Wednesday 20 June 2018

When Those in Rule Abandon Rules



27/52 Anton Chekhov: Sakhalin Island (1890-1895) In Finnish Sahalin was published in 1972. This book contrasts with the life I am living and the summer day that spreads around me. When I picked Anton Chekhov's short stories from library I came across one of his less known works, a report from Sakhalin. In his thirties in 1889 Anton Chekhov traveled through Siberia to Sakhalin. It is an island near Japan where criminals were sent to prison and/or forced labor. This report is melancholic read. It pictures a place where nature seems cruel and bare, nothing is working and ideals are buried deep. There is little hope and only motivation to live is to get away some day.

It took me a while to realize that this book is actually about the history of Finland and Finnish people too. When this book was written and Chekhov visited Sakhalin Finland was a part of Russia. He mentions Finns as one group of people among many who populate the island. People from all parts of Russia were sent to Sakhalin to serve their punishment. The place is geographically so far that I had difficulties connecting the history in my head.

And that is one of the characters that made punishment to be sent to Sakhalin so horrible. It was a place in nowhere. Of course it is on the map and nowadays when the world is connected it is one place among many where people live. Back then it hold long mental distance. In the book prisoners and people in forced labor dreamed about getting back to Russia. They felt they were cast away from their motherland to nonexistence.  One of the most horrible things one can imagine is to be completely isolated and forgotten. They were forced to leave home, from one's nearest and dearest, the place where everything is familiar, their own cozy nest on earth to go to a place where nothing is functioning and circumstances are horrible. When they were taken from their homes they were taken from their traditions and their own history. Life on Earth is short and it means a lot to be part in something bigger. We want to know about our family and where we come from and who are coming after us. It is not always question about family generations, it might be meaningful work that we do on our lifetime. We want to know we have done something meaningful and that after us someone is carrying our task forward. In this island it sounds like their life is a short blink of an eye with no before and after, there is just the moment they live.

The reason why people where sent there was that they were criminals and the isolation and work was planned to cure them from their bad habits. Chekhov criticizes the success of this task and shows how the good ideals have been forgotten. What has taken place is the interest of individuals and companies that take advantage of the poor state of others. Instead of learning how to be part of the society they were forced to work in too heavy tasks, basically in slavery. It makes us question the punishment and whose right it is to give a punishment. Ideally a punishment is meant for criminals to ponder and rethink what they have done and as a result learn a new way of life. Inhuman living circumstances and cruel slavery turns the look to those who say they are on the right side and curing the criminals. The line between a criminal and a person living according to the rules is very thin in this case. Because the right to give a punishment becomes from good intentions and pure belief in just society. It is not free status that allows to use those who have lost it. In Chekhov's cruel example the prisoners working in the coal mine are used as slaves, the company does't do it's duties or follow the agreements, and yet the company is supported by government. Blinded by the dichotomy of who is good and evil the company's behavior is not questioned at all. Makes you think about right and wrong indeed.

In timeline these happenings take place near the turn of the century. It is very close to our time yet the methods used in Sakhalin are far from modern practices. Or that is what I truly hope. It is not only that 1890s Sakhalin contrasts with the world in 2018. Sakhalin looked old fashioned and against the morals of 1890s society too. But what people don't see they find difficult to believe and criticize. That is why Chekhov wanted to bring reality in front of the eyes of his contemporaries. In some parts Chekhov seems to be writing a statistic and only gives numbers without explanation what those mean. He moves from place to place giving facts about how many women and men lived there and what was their status. It would have been interesting to know more about the people behind the numbers.

What is the common theme all along the book is the total lack of interest and ethicallnes in Sakhalin. The rules and laws of society do not apply and a place that should teach a new way of life has become criminal institution per se. Officers do not follow common guidelines and they have their own questionable practices how things are done. When the understanding of good practice has disappeared during the years the end result is devastating. Human beings are beasts and surprisingly easily forget what is good and precious for the whole humankind. Own interest comes first no matter how noble we think we are. That is why we discuss together about how we want to live and according to what rules. Right and wrong blurs quite quickly creating a world where no one has possibilities for good life. In the isolated island there are criminals and those keeping eye on criminals. After a while the lack of rules creates small violations against law that turns into common anarchy. In Sakhalin slavery, violence, hunger and prostitution had become reality because common right practices were abandoned.

When Chekhov analyses how in the island children and poor ones could be helped the best way he says better to be betrayed than to betray oneself meaning everyone who seems to be in need of help should be helped without a fear that they are using the money wrong. I think it sums up the whole book quite well. One should not consider if good living circumstances belong for all. One should not be afraid that someone takes advantage if we do good. When we see that something is done wrong we should try to work our best to make change and not to betray ourselves with words that make wrong right.

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