Speech by the President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the International War Child Event in Tornio, Finland, on 26 April 2005

Last year, 60 years had passed since the end of the Continuation War. The end of this war did not, however, mean the beginning of peace for Finland, because tomorrow, April 27, marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in Lapland. These wars affected the whole nation: men, women and children. Today we are gathered together in Tornio, on the Finnish-Swedish border, to remember the youngest victims of war, the war children.

During the Second World War, some 70,000 children were evacuated from Finland to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The intention was good, and as an act of humanity deserves all praise and respect. The war affected Finland heavily, and the governments of friendly nations, along with numerous private families and individuals, offered to help shoulder the responsibility for Finnish children in need. The Finnish authorities and parents likewise had the children’s interests in mind: to transfer them to a safe environment where they could be properly cared for.

It is difficult to describe in general terms the experiences of these war children, their parents and the families who took them in and cared for them for years. Each case was different, and each personal experience unique. Yet we can all, from our own childhood experiences or as mothers and fathers, in some way appreciate the trauma caused in the war children, their parents and foster parents by the pain of parting, the uncertainty, and the strange environment. Some of the 15,000 children, particularly, who never returned to Finland but remained in their new homeland were to be forever haunted by unanswered questions about their war-child background and the sense of having been abandoned.

But I have also received letters telling of happiness and friendship. For some of the children, especially the older ones who were able to understand why they were being sent to another country to be looked after by strangers, the experience of a new environment and people could sometimes be highly positive. Valuable life-long friendships were established between war children and their war-time carers.

Those little war children are now adults of over 60 and richer for all kinds of life experiences. If it took a long time for us Finns to begin talking about the war, it has taken us even longer to raise the subject of our war children. The issue was a delicate one and aroused a variety of emotions. Over the years, the war children themselves have got organised and related their experiences. This has also made it possible to engage in scientific research into the subject, and we are grateful to you for this.

By international standards, we Nordic nations live in very safe societies. Not all are so fortunate. I believe that the findings about the experiences of Finland’s war children and the action taken by the authorities can be of service to the war children of today. Let us make them available, in gratitude for the help we once received and humble in the face of all the knowledge this experience can provide.