Abstract
In 1958, the last train transporting war reparations left Parikkala, a southeast border town in Finland, for the Soviet Union. This marked the end of any normal cross-border traffic. Today, Parikkala is negotiating to change its border-crossing status from temporary to international. This article explores local and regional newspaper coverage of Parikkala's effort to get its new cross-border policy approved. Utilizing frame analysis, trauma studies, and border studies, the article aims to answer the following questions: Do any distinguishable frames emerge from the news texts? What is the message they convey? What kind of social, cultural, and historical trauma and its processes are involved in locally situated border narratives, and what is their place in border politics, information production, and distribution? Parikkala's situation raises complex questions about the role of the nation-state(s) in bordering practices and control as well as local border peoples’ chances to influence bordering processes.
