Travel Memories

© 2013 Elizabeth Warren. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2767-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2766-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2765-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918558

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Journey to the Soviet Union

The World’s Religions in Dialogue

Sacred Sites in Greece and Turkey

Coexistence of Cultures and Faiths: Christianity, Islam and Judaism in the Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Harvey Cox, Laura Frost, Lecturers

Among Women; An International Dialogue

Reflections

Introduction

W hy did I fall in love with idea of travel? I think it originated with the news from Europe we were all exposed to in those early years of the 1940s. I was in my teens and at school we were learning about the cities that were suffering from bombing, about the devastation of the land, about the destruction of art works and attempts to save them, about children who had to hide from air raids. We learned songs like There Will Always be an England, and the White Cliffs of Dover where bluebirds would come again. We saw the Movietone news at the movies and saw pictures of the courageous Windsor family and the little girls Lillibet and Margaret Rose traveling their country with their father and mother doing what they could to encourage the nation. Churchill was right, those years were the Brits’ finest hour.

I remember the radio news about the Nazis in the Soviet Union, and about what it was like in the winter snows. I was aware more of the siege of Stalingrad than that of Leningrad, but I think that was a matter of the availability of reports. I remember about the fall of France, and the Free French government with Charles de Gaulle. The meetings of the wartime leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.

I knew less about the war in the Pacific because it was occurring on islands about which I knew nothing. We did learn, of course, about MacArthur losing the Philippines, and regaining them near the end of the war. I remember V-J Day, August, 1945, with an almost reverent feeling; we had won the war. And in a month I was going to College! People in my generation felt relief and joy, and a confident belief that now the world would recover and we would be the people who would help that recovery. The horrors of the Nazi death camps came home to us in March and April. The enormous threat of nuclear weapons loomed large and future wars would have to be prevented. But I had learned at school that the solution to it all lay in the skills of diplomacy. When I graduated from Chapin School in New York in May, I had decided that I would like to be an ambassador. So four years later, I married an ambassador’s son!

This memoir of my travels was about picking up my fascination with European countries after 40 years of peace. European countries were no longer devastated; indeed they had recovered and formed their Common Market and their European Union. There is much in my memoir about religions because I thought that encouraging the religious faiths of people would do much to promote peace in the world. Yet the United States has learned from experience that religions are not successful vehicles for peace-making.

My travels have been so rewarding to me in other ways, that it gives me much pleasure to recount where I went in my travels and what I have learned. I am forever thankful that I could make these trips; I am most thankful to my husband, who did not want to go on these trips with me, for making them possible.

Journey to the Soviet Union

October 8-22, 1989

Introduction

T he opportunity to travel to the Soviet Union came in a mailing I received in May, 1989. Here was a chance to go to the mysterious land of Marxist-Leninist communism, now being redefined through perestroika and glasnost. Russian communism was being shaken by the directions of a new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, now in office four years, by strikes, ethnic unrest in several of the republics, and by disappointed expectations among its people. Yet even last spring I could not have guessed the extent of change that was to occur by mid-October. All in all, this tour could not have picked a better time to go to the Soviet Union, and I have a deep sense of appreciation for the opportunity made available to me as a result of my service as President of the Village of Glencoe. The tour was open to state and local government officials who would meet their counterparts in the Soviet Union, would visit historic places, and learn about this country. Of course I paid my own way; it was important to me that this not be seen as a tax-supported junket.

My husband, whose father was a Foreign Service Officer, did not want to take the trip with me, not only because he had traveled so much growing up that he lost his taste for it, but he did not want to take time off his job for two weeks. I have always been grateful that he understood my love for traveling to interesting places and supported me in taking the trip.

During our fifteen-day tour, I kept a journal of the events that occurred each day. Other tour members might have added experiences of their own to this account; nevertheless I tried to recount comprehensively the most important aspects of the tour, particularly focusing on our meetings with Communist Party officials who are responsible for running their several levels of government. These highlights are told as parts of our daily round of activities; my own personal experiences and observations form the framework of the story.

In anticipation of our trip, I read more than half of a textbook sent to us on Law in the Soviet Union. It clearly reflected the conditions earlier in the decade of the 1980s. In this respect it formed a benchmark with which to compare conditions in the Soviet Union today. The only problem, for me, was that the textbook did not deal with state and local government, the subject of our tour, but with legal theory and practice in the USSR. While that is not exactly my area of training, it was interesting, and I took extensive notes. Otherwise, my preparation for the trip was newspaper reading; much was going on in international affairs through the summer and early fall to keep my interest at a high level. So, I left Glencoe with a great sense of anticipation rather than with any preconceived notions about what we would find in the Soviet Union. Certainly, that anticipation was rewarded.

To New York and Helsinki

I left Chicago early Sunday afternoon, the eighth of October for New York’s Kennedy Airport. At Kennedy, I collected my heavy suitcase with the realization that I had almost more than I could manage of bag and baggage. I hauled the suitcase, aided only somewhat by its two wheels, to a shuttle bus stop where I boarded, with help, and rode around the airport to get to the terminal where Finnair was located. My first introductions to my fellow tour members occurred when two women got on the bus with their PSC bags (Professional Seminar Consultants). We introduced ourselves, but they seemed preoccupied, while I was quite excited about the trip and this difference was not conducive to conversation.

When we arrived at the proper terminal, we went inside and met out tour manager, Sue Larson, an attractive woman who seemed very friendly and in control of the details of the trip. She handed me my visa and a piece of yellow yarn which she asked me to tie to the handle of my suitcase for identification, and I was a member of the yellow group. Audrey, the other tour manager, led the blue group. I checked in, delivered my suitcase to the baggage system of Finnair with relief, and walked away from the counter area when who should appear from nowhere, as astounded as I, than Ed Meyerson. He said that he and Marion had just flown in from Paris on their way home to Chicago from a trip to Greece. He asked where I was going and I said the Soviet Union, and we walked over to where Marion was sitting and surprised her. So we sat and chatted for a little while, and I heard about their delightful tour of the Greek islands by boat. When I got up to leave, Ed said he would call Geoff when they got back to Chicago. We said good-bye.

I went upstairs to the departure lounge where the group was gathering. I was hoping to meet the person I was to room with, Cynthia McKinney, but she did not come to the area. Sue said that she and other tour members were in the cocktail lounge. The plane was only a half-hour late in boarding, not at all unusual at JFK. Finnair looked so clean and new that we all looked forward to the trip. It was a DC10. We boarded, I found my comfortable seat, and settled in. The flight was not full. It was pleasant, with good food, nice Tio Pepe, and wine with dinner. I dropped off to sleep soon after dinner. The two seats next to me were vacant so I was able to raise the arms of those seats and stretch out a bit. I may have slept two or three hours.

When we landed at Helsinki Monday morning, I was tired but full of anticipation. We were taken to a VIP lounge where we could freshen up, and I did. Here I finally met Cynthia McKinney. She is a bright young black woman working on her Ph.D. in international relations. She and two black young men formed the small group of black participants in the tour. Cynthia is very friendly and a good conversationalist. She is a Georgia state legislator.

We were taken to a lovely airport restaurant and seated before a nice Finnish spread of smoked salmon, shrimp and other goodies, including reindeer meat. We were treated to briefings by three Finnish government officials, all from the foreign ministry. They gave us an interesting review of Finnish government and its relations with the Soviet Union, the Finnish perspective on that country and the changes in it that had been observed. At the end of the briefing, as the gentlemen got ready to leave, our tour leader, Bill Owens, state senator from Colorado, gave some Colorado flag-pins to the senior official, Mr. Taami. I quickly dug out three Glencoe medallions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Village in 1969, and gave them to Mr. Taami for himself and the other two speakers who had left. I introduced myself to him as Avra Warren’s daughter-in-law. He was delighted and said that Avra Warren was a famous man in Finland, and was written about in books on the history of the post World War II period in Finland. Geoff’s father, of course, had been the U.S. Minister to Finland when we were married in 1949. The following are the remarks of the three Finns who spoke to us at that luncheon.

Finland is at the same latitude as Labrador. The country has a severe climate some of the time, or it can have a milder climate, influenced by the sea. The country extends 600 miles from south to north and 200 miles east to west. From here to Estonia, one of the Baltic republics within the Soviet Union, the distance is only 30 to 40 miles.

Finland began as part of the Swedish Kingdom; it was not a state, but consisted of tribes in the 12th Century. The language was Swedish, the religion was Roman Catholic, then Lutheran. But the native language of the tribe of Finns was Finnish, which is classified with the same group of languages as Hungarian. Today, the international language of English is taught in every school. The third language after Finnish and English is German. The Russian language lags far behind others in familiarity among Finns. Finnish society resembles that of other Scandinavian countries.

Finland has a Parliament of 200 seats and there are several political parties. The current Prime Minister is of the Conservative Party but the Foreign Minister is of the Socialist Party. There is a coalition government with a good internal balance politically. Trade unions are leftist but they think that a coalition government is the best political arrangement for the present time. Colorado and Finland have a strong relationship. The largest populations of Finnish-Americans are found in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A spokesman from the Finnish Foreign Office: Economy and Trade Policy of Finland made the following comments.

For the last ten years, Finland’s gross national product has grown 3.8% per year. It has surpassed West Germany in this. One-third of GNP comes from foreign trade. Finland’s trade policy is to secure the same conditions from all trading partners. The idea of the European economic integration is to secure economic health by liberalizing markets. The rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have to be taken into consideration. But Finland does not seek membership in the European Economic Community, its approach to integration is to secure neutrality in foreign policy, and seek to cooperate. General East-West relations influence the economic policy of Finland.

There is bilateral trade with the USSR. Crude oil comes from that country to Finland where it is refined. As for the question what to import from the Soviet Union, one answer is energy; the oil comes