On your day of independence, my beautiful Finland,
my heart turns to you with both pride and sorrow.
What a tremendous price has been paid for your freedom.
Your independence did not arrive wrapped in celebration—
it was carved out of hardship, sacrifice, and the courage
of those who had so little, yet gave everything.

I think of my elderly father,
a gentle man who still carries the invisible scars
of being sent away as a war child.
Even now, as I sit by his bedside,
I see how deeply those early years etched themselves into him—
the separation, the fear, the uncertainty,
the longing for home that never truly left.
It breaks my heart that children were asked
to endure what no child ever should.

And I think of my grandfathers,
men who stood up with fierce determination
to defend the land they loved.
They fought with bravery that defies words,
and though they returned,
their hearts carried stories they could never fully speak.
Those battles left marks no one could see,
but we, their children and grandchildren,
still feel them in the quiet spaces between memories.

Yet through all of this —
through war, loss, heartbreak, and rebuilding —
nothing surpasses your beauty, Finland.
Your forests, your lakes, your silence, your strength.
You remain a country shaped by resilience,
carried by generations who loved you fiercely,
and cherished by those of us
who still call you home, no matter how far we roam.

On this day, I honour you,
and I honour those who paid the price
so you could stand free.

My beautiful Finland —
forever in my heart.