in the sea since World War II. This will guarantee safer sea navigation and commercial fishing in the Baltic Sea.
Amber Art Competition
The German Amber Museum in Ribnitz-Damgarten has once again announced an Amber-Art Competition in 1999. The first ore was held in 1993 on a national scale, but has now become international.
Prizes will be awarded for contemporary artistic creations in amber. The amber may be used in its natural state with additions; it may be polished and combined with precious metals. This amber art can take various forms: jewelry, small sculpture and. useful implements. A special prize will be awarded for the most unusual and original creation.
The German Amber Museum will have a special amber art exhibition from May 15th to October 15th of 1999. The three prizes for the winners of the competition will be awarded on opening day, May 15. These prizes will be given in. US dollars: first prize -- $2000; second prize -- $1000.00; third prize -- $500.00.
An international committee consisting of members from all the countries participating in the competition will judge the amber art creations. The prizewinning creations and other entries will be on exhibit at the Amber Museum. After the amber art exhibition closes, an auction will be held October 17th for the benefit of all participants.
The address of the Amber Museum is:
Deutschland Bernsteinmuseum
Ribnitz-Damgarten
Im Kloster 1-2
18311 Ribnitz-Damgarten
Germany
—Sr. Ona Mikaila
Books For Lithuania Project
Lithuanian exiles still play an important role for the new generation of young people that will help leaders and businessmen to shape their country's economy. They will be distributing cartons of English textbooks to teachers and their compensation is included in the budget of $7000. It is our way of providing some assistance to the new president, Valdas Adamkus who faces a difficult task.
The Lithuanian Human Services Council is supporting the Books for Lithuania project. Donations to the Council are tax exempt. A donation of $50 will supply enough textbooks and reading books for 18 classrooms of 30 students each, but any amount would be gratefully accepted. Be a part of helping Lithuania to grow.
Send to:
The Lithuanian Human Services Council
Re: Books for Lithuania/ B. Jasaitis
2711 West 71st. St.
Chicago, Illinois 60629
Tel: 773-476-2655
—Leona Gustaff
Letter to the Editor...
"Thanks to the editor of "Bridges" for placing two articles in [Issue 3 1999]: "The Young Man with Mesmerizing Eyes" by Jeanne Dorr and "Some Reflections on Teaching in Lithuania" by John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J. I found these articles not only interesting but also give insight into some of Lithuania’s youth’s deep patriotism, endurance to overcome poverty, and seeking education.
I know many of Lithuania’s young people continue to be indifferent to patriotism and want to get rich quickly. To influence those young people to become good Lithuanians, it may help to print the above mentioned articles or something similar in Lithuania’s newspapers designated to young people."
—Juozas S. Kriaučiūnas
Alka’s Director
Editor’s Note: Thank you very much for your thoughts, and also to those who have written or commented to me personally regarding these articles. I found them to be moving and motivating as well.
Friendship Day Picnic
A special celebration will highlight the traditional Friendship Day Picnic at the Immaculate Conception Convent in Putnam, Connecticut on Sunday. July 25th.
This year Camp Neringa celebrates its 30th anniversary; while, it will be the 56th year of the Convent’s sponsored summer camps. The original summer camps started with Camp Immaculata on the Putnam convent grounds. Many of the camp’s former campers are now directors at Camp Neringa.
The day starts with Holy Mass concelebrated on the convent grounds. The program includes lunch and activities — featuring ethnic foods and arts and crafts exhibits. Later, a festive program follows performed by the Camp Neringa campers with drawing of gifts, and finally a prayer vigil for Lithuania in the chapel. This year a new feature was added — dancing and games open to all.
The Immaculate Conception Convent is located at 600 Liberty Highway in Putnam, Connecticut. The program begins at 11:00 a.m. with Holy Mass with the 5:00 p.m. dancing and games bringing the day to a close.
A Salute to a Marian Father
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Rev. Vytautas Bagdanavičius. |
Heading towards the year 2000 is a Marian Father, Rev. Vytautas Bagdanavičius, who is not only a priest, a religious, a philosopher, a writer, and an artist, but also in his 90th year of creativity and activity.
Rev. Bagdanavičius lives in the Chicago Congregation of Marian Fathers. According to The Marian Tidings, (a Marian publication), Father Vytautas is the author of numerous books and articles for the Lithuanian language newspaper Draugas. His articles have focused on the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the destiny of man as shown by the books of St. John’s revelations, the spirituality of ethnicity based on being Lithuanian, and the religious significance in literary works. Father Vytautas’s hobbies include watercolor painting and the monastery’s rose garden.
Answer to the Trivia Quiz!
Before you answer, I suggest you read the following: In Anatol Lieven's book, The Baltic Revolution, (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence), the author wrote the following footnote:
"The transformation of the Lithuanian pagan heritage into a more modem form began with the Renaissance. Chroniclers, looking for words to describe Lithuanian pagan spirits, naturally turned to classical antiquity and came up with names like ‘dryad’. After the Lithuanian union with Poland, Lithuanian noble families, seeking to catch up with the Poniatowskis and dignify the paganism of their recent past, began to claim that their paganism was of classical origin and that they themselves were descendants of the ancient Romans. I myself had an amusing taste of this in a conversation with a woman from the Rimsky-Korsakov family in St. Petersburg. The Korsakovs were a Lithuanian family who accompanied a fifteenth century Lithuanian princess to Moscow to marry a Russian prince, and themselves became Russian nobles. They later successfully petitioned the Tsar to add Rimsky to their name to denote their Roman origin. I inquired about this. "Well," Tatiana Vladimirovna said, "Family legend has it that we are descended from the god Jupiter, but this is not true of course." I nodded sympathetically. Then she continued, "But what does appear to be the case is that we are in fact descended from Pompey the Great."
What is your answer?
a) A Lithuanian family; is probably the correct answer. According to the Lietuvių Pavardžių Žodynas (The Lithuanian Surname Dictionary), 1985, a Korsakovas family lives in Vegeriai and another in Vilnius.
b) The mythical god, Jupiter; I heard he is now a high priest of a pagan cult. (I'm not sure how many Lithuanians belong) located in the hills of Los Angeles, California. Recently, he was spotted with Elvis Presley in Harvard Square (The Republic of Cambridge, Ma.)
c) Pompey the Great; Why not! If you are lucky to be blessed with a noble Roman nose, or you have a hidden desire to wear a toga and a rūta (rue) wreath on your head, you too may be his descendant or at least a descendant of an Ancient Roman.