Abdul Turay

Let's eat potato peels By Abdul Turay Published in Postimees on 2 December 2008 At a meeting of foreigner investors recently held in Tallinn there was a consensus on one issue. Estonians hadn’t yet woken up to just how serious the current economic crisis is. People don’t seem to realise what is at stake. It is not just a question of a few bankruptcies, nor of shopping cheaply, nor buying a smaller car, nor having a few friends and relatives out of work. Just to shake people out of their complacency let’s give a hypothetical situation. Imagine if the Estonian economy was owned lock, stock and barrel by Russian banks, a world in which some dour, Putin yes-man, in Moscow decides how companies do business in Tallinn. A country where your home loan was already with a Russian bank and try as you may, you couldn’t switch it to an Estonian one. If you think that the above situation is just fantasy this is from 23 October edition of the Economist: “…one or more parent banks will put a troub

How to become Estonian By Abdul Turay First published Postimees 26 February 2009 I recently gave a series of lectures at Hugo Treffner gymnasium and other schools in Tartu about the crisis of civic nationalism. The students were fairly quiet during the lectures but I am told by their class teachers there was heated and furious arguments about what it all means for Estonia after I left. Some of you may be unfamiliar with what exactly civic nationalism is, much less that it is in crisis so let me clarify it. It means that my own country, Britain, might actually collapse like the Soviet Union, not five years or 10 years from now, but next year or the year after. The same thing could happen to Belgium, Spain, South Africa even the United States. Canada came within a hairbreadths of collapse 14 years ago. In Britain the danger is very real and imminent. If you're not familiar with British politics. You might be surprised to hear this. There are broadly speaking two competing id

A black president for a white nation By Abdul Turay First published Postimees 11 November 2008 A few months ago I was having dinner with an American journalist friend visiting from New York. I joked to her that it seemed like there are only five black people in Estonia.... and two of them are drug dealers. Now the most powerful man on the planet is a black man. What does this mean for Estonia, one of the whitest nation's on Earth? Though this US election was fought on the issues, not on race, it was pretty clear once Obama was elected the huge historical significant of event would be celebrated. Some people may think President-elect Obama’s race doesn’t matter. Some even believe he isn’t really black. After all the president-elect’s mother was white and he was raised by his white grandparents. Those people are wrong. Obama is really black and it really does matter. Most black people everywhere see Obama's election as a personal victory for them. Ninety five per cent of Afri

Laar's dilemma By Abdul Turay First published in Postimees July 13 2009 A lot of people who don't know much about Estonia have strong opinions about Mart Laar. A countryman of mine who I am sure has never heard of Kalevipoeg, A.H. Tammsaare or Tõnis Mägi called him: “one of the greatest men alive.” An anonymous poster on the Laar's own blog recently called him: “a right wing pig!” The poster went on to blame Laar for the economic crisis not just in Estonia, but in the whole world. In a way it's a backhanded compliment. It is hard to imagine this type of expletive being hurled at Saavisar or Ansip by people living abroad. They are local figures. Laar is global, a world class statesman. As a newspaper editor, I would receive contributions from him. I was truly in awe of him. His opinion pieces were always well written, in excellent English, concise and well argued. His breadth of knowledge was phenomenal. Now there is talk about Laar heading back to the premiers

Michael Jackson some thoughts By Abdul Turay Published Postimees 27 June 2009 Like many people I am in absolute shock that Michael Jackson is dead. The only thing more shocking is if the Queen died. No actual this is more shocking, the Queen is old, Michael Jackson was only 50. And for once I am not just in shock as a person, but as a black person. Michael Jackson was the most famous black person in world history. It is impossible to underestimate his importance to black people. It wasn't just that he made incredible music created amazing videos and put on ground breaking shows, he also broke down barriers in a way that hadn't been done before and can't be done again. It hard to believe it now but before Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, black entertainers were in a cul-de-sac. Black musicians were continually struggling to reach a wider audience outside of black communities. Twenty five years ago MTV had an unofficial policy banning videos by black musicians. Herbie Hanc