2/2025 About the Dissertation of Essi Huuhka
Dissertation explores humanitarian aspects of Finnish mission to South West Africa
My years-long project finally came to an end in December 2024 when I defended my dissertation. In it, I studied the work of the Finnish Missionary Society (FMS) in South West Africa at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. My focus was particularly on humanitarianism. I wanted to find out what kind of humanitarian perspectives were included in the work of the FMS, for example, during famines.
The dissertation is based on the archival materials and publications of the Finnish Missionary Society, particularly the correspondence, meeting documents, and the society’s periodicals. These texts are analysed through the concept of mission discourse. Especially concerning famines, the texts reflected a humanitarian narrative in the Finnish context, which was a way to describe the suffering of others and to generate action to help the victims of various crises.
My research consisted of four articles, two of which are openly accessible online in English. Links to these texts are below.
One interesting case I examined was the famine of 1908-1909 from the perspective of the FMS. A severe famine swept over Ondonga, and for the first time, Finnish missionaries ended up asking the German administration for emergency food aid. Food was sent to the area, although the missionaries were responsible for getting the food to the people and distributing it.
The work and experiences of the missionaries were followed for months in Finland through letters published in the FMS’s magazine Suomen Lähetyssanomia. These letters reflected a missionary discourse in which various crises were understood as part of God’s will. The missionaries believed that after the famine, the local people might become more interested in the word of God and convert to Christianity. They justified their relief work with the Christian duty and practical necessity. In a serious situation, there were hardly any other options.
In Finland, the public could read about the development of the situation month by month. In addition, in Suomen Lähetyssanomia readers were encouraged to donate money to help those suffering from famine. This inspired a few Finns to donate money, although the amounts received were relatively small compared to the total sums donated to the Missionary Society. However, they show that a crisis experienced on the other side of the world could also move Finns. On the other hand, the funds raised also helped the missionaries to do their work.
My study places current discussions on development cooperation and humanitarian aid in a historical context. I hope that various perspectives on aid and development will receive attention in the future as well. In the current world of crises, this can shed light on the history of colonialism and the attitudes towards suffering – and how different kind of crises have been overcome.
Essi Huuhka, PhD, European and World History, University of Turku
Read more:
Doctoral thesis: Essi Huuhka (2024) Kaukaiselle lähimmäiselle: Humanitaarisuus Suomen lähetysseuran Lounais-Afrikan-toiminnassa 1890-luvulta 1910-luvulle – UTUPub
Essi Huuhka (2018) Feeding body and soul. Finnish missionaries and famine relief in German South West Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. Nordic Journal of African Studies Vol. 27, No. 1, 2018. Link: Feeding body and soul | Nordic Journal of African Studies
Essi Huuhka (2024) For Our Distant Neighbours: The Finnish Missionary Society’s Fundraising for Famine Relief in Owambo, 1908–1909. In: Colonial Aspects of Finnish-Namibian Relations, 1870–1990. Cultural Change, Endurance and Resistance. Leila Koivunen, Raita Merivirta (eds.) SKS. Link: Finnish Literature Society