So here we sit in a cute hostel in Shkoder, Albania, having travelled through Bosnia and Montenegro to get here, and it's a chance to collect our thoughts. Bosnia is so hard to write about, because as Kate mentioned in her last post, while the country has a lot going for it, the shadow of the war is never far away. Sarajevo was fascinating - as one Bosnian lady pointed out to us there is a mosque, an eastern orthodox cathedral, a catholic cathedral and a synagogue all within a 200 metre radius. The only other place in the world where you can find such a mix is Israel. But the only significant museum operating is focused entirely on the seige of Sarajevo. Bullet holes and stray dogs are ubiquitous. But for all that, the city is buzzing, and I loved it there.
Being in Bosnia and Montenegro and having had the opportunity to talk to some lovely and intelligent people has brought three things into sharp focus for me.
Firstly, a life in which opportunity for progression is limited is an extremely hard life. We've spoken to numerous young Bosnians and Montenegrans who are educated, friendly and intelligent, but in spite of this, many can only see a future of graft and unemployment, confined to the Balkans. The average monthly salary is Bosnia is US$563, and in Montenegro US$618. In albania it is just US$264 a month. Compare this to Australia where we earn on average US$2900, and it is obvious that while we are able to take our Aussie dollars and jet off overseas on cycling holidays, the majority of people here cannot. (These figures are from Wikipedia, so I wouldn't take them as gospel, but they provide a good indication). With a good education and careful saving a life can be crafted in their own country, with maybe a trip to Croatia now and again as a splurge, but any further afield is pretty much out of the question. The idea of being confined to Australia makes me feel quite claustrophobic, and I really feel for the people we've spoken to.
With this in mind, it is obvious that Australia is in danger of becoming (if it has not already) a greedy little country filled with closed-minded people who do not understand just how lucky we are. That sounds preachy, but it makes me angry. The nature of the debate leading to the last election, the racist debate about asylum seekers clothed in a narrative of 'asylum seeker safety' indicates a general unwillingness to share anything that we have. As this excelle nt article points out - mattcowgill.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/what-is-the-typical-australians-income-in-2013/ - points out, households on $150,000, or even $200,000 a year are being portrayed, and seem to genuinely believe, that they are 'battlers.' These people earn far more than not only the majority of the rest of the world, but the majority of other Australians as well, and yet they are still unhappy. Consider that the average Australian donates just AU$460 to charity each year, and the picture that begins to be painted of the generosity of the average Australian is not a pretty one. All Australians, including those who are well off of, of course have a right to enjoy their wealth without feeling guilty for the luck and opportunity that they have, and to strive for further progress in their own lives. However, a better understanding of our position in the world, and the luck that we have, may just lead to better policy outcomes, and a step back towards the 'egalitarian society' Australia likes to think of itself as. Until that happens, I think we really need to consider ditching the third verse of the National Anthem:
'...For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share...'
Finally, and back to Bosnia - the country just doesn't seem to me like it can move on until politics moves away from ethnicity based-alignment, to policy-based alignment. At present, I believe, all political parties are ethnically aligned, rather than policy based. And people vote for the party that represents their ethnicity, rather than choosing a political philosophy that they believe in, and voting accordingly. Almost everyone that we spoke to from Bosnia and Montenegro (granted, this was not a particularly large sample!) mentioned their ethnicity in passing conversation without any prompting from us. This focus on ethnicity seems to me to be particularly divisive, and I hope that future generations can align themselves in different ways rather than just by their ethnicity (and hence religion). Solutions? No idea. And I certainly do not claim to be an expert... the region is so complex. And yet, so great. Montenegro may be the perfect cycling destination. And Albania, in our short time here, the friendliest. In Melbourne they honk to warn you that they are going to drive over you. In Albania, it's a cheery 'hello.'
So... with that, it's dinner time...
