Comments

Džons Brauns

Great article, Rihards - thank you! This quote should be read and understood by all those who think they can influence Latvia from the outside: "But I am pretty sure this change is not going to come from uniformed, sanctimonious opinions spouted from halfway across the world by people whose only source of information is the prism of their old prejudices. To get in on the fun you have to be here, in the heat of things, where hope and history and corruption and interests and money all storm together, producing the extraordinary clash of ideologies called Latvia, where the currency perpetually flutters on the brink of devaluation, the schools and hospitals are always in danger of shutting down and even the act of laying flowers by a monument is a loaded political act, requiring the protection of heavily armed riot police."

11 Nov 2009 (Latvia)

Erik

I have been living in Latvia since 1992, having spent the first thirty years of my life in Canada, but have a completely different view of what is going on in Latvia. I agree the costs are much lower than in Canada or the States, but if you are not an expatriate or one of the lucky few locals, incomes are lower still. I have many locally born friends, teachers, secretaries, blue collar workers, who have to agonize over how to even get their kids to school, let alone how provide medicine! The quality of free medical care is also much lower, though much better care is available if you can pay for it. Primary education, like medicine, is also free, but only on paper. Parents are expected to buy all necessary materials, except for most books, which in some cases are also not provided. Paying for field trips is also up to the parents. In rural areas, where public transportation is not available, the municipality, by law, is responsible for providing transportation to/from school. In practice, school bus availability is the exception rather than the norm. Try feeding your kids, sending them to school, clothing them and providing medicine on 400 lats a month! I have had acquaintances agonize over which of the several medicines prescribed for their children to buy. They simply can't afford all of them. Imagine having a sick child, knowing he can be treated, but watching him suffer because you can't afford it. Many adults, especially retirees or those with larger families, have long since given up on getting medical care for themselves. They simply can't afford it. Ontario, where I hail from, has/(d?) a health insurance/care program the envy of and studied by many countries. Maybe, because of that, I am just spoiled, but if I were comparing access to and quality of medicine between Latvia and Ontario, Latvia wouldn't score higher than a 4. If one's income is substantially higher than the local average, and 8 or 9 can easily be achieved, but shouldn't we rate such issues on what is available for most, not the few?

11 Nov 2009 (Latvia)

Ilze

The writing in this article is outstanding and I trust the author makes his living from such. Hats off to you who have taken the plunge to live in Latvia as it is, and have taken your ideals and set up house where our parents came from. You are the ones who will help rebuild Latvia alongside the born-there Latvians. The born-elsewhere Latvians bring enthusiasm to depressed born-there Latvians, igniting a spark of faith that Latvia can and will rise again. We who were born elsewhere have had instilled in us from babyhood what a marvellous country Latvia was, the intelligence of the people (eg did you know that between 1918 and the occupation Latvia, per head of population, had the largest proportion of university-educated individuals in Europe?), the culture amazingly old, the language based in Sanskrit, the oldest Indo-European language, and that to be a Latvian was something very special, to be treasured and cultivated. Yes, I would love to live in Latvia today, but I am a bit of a coward. How would I make ends meet? and all that. The only good income I make here in South Australia is reading palms at corporate functions. I'll be cheering on those with guts... maybe one day I shall have the guts to follow. Thank you for your significant article, Rihard. Keep up the good work!

12 Nov 2009 (Australia)

sneega

“They should teach a class at Gaŗezers about how to start a business in Latvia.” Best idea ever! (I think Gaŗezers should become the Latvian Embassy in America.)

22 Feb 2010 (United States)