When I think about my Norwegian heritage and what it means to be an American during this week's Independence Day celebrations, an array of images dance in my mind. I'm looking forward to attending the Naturalization Ceremony at the Seattle Center July 4, as I have each year for the past decade.
I know I'll get weepy, as I always do, when hundreds of new Americans rise as their country of origin is named and they recite the oath of citizenship, each holding a small American flag.
Roots beyond America
Like most Americans, my heritage is mixed. Some of my ancestors came to what is now the United States from England as early as the 17th century. Others came later, from Germany. And then there is my most recent immigrant forebear - my maternal grandfather, Torger Sinnes.
In 1887, at the age of 13, Torger left his family's farm on a small branch of the Hemne Fjord in the village of Kirksaterora, about 60 miles southwest of Trondheim, Norway. The farm was on a cape named Sinnes - derived from "sin," meaning angry or stormy, and "nes," meaning cape - hence, the family name. Torger's family saw him off on a ship to America - the Promised Land for millions of poor and underfed Europeans - where he journeyed by train to an uncle's farm in Minnesota. He eventually became a teacher, then a county superintendent of schools in North Dakota.
After graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School, Torger set up a law practice in Bellingham, Wash., before moving back to North Dakota to marry.
And - an interesting coincidence for me - he was active in politics. He was involved in the career of Usher Burdick, his law partner and former student, who became a U.S. congress-man. Torger also managed campaigns for a U.S. senator.
My husband, Alex, and I were fortunate to visit some of my Norwegian relatives in my grandfather's birthplace this spring. It was a thrill seeing the sod-covered stone house on the farm where he'd been born and the Sinnes signs on the road. We also saw my great grandfather's grave in the cemetery of the Lutheran church where he and my great grandmother had married.
We couldn't find her grave, apparently because it wasn't customary in the early 1900s for spouses to be buried next to each other.
Political women
Alex caught up with me in Copenhagen after I participated in a women's leadership mission to Sweden and the Baltic countries sponsored by the Center for Women & Democracy at the University of Washington. Our delegation included women in academia, medicine, science, law, business, politics and philanthropy. We visited with women in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - primarily elected officials and other government representatives and business leaders.
The most interesting part of the trip for me was learning about the political process in the four countries. We visited with current and former female members of their parliaments, as well as of some of the city and county councils, which are most akin to our state legislatures. Each country has a proportional representation system somewhat similar to England's parliamentary system.
Sweden, as with other Scandinavian countries, ranks the highest in the world on important measures of social progress such as maternal and child health, literacy, and economic status. Higher education is free. Health care coverage is universal. We saw no homeless people on the streets. And voter turnout far exceeds that of the United States. And, yes, taxes are higher.
Conditions in the Baltic countries are different. Having relied on the Soviet system for generations, their economies suffered in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse. It was inspiring to meet very young women in the Baltics who are very involved in rebuilding their countries. We talked with young women entrepreneurs and elected officials - even a 19-year-old who owns her own business and serves as a city council member.
But we also discussed the plight of many former Soviet republics, where the majority of the populace struggles to make ends meet. These conditions are fertile ground for the bustling international trade in human beings, also called human trafficking.
Human trafficking
The Baltics are among the many "source" and/or "transit" countries for human trafficking, which preys primarily upon young women and children who are lured to developed European countries and the United States by promises of prosperity and a better way of life. Tragically, what they find instead is a life of servitude, prostitution and even death. I shared information about laws enacted here in Washington to combat this horrible trade, and learned about strategies the Baltic countries have implemented to protect their citizens. This was especially important in Lithuania, where an awareness and prevention campaign sponsored by the International Organization on Migration (IOM) is underway.
One highlight of my trip was being a guest on Estonia's equivalent of NBC's "Today Show." I had to arrive early in the morning for makeup to be applied. I was then escorted to the set along with my interpreter. The young host, wearing a rock 'n' roll T-shirt, surprised me with his first question: How could I justify the U.S. system's rigid requirement that half of all legis-lators and members of Congress be women? Wouldn't that be nice! As it is, 45 percent of the Swedish Parlia-ment is made up of women, whereas the percentage in the Baltic countries is similar to the United States.
I was especially interested in Latvia, as it is the country of origin of my former legislative assistant, Dace Johnson (also a Queen Anne resident). We met Latvia's female parliamentarians, including the Speaker of the House, a university professor. And we enjoyed a lovely reception hosted by the Latvian President, Vaira Vike-Friberga, also a woman and academic.
Coincidentally, the Auditor General of Norway we met was preparing for an IOM conference, as Norway is a destination country for trafficking. Also a coincidence, I met three people from Croatia last week who were visiting the United States as part of their work to combat trafficking. They came to Seattle because Washington is known worldwide for our laws - the first in the United States - on sexual trafficking (introduced by Rep. Velma Veloria (D-Beacon Hill) and the mail-order bride industry (introduced by me).
Will our new laws make a difference? I can't help but think of Susanna Blackwell, a mail-order bride from the Philippines who was gunned down by her husband when she was eight months pregnant. I also remember Anastasia King, a mail-order bride from Kyrgystan, whose husband was convicted of her murder last year. And Helen Clemente, a mail-order bride from the Philippines, was forced into servitude by her husband, who continued to live with his divorced wife and threatened Helen with deportation. Would their fates have been different if our new laws had been in place when they were contemplating coming to America for a better life?
As we approach the Fourth of July, I have feelings of gratitude and hope. My grandfather flourished, living the American dream, and I'm here as a result. Because of his sacrifices, I have an opportunity to help those in other lands - those who endure similar hardships that many of our ancestors faced and who dream of a better life much as our forebears did.
Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Queen Anne) represents the 36th Legislative District. She is the lead Democrat on the state Senate Higher Education Committee and also serves on the state Senate Economic Development and Rules committees.
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