Things that have struck me during my time here - part 1

As I’m soon to leave, I though it good to spend some time reflecting on what I see Mongolia to be like. What follows is an account of some of the negative/sad things that I have come across. I’ll do a more positive account next week!

Unemployment is a major problem (with various sources placing Ulaanbaatar’s unemployment at around 33%). Too many people are coming to Ulaanbaatar to look for work, yet not enough jobs are being created. Also, many firms decide to employ cheaper (and some would say harder-working) Chinese workers. Alcoholism is also a serious problem. Drunks are everywhere – a day doesn’t pass without seeing someone drunk either sitting/lying on the pavement or trying their best to navigate themselves around the city streets. I’m used to seeing people drunk in the UK, but not so much during the daytime. Also, Mongolian drunks often drink themselves unconscious. I guess there are many social and cultural reasons for the alcoholism, but what doesn’t help is that vodka is so cheap (a 70cl bottle can cost less than three dollars, and homebrew can be purchased even more cheaply)!

Racism, as I mentioned in a previous entry, is unfortunately an issue. The majority of Mongolians are quite anti-Chinese, and some are not over keen on foreigners (especially if they have Mongolians partners). There are some good reasons behind these negative stereotypes, but it is not a positive side to Mongolian life. The extremist political groups Dayar Mongol and Hoch Mongol have been known to carry out violent acts against foreigners, and their presence in Ulaanbaatar has always been a slight worry to me.

Public facilities are a bit grim. For example, you can see in the photo that Mongolian ambulances are not the most sophisticated in the world. Hospitals are pretty dingy, and staff often don’t have anywhere to wash their hands. I went to visit a Mongolian friend of mine, who had back problems. She had to share a room with another person, and had no separating screen for privacy. What didn’t help her morale was that the room next to her’s was the morgue! The road system is also a bit chaotic. A green man means that only half of a road’s traffic will stop, so a pedestrian still has to tackle a flow of oncoming traffic. The roads are also often full of holes. Add to this that Mongolian drivers are quite aggressive and reckless, and you have a pretty dangerous situation…

Poverty is certainly rife in Mongolia. Whilst the vast majority of people have enough money to buy food, many find life very tough. Around 30% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, so the recent food prices rises have hit them hard. They will also struggle to buy enough fuel to heat their ger tents during the bitterly cold winter months. As I live in the inner city I only get glimpses of this poverty. Collectors roam the streets, looking for plastic bottles which they can sell on. They hardly get any money at all for a huge bag full of plastic, so a full day’s work often only raises $1. The collectors look wizened and often have skin diseases – it’s a very tough job. Street children are also a regular sight. A few weeks ago I saw a heartbreaking sight – a teenage boy was looking after his little sister, and they were both asleep on the side of the road. It’s quite shocking to see how someone so young not only has to survive on the streets, but has to look after his little sister too.

I often think I am very lucky. My salary and accommodation is a lot better than that of most Mongolians, despite technically being a “volunteer”. To put it in context, a doctor just earns $100 a month. I’m doing better than a fully-qualified doctor (and many other people who work a lot harder than me!). I also share a large appartment in a nice part of the city, and have my own room. I have met many Mongolians who just share one small room together. It’s quite surprising to see how people cramp together. The living room will be converted into a bed room after 10pm. Whilst I can imagine families living comfortably like this, I certainly would find the lack of privacy/personal space a bit of a problem.

Just though I had better note down some of my observations, so that you can get a better understanding of Mongolia, and I can remember all of this when I’m back home! Lots of love to you all,

Robert

Naadam time!

The 11th, 12th and 13th of July mark the Naadam festival, one of the main events on Mongolia's calendar. During Naadam people throughout Mongolia gather to watch competitors compete in wrestling, archery and horse riding tournaments. I thought it would be good to experience a countryside Naadam, and escape the crowds and tourists in Ulaanbaatar (which hosts the main festival). Thus, I headed off with some of my VSO friends to visit Choibalsan, a city to the east of Mongolia.

The journey – we braved the local bus system, and were packed into a sturdy Russian machine. As we took our seats the rest of the bus began to fill up with a variety of items. We soon found ourselves surrounded by televisions, car tyres, large suitcases, boxes of fruit and vegetables. The Mongolians certainly make the most of any spare space available! The passengers were surprised to see foreigners take the bus – not many people travel to Choibalsan, and those that do usually take private jeeps or the plane. It was quite an interesting and fun experience. Whilst the journey took 16 hours, we had plenty of breaks along the way. However, it was great to finally make it to our destination…

Choibalsan City - Choibalsan is an interesting place. The city used to host over 40,000 Russian troops. But at the end of the Cold War the troops were ordered to leave the country. As a result, the city’s population halfed in the space of 48 hours. It’s completely mind-boggling to think that such a thing could happen. The results are still being felt today - as the Russians went, so did the jobs. Now Choibalsan has one of the highest rates of unemployment, around 50%. Also, the Russians were the managers of the local industries. After they left the remaining Mongolian population had little idea of how to run the factories, shops, etc. The Russian half of the city is now mostly in ruins or has been looted. People are divided on how to view the Russians. Some local residents hate them for leaving, whilst others think of them fondly, and wish that the “good old days” would return. A VSO volunteer very rightly pointed out that one shouldn’t just think about the hardships that the Mongolians went through during this period. The Russian troops and civilians were dumped across the border and left to fend for themselves. They had to leave much of what they had collected (including Mongolian wives/husbands!), and found themselves left in the Russian wilderness during the extremely cold winter. Not such a great reward for years of loyal service…

There are a few VSO volunteers based in Choibalsan, and it was interesting to see their own volunteer experience. They are a lot more isolated, and have few other English speakers to talk to. I think they probably get a bit lonelier than UB-based volunteers. However, the pace of life in Choibalsan is a lot more relaxed. They also don't have to put up with Ulaanbaatar's pollution levels, or the anti-foreigner attitude of many of the capital's residents (people in Choibalsan seemed a lot more interested in foreigners, and were generally very friendly). We stayed with Jultz, a Filipino volunteer. He looked after us very well, and served us a great variety of delicious food. High up on the list was a dog meat stew, which was actually quite nice! N.B. Mongolians do not usually eat dog meat, but Jultz had managed to get his hands on some because of a strange situation. He is a social worker, and was helping a poor family. The grandmother of the family got sick, so it was decided that they had better kill the dog (it was all they could afford). They very kindly gave Jultz a small amount, and thus he had some to share with us.

Naadam Festival – the volunteers and I made the trip to see the wrestling, archery and horse racing competitions. I think the most dramatic was the horse racing. Many young children took part, and large amounts of spectators turned up to watch. It was sweet to see families wish their children good luck before the race, but a bit surprising to see how young the competitors actually are – it seemed like some were only 5 or 6 years old! One sport I would love to try is the archery. I’ve always had a respect for the sport, and the competitors look very cool with their bows.

To see photos of Naadam/Choibalsan please feel free to visit http://picasaweb.google.com/schliner/NaadamInChoibalsan

Now I’m back in Ulaanbaatar, and the city is full of tourists. Things have slowed down at work (many people take the post-Naadam period off as holiday), so life is a little bit more relaxed. Big hug to you all,

Robert

Life goes on...

So, the state of emergency has ended, and life carries on as usual. The curfew has been lifted, and the soldiers are now replaced by ordinary policemen. All the TV channels are back on line, as are the radio stations. It's now possible to buy a beer again too, horaay! After last week's craziness, it was a slight relief to get back to normality (although I have to admit that I miss the excitement a little bit!).

Working at the new National Volunteer Centre - I'm currently helping out at Window to Development, a newly established NGO. Window to Development hopes to become a national volunteering centre, which members of the public can use to find out more about the volunteering opportunities that exist. It's a fun place to work in, as volunteers are always popping in and out. Also, the director Tsevelmaa is a friend of mine, so that adds to the working atmosphere. It's early days for the organisation, but they have ambitious plans. I wish them all the best for the future...

Waitrose hits Mongolia - or so I thought! As you can see in the photo, there is currently a spate of Waitrose shopping bags that Mongolians are using (for those non-British readers, Waitrose is a supermarket in Britain). Quite why Waitrose bags have made it here I don't know, but I guess it's the old case of foreign firms dumping products that they don't need. Ulaanbaatar is awash with shopping bags saying "I love New York" too (obviously the rest of the world doesn't love New York...). We get an awful lot of chickens from American coming to Ulaanbaatar too. I think that must be the result of a trade deal with the States, as I'm sure it would be cheaper to import chicken in from neighbouring China or Russia.

Another Mongolian music video for you all to enjoy! This time it's Kiwi, one of Mongolia's leading girl bands. Their song "Bi Chini Candy Girl" (I'm your candy girl) was one of the winter hits, and is still popular with youngsters throughout Mongolia. Interestingly enough, the band members are of mixed-race, which is pretty avant-garde for Mongolia. Enjoy!

I'm getting ready for the yearly Naadam Festival (which is a public holiday, horaay!). I'll be travelling to the countryside, to get a more traditional perspective on this festival. Expect more information and photos in the next update... Lots of love to you all, take care of yourselves,

Robert

Revolutionary times

On Tuesday evening, the 1st of June, a large scale protest broke out at the headquarters of the leading party in Mongolia, the MAXN (the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party). Masses of people congregated at the square outside the headquarters, and a select few began attacking and looting the building. Clashes between the protestors and the police occurred throughout the night, and some protesters attacked a local police station. By the end of the evening the whole building was in flames, and 5 people had died. It was the first time in living memory that Mongolians had risen up in a violent protest.

Background information - It's difficult to really know what the reasons are for this protest, as different people give me different viewpoints. However, here's a brief summary. Those who are more sympathetic to the demonstrations suggest they were protesting as a reaction to the election results. The leading party, MAXN, increased their share of the vote winning over 60% of the seats. Some people think that this result was inaccurate, and so went to MAXN to protest. The protesters (again from what I hear) submitted a petition demanding for the election results to be investigated. Nobody from MAXN came out to talk to the protesters, so the protesters became rowdy. The police then stepped in and the protest escalated. However, those that support MAXN say that the majority of the protesters were just drunkards, and those that wanted to cause damage. There was no real political component to the demonstrations.

If you want to find out more, please feel free to check out these news stories from the BBC:
(breaking news from the BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7484632.stm
(BBC photos) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7484682.stm
(overview of situation) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7485473.stm
(stabilisation of situation) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7486794.stm

The aftermath of the protest - at 11:30pm on Tuesday evening, President Enkhbayar called a state of emergency for four days. The result is that the streets are now full of heavily armed soldiers, patrolling around sensitive areas. They are quite intimidating, I've never seen large groups of people carry guns around. The four corners of the main square also have tanks on them... All residents of Ulaanbaatar have to follow a strict curfew, getting home by 10pm and only being able to leave the house at 8am. This hasn't been too bad, as I now feel legitimately able to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep! What is more disconcerting is that all the non-state media has been shut down. That means there is only one TV station broadcasting and only one radio station transmitting. This basically allows the state to control the flow of information, and some Mongolians are worried that the government is trying to cover their eyes.

The population is understandably nervous at the moment. The streets are quieter, as fewer people are out and about, and those that are in the city are generally talking less. Children are scared of what might happen next, and the sporadic power cuts spark more nervousness. Over 700 people have been arrested in connection with the protest. It's interesting to see how a government and a population reacts to this situation. The coming weeks will be equally interesting. From what I can make out, the majority of people view the violent nature of the protest as very bad. They are shocked that Mongolian people could do this (for example, the democratic revolution of 1992 was peaceful).

Many people, rightly or wrongly, are blaming the Democratic Party for the troubles, and I think if another election was called more people would vote for MAXN. This in turn has led some Democratic Party supporters to create conspiracy theories that MAXN deliberately allow the protest to spread, and are now exploiting the negative images to their advantage. I've come to realise that it's incredibly difficult as a foreigner to really work out what's going on. The language barrier is one thing, but I also have no real knowledge of the historical background, or the things that are going on behind the scenes.

Anyway, despite all of this I'm doing ok, so don't worry about me. I've just got to keep my head down... Lots of love from a tense Ulaanbaatar,

Robert

Volunteer Conference 2008

The last few weeks I’ve been busily working to prepare for the annual VSO Mongolia Volunteers’ Conference. One of my responsibilities as Ulaanbaatar Volunteer Representative (yes, very grand title I know!) was to help with the preparations and running of this conference. Thus, I’ve been working with fellow volunteer Ruth and VSO Mongolia director Alison, to ensure that everything was ready. We made great efforts so that the volunteers were properly consulted about and could feed into all aspects of the conference (the agenda, the menu, transport arrangements, etc).

On Wednesday the 18th the day finally came, and volunteers from all over the country descended upon the Equal Step Camp, our home for the next three days. Whilst I had little to do with the decision, it was a magnificent choice of venue – right in the middle of nowhere, very isolated and peaceful (by the train station intriguingly just called “#290”). The camp is usually used to give street children a place to have fun during the summer months. Our quick use of the centre gave the camp a much needed cash boost, which the owners will use to make the camp more accessible for disabled people. It was great that the money we spent went towards such a project, rather than into the hands of an already wealthy owner of a tourist camp/hotel.

Generally speaking the conference went well. We had a few issues along the way (most notably time keeping, as we had so little time and so much to get through), but most people were very happy with the experience. It was great to see everyone again, and have a good catch up – I rarely get to see the countryside-based volunteers, so it was particularly good to see them. The conference also gave me the chance to plan some fun trips with other volunteers for the coming month and a half…

Rain, rain and more rain! - Yes, we’re entering the rainy season, so the streets are flooded and everything (including myself) is wet. The rainy season is so short that there seems to be no need to have a city drainage system. This is probably common sense, as it only rains for about 20 days a year, but whilst you’re in heavy downpour season the city’s streets start to resemble rivers! I travelled by bus yesterday, and looking out of my window it seemed like we were going on an adventure tour – it seemed like we were floating along a river rather than driving down Ulaanbaatar’s main street. I don’t mind the rain so much as it’s quite a fun change, and I know it will really help make the whole place look a lot greener. Such downpour is also essential to the success of many Mongolians – if it doesn’t rain much, then the grass won’t grow and so cattle will starve.

Elections: only 6 days to go – next weekend we will have a new government in Mongolia! Campaigners are frantically trying to grab those crucial votes, going from house-to-house distributing pamphlets. The political parties are spending so much money on advertising, so everywhere you go you are greeted by giant posters of the main candidates (it seems like the elections are keeping the advertising industry afloat, as most of the other posters in the city are out of date, or seem to have been there for months on end). From what I gather personality is quite important in Mongolia, as adverts and party brochures dedicate a lot of space to describing the individual politicians.

Thanks for the emails and letters that some of you have been sending me, it’s always great to receive them. I promise I’ll reply soon! Fingers crossed that everything is going well for you, and that you are having a good time. Lots of love to you all, take care and have fun,

Robert

A video you might find interesting...

Robert Slinn - Movie Star

Yes, I am shortly to appear at a cinema near you (or at least university)! A film crew from VSO headquarters are working on a short promotional film about youth volunteering, a decided to come to Mongolia to cover the work that I and two of my fellow young volunteers are doing. How exciting! The film crew followed me round for a day, and did interviews with some of my colleagues. We went to visit Amnesty International Mongolia, and also did a quick shoot of the volunteers' forum that I've recently helped set up. It was a real pleasure to do the filming, not least because the film crew were so nice (and bought me lunch!). The next day was a bit strange though - no longer was I the centre of attention! I'm really looking forward to seeing the film when it's completed, it will be a great souvenir of my time in Mongolia.

Disability Day - on the 11th of June the disabled community hosted a day full of events, designed to celebrate the achievements and abilities of the disabled. The focal point of the day was held in the square by the main cinema/museum to Lenin. Many disabled people ran stalls showcasing their handicrafts. There was also a large stage upon which disabled people sang songs and played music. In addition, local politicians/VIPs used the stage to hand out certificates to those lucky enough to warrant them. My own personal highlight was going to the "wheelchair marathon", an event which was held on the outskirts of the city. I'm currently doing a three-week stint at the Wheelchair Users' Association, and director Chuka asked me to be photographer for the day. Participants undertook the 5km course in extremely hot weather, so I take my hat of to them! Disability is an interesting issue in Mongolia - most people respect the disabled (for instance, drivers will incredibly not honk their horns when wheelchair users are blocking the traffic when getting in and out of taxis). However, little is being done to insure that disabled people can access facilities. Hopefully things will improve in the future, VSO is certainly making this area one of their priorities...

The Election -Mongolia is gearing up for its parliamentary election, which take place on the 29th of June. The streets are fully of adverts and party flags, and microbuses displaying party posters dash around the city. The two main contenders are the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (the ex-communists) and the Democratic Union Party. These two parties will probably take over 90% of the seats available. However, Mongolia has 8 parties competiting - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Mongolia for more details. It seems that you can divide people into two categories - those that passionately support one party (the young generally support the Democratic Party and are against the Revolutionary Party, whilst the poor and the old support the old order) and those that simply don't care about the election ("all politicians are corrupt, the elections won't change anything"). I'll keep you all updated over the coming blog posts...

End of language lessons -yes, the time has come for me to wind down some of my activities. As I'm leaving in 2 months I've decided to stop taking my Mongolian lessons (also my teacher is now on her holidays, and so I think she's keen to wind down all her activities for a month or two). The lessons were great, although perhaps too focused on grammar (a common feature in Mongolian education - many people know all the complex English grammar, but have trouble actually speaking). My teacher Alta was a really nice person, someone who always smiled. She was a pleasure to talk to, and was very patient with me!

Finishing the lessons is a bit like the first nail in the coffin of my Mongolian adventure. It's a bit sad to think about leaving Mongolia, as I've started to settle and have made some good friends. Also my job usually keeps me entertained and throws up surprises, something which may be hard to recreate in a job in the UK. However, I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, so that's a big positive! Bythway, the flight is booked - I'm back on August the 12th. I hope you all have a bit of free time in August/September, it would be great to catch up with anyone who is available! Lots of love to you all,

Robert

P.S. I'm currently writing lots of job applications for my return to the UK. Wish me luck!