The Story of Batun
The Story of BATUN—Baltic Appeal to the Unite Nations was published in 2018 by Estonian-born Sirje Okas Ainso. BATUN is the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian movement founded in the United States in the late 1960’s, which main goal was to seek independence for the Baltic States and their membership in the United Nations.
The project required innovative solutions and patience and needed to be completed and published
for the 100th birthday of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which represented a very tight deadline.
The book consists of the eyewitness account documented by Sirje Okas Ainso, married to
Dr. Heino Ainso (President of Batun from 1970-1972 and 1985-1988). The account is supported by
many historical documents and original photos dating back to the 60’s. To digitize and restore the
many letters and photos and to ensure that printing was even possible, was a tremendous undertaking.
Acknowledgement: Credit goes to Kela, www.pixeldesignmiami.com,
my spirited graphic artist and problem solver who created the cover,
put together the photo display and worked long hours to painstakingly scan and restore the many letters and documents included in the book and whose creativity, patience and perseverance actually pulled it all together and made the book happen.
