Former PM Indulis Emsis: People have been driven to a psychological breakdown

Doctor of Biological Sciences and former Prime Minister Indulis Emsis conducts remote lectures for students and enjoys idyllic rural life near Salacgrīva.

Gardenworks on the agenda

"I am a retiree who is very happy with life. I live in my own field. I can relax from the negations that haunt people but are not felt in the countryside. We do everything in a very peaceful, healthy rhythm of life and harmony. Since I have a farm, there is always enough work. Of course, I miss opera, theater and concerts, but grandchildren come to visit us on weekends and those days become more fun. This is how we live in our household and wait until we can go to the opera.

Gardenworks are currently on the agenda. Compost must be incorporated into the soil, potatoes must be planted, the greenhouse must be set up, plants, vegetables and flowers must be planted. For the produce to be fresh and healthy, you have to take care of them. This is followed by my favorite works in the forest. I just finished building the greenhouse. I can build everything I need. The farmstead is now more viable. I have long promoted and praised the fact that rural homesteads are environmentally friendly, works as an anti-virus and a very good livelihood, which is much cheaper than in the city. In the homestead, children are raised to know how to work in a field. We have gone through a cycle - that from which we used to run, has now become a guarantor of stability."

It is harder for urban people

Indulis Emsis says that he currently conducts remote lectures for his students. Yes, the pandemic supports and promotes the growth of the virtual world, but face-to-face lectures are better because the eye and body language is a very powerful tool. He misses meeting with students in person. Indulis Emsis says that currently the biggest beneficiaries are the pharmaceutical industry and the creators of the digital world. He shares his thoughts on the unpreparedness of the urban world for the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The public was not ready for it, in general, this was a big blow. I am not talking about the small part that lives on homesteads and understand the realities of such life in a natural system. What is happening now is very painful for all supporters of the urbanized world. We can be sure of this by looking at data on alcohol consumption, which shows that people are trying to escape, looking for a new psychological balance. If it can't be found in family, at work, then they search for it in alcohol. But there stability, as we know, cannot be found. The urban environment is currently undergoing tremendous revolutionary change. It is an environment based on communication, where each individual is not self-sufficient. They can no longer go to parties to recharge their batteries. Those people are in a rather catastrophic situation. Self-sufficient people with survival potential and adaptability are better off. The winners are those who are close to nature and are self-sufficient. And also those who live in a virtual environment and sit at their computer. They also sat at the computer before the disease, so nothing really changes for these people. But there are people who need a sense of support, and they are having a hard time.”

Seeking refuge in nature

"In nature, of course, everything is still happening. On Saturdays and Sundays, we see how much the number of people who seek refuge in nature with backpacks, bicycles and on foot has increased. There are hundreds of them here passing our farm. Fear is not good for physical or mental health. Fear of getting sick, fear of turning on the TV... Fatigue can reach a breaking point. This is not a good time. It can be seen that people around the world are becoming revolutionary. People have been driven to a psychological breakdown. The government must take into account that tolerance can only last for a certain period of time."

Homestead is safer

"The outbreak of the virus will definitely change the world. It was clear that the urbanization process had reached its culmination and a very undesirable trend for the human population. People became more and more concentrated in cities and metropolises. From a biological point of view, it is like a gift for viruses and diseases. From an ecological point of view, the increase in the spread of this virus is quite natural. Such an unhealthy concentration of people cannot be eternal. Nature will object. One of the strongest signals of this objection is the virus outbreak. No action is left without a reaction. The urbanization process has shown its negative process. Therefore, we are glad that we live in such a place as Latvia where the homestead is still known. We can return to our ancestral roots, apply this lifestyle, work remotely and preserve our ancestral heritage. It is safer to live in a homestead than in an apartment building.

More broadly, I would like to say that nothing will be the same as before. I think many families will consider returning to their ancestral estates, and that is a positive sign. We know that a lot of intelligent people buy abandoned rural estates and return to live there. Of course, it makes sense to live in the countryside to reduce the spread of the virus. A few years ago, when I suggested in the National Development Working Group that a lot of attention should be paid to the development of homesteads, there was no such thing as Covid-19 yet. I said that it is very important for national stability, that people should return to the rural environment and nature, that they should support not only those who are in the city, but also those who live in homesteads, but they do not provide them with such support. At the time, I was told that this idea sucks, that we can't go in the opposite direction of progress. So there I remained, alone with my idea. I hope that because of this disease, people will consider more the benefits of Latvia's ancient and unique homestead tradition. The homestead system is typical only for Scandinavians and the Baltics. It's an environmentally friendly system."