Dear Mothers,
Dear Estonian People.

Every time I hear the song ''Mother's Heart'', it sounds more and more beautiful. First of all I would like to thank the choir boys and the conductor from all my heart.

In February this year, the children from Class 2B of Tartu Kivilinna Gymnasium sent me a hand-written book for the anniversary of the Republic. The children wrote about Estonia. Their eyes had noticed many things and their heads had thought of many things.

Estonia is small, but it does not have to be big, writes Kairi.

It is good that the weather here is cold in winter and small in summer, writes Mari.

There are no tornadoes running havoc in Estonia. There are no floods or earthquakes, says Kaspar.

The Republic of Estonia has a solemn and peaceful anthem. I like being Estonian. This is what Helen says. But the children of Kivilinna Gymnasium are also worried about many things.

I am very sad that there are sometimes murders and thefts in Estonia and that people burn abandoned houses down for fun. This is what Emilie-Johanna writes. I would be happy if there were no more murders and thefts ever again. They are cruel and horrible, writes Ekke. Estonian countryside would be much more beautiful without pollution. This is how Kätlin starts her page. I do not like it that there are people who sell drugs. Sometimes people are killed, houses are set on fire and people drink vodka. I do not like it. This is what Paavo has written. But Kaidi writes that she does not want to live in Estonia, because there are very many robberies and too much pollution. I would much rather live in Germany, says Kaidi.

This is how children see Estonia today. The eyes of children are everything but childish.

Some of you are asking now what the letters of children have to do with Mothers' Day. Let me answer. Mothers are talking through their children, sometimes louder than they have ever done themselves.

Every child has asked himself or herself who they want to become when they grow up, what will happen to them. This is also what mothers and fathers ask, that is what we all ask about Estonia.

Everyone has their vision of happiness, their vision of the future of Estonia. But we do have to share the most important understandings. Only then can we create our common Estonia.

The economic development and social welfare of Estonia and costs of the public sector or government departments are related to our very small population more than in many other states. Constant decrease of population can not be something that can not be helped. We have to solve two seemingly contradictory problems in order to avoid this.

First of all, we have to improve the ability of young people to take care of children. We have to give them the possibility to create their homes under favourable conditions. It is hard to create a family without a home. Home is family and family is home. They can not be separated and it is also impossible to ask which of them needs to be created first, home or family.

The second problem: as the economy develops, Estonia has to be turned into such a place where educated people want to work.

When we solve these two problems, we guarantee the population of Estonia, the abilities and security of Estonia.

I have to tell you that the Academic Council of the President met on Thursday and this meeting was dedicated to the analysis of the demographic condition of Estonia. This condition is sad due to several reasons. Theoretically it is possible to calculate now in which year there will be less than 200,000 Estonians. Provided that we abolish all control and take no measures.

We can not avoid choices when we design our way of life. It would be comfortable and nice to live in a state that focuses on consumption and entertainment. Some people think that Estonia has already been built up and now is the time for siesta. This does not comply with the way Estonians think.

From generation to generation, Estonians have been industrious despite circumstances and powers. Good work has been a matter of honour for Estonians. ''Jõudu tööle!'' (good luck in your work) is the way we say hello and we can be proud of it.

I now remember one evening 20 years ago, when Juhan Viiding came to visit me. I told him that there are no other languages which contain expressions as beautiful as these two. In Estonia people do not say bon appetit like Marie Antoinette. We say ''jätku leivale!'' (may your bread last) and ''jõudu tööle!''. I was really touched when my doorbell rang the next evening and the late Juhan Viiding was at the door telling me, you know, last night I wrote a poem about these two words that characterise the nature, history and hopefully also the future of Estonians better than anything else.

I have met people who think that now, when we live in our own country and are a free nation, work is only the means and the tool, work is the kratt (a device endowed with life by the devil for collecting treasures) or sampo (a mysterious, magic object in Kalevala) that has to collect treasures. In this case, please do not hold it against me, I remain true to the old values and my generation.

When I talk about Estonian families, I do not want to talk about respect and sympathy only. A family is a small world of its own. Every family has its own face, but all families without an exception are related to the surrounding environment, the surrounding world. You can not ask the state, or more correctly the government to live someone's life, but at the same time it is the government who has to create such living conditions for its children that do credit to Estonia. Actually, its not even a point of honour. It is an elementary obligation. Fifty years of the violent, so called economy of orders has created a psychological barrier: social politics is sometimes regarded as something outdated, soviet and unsuitable with the new life in Estonia. We have to get rid of such fear of this word. The coping difficulties of young families can not remain a subject of passive meditation, but have to become the object of concrete and successful social politics. I would be happy if our young families would feel, more than before, that they have support and shelter in the form of our government.

Under support I mean active employment politics. I also think about the ideal that the income of the father or mother, whoever is the head of the family, should allow the entire family to cope.

All times of breakthrough and transformation bring about phenomena that are unexpected and frightening. I had never ever heard about there being security guards in schools before. I know that boys from Reaalkool or Nõmme Gymnasium guarded the streets. Now things are the other way round. There are guards in many schools, mostly to keep drug dealers away.

Like in previous years, I now want us to think about the children who are called street kids. That our officials engaged in social politics would really deal with street

kids. And not as officials. I would like to tell them to deal with the kids like mothers and fathers, but I can not say it, I would like to hope it. Our financial resources are limited. Let us then think about things that can be postponed due to lack of money. Because homeless children are children only today and now, and if we do not help them today, then tomorrow we can no longer do it. Childhood is short. Let us think about it. These children who stood in the Baltic chain are mothers and fathers today. Can we give the faith, hope and love that the Baltic chain gave us to the children of today? Yes we can. I would like to repeat the words I said here one year ago: the number of street kids is very small and we are able to conquer their misfortune now. It is not even a goal. It is the beginning from where to move towards the goal.

Today we bring flowers to mothers. Home begins from the mother, and it always has. The care and love of mothers is always with us, they send us through the whole life as a memory.

Mother's love is the mother of love, I have told you from this chair before. Today I would like to add something. You know that this year is the book year in Estonia, it is the 475th anniversary of the first book in Estonia. The book year is an important enterprise, but still just a one-time event.

Dear mothers, dear parents, it is up to you to keep the book year going in your homes. Find fifteen minutes every day to tell a story to your children before they go to bed. They will be grateful for the answers to the hundreds of questions they have. Do not lose this time, this valuable time, when you have to plant faith, hope and love. Childhood is the field of a child, plant books, do not replace mother's voice with electronics and television. Every evening, read one page in your own voice. This is how you teach your children to picture landscapes they have never seen with the help of words, also to listen to the voices of animals and birds they have never heard, and understand and draw the line between good and evil - for life.

It seems to me that the children of Tartu Kivilinna Gymnasium have been fortunate enough to receive answers to their questions. Also to those they could not phrase themselves.

My dear mothers.
I wish you all faith, hope and love.
You do the most important job in the state.
Thank you, Estonian mothers!

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