COMMENTARY: The seed of something new
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By Antero Mukka
A flying visit to Manchester, one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution, can still be an experience that makes one stop and think.
The metropolis in England’s north-west has risen from the depths of despair to a new vibrancy that is enviable, and in the view of many the reconstruction job that has been done on the city could serve as an example for the entire European Union.
The turning-point for Manchester was June 15th, 1996.
At 11:15 on that summer Saturday morning, close to the Arndale Centre in the heart of the city, a large truck bomb was detonated by the Provisional IRA.
The huge blast, powered by 1,500 kilos of explosives, caused damage on a massive scale to the commercial centre, forcing the demolition - and subsequent redevelopment - of numerous properties.
There was a telephoned warning, but even so more than 200 people were injured by flying glass and masonry.
Now just a moment, I really have to try to remember... where was I when Manchester city centre got flattened?
The answer is that I have not the faintest idea. Like so many others, I have to admit it is a complete blank. For us Finns, that news items was just one among many, but for Manchester it heralded a new beginning.
Would it be reassuring to realise that the history of the united Europe is not to be written in Brussels?
For all our Schengen areas and our euros, we all look at the world from our own cramped corners. What is important is what touches me directly.
Even the global issues take on a local frame when seen from the sofa at home.
We don’t often have explosions in Finland, but we do have our own news bombshells from time to time.
On the other side of Europe they make a brief flaring appearance above the horizon and are soon discarded in favour of others.
For Finns, the words Lapua, Konginkangas, Myyrmanni, Kemijärvi, Voikkaa, and Jokela have a greater resonance and power: they touch us more than they touch anyone else. In recent days, the name of Nokia, too, has brought to mind something quite other than a mobile phone giant.
But the end of something is always the beginning of something new: when things happened to turn out very badly, nobody wants it to occur again. Something good once lost is no longer seen as something to be taken lightly or for granted.
Would it not be wise if we were to try to defuse our own bombs while they are still ticking?
Who is going to teach us to read the runes, the quiet signals - suppressed bad feelings, omens in the natural surroundings, near-miss situations, experiences recounted by little people in a sheepish voice - and even that annoying last incoming phone-call of the working day, just as you are packing up to go?
Somebody could be reporting that the water tastes bad, before everyone is doubled up with stomach cramps.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 10.12.2007
The writer is a Helsingin Sanomat managing editor.
Note: Just as the writer points out, events that are cataclysmic from the local perspective may serve as only a brief blip on the radar of others. We have therefore included links to the place-names mentioned in this article.
Previously in HS International Edition:
Nokia, December 2007
Konginkangas, March 19th, 2004
Myyrmanni, October 11th, 2002
Kemijärvi, October 25th, 2007
Kemijärvi, September 10th, 2003
Voikkaa, March 8th, 2006
Jokela, November 7th, 2007
Links:
Lapua, April 13th, 1976
ANTERO MUKKA / Helsingin Sanomat
antero.mukka@hs.fi
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| 11.12.2007 - THIS WEEK |
COMMENTARY: The seed of something new
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