Well I mentioned spring on my twitter blog and down comes the snow. Loads of it. Politically we are still waiting for a complete list of the new Government. Some of the lesser posts are part of below the surface haggling. The SCP has its party congress this week so we shall see what the leaders there say about the whole affair. There is still no apparent leadership from the new cabinet and without this there can be no clear progress. I suppose my hope is that Latvia really is like Italy and manages without a Government!
No visible new evidence of change on the crisis. Depressingly I saw two beggars sitting in the slushy snow near Hotel Latvia last night. They were both soaked through. That is no life for any human being. It has got to be wrong. A police car drove past as I was there and both policemen looked out and laughed. That was the saddest thing of the day for me. When the official part of a nation does not care then it is a short run to the whole society losing its soul. The good news is that some new shops have taken over the premises of one or two of those that closed. There is still hope.....
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Sveiks Glen
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the Jersey shore USA.
Not only do I care about my country of birth but the economy here in the USA. I saw the writing on the wall a long time ago and therefore nothing surprises me anymore.
I have friends in Latvia and had the opportunity to travel there twice.
In reference to the police reaction to homeles people also does not surprise me. I think it will take at least two generations to shake off the low esteem, suspicious and unfriendly soviet style characteristics. In fact the last time I was in Riga I noticed and approached an elderly gentlemen that reminded me of the old photographs from bygone days. I started talking to him and in so doing evoked looks of surprise or obvious indifference to his plight. The afternoon snow had just started to fall in soft swirls. The cold and snow did not bother us as I listened to him talk about himself. How much actually was the truth was not importantt but when he mentioned Lachplesis (a legendary Latvian figure potrayed as a bear slayer) I knew he was special. I took a picture of him in the snow against some old buildings in black and white that I still cherish. Departing I offered him some pocket money but he was too proud to take it. He expressed his gratitude that he had the opportunity to converse with me in latvian when all around us we could only hear russian I regret I did not write down his name of which he was so proud because it was pure latvian no Sergei or some other russian sounding name.
I am worried that the US government is unbalanced now that democrats are in power. Of course it also worries me that our president is committed to spending taxpayers money left and right to please the ones that voted for him and bail out incompetence.
On the other side of the big pond I hope Latvia will get on the right track and its citizens realize that participation in their government affairs is the only way to stem corruption.
Latvians have been through hard times before and they will survive. I can't say the same about the carpetbaggers that flocked to Latvia after communism fell and managed to make millions from the backs of desperate people just coming out in the light of freedom after 50 years of oppression.
I was in Riga about three years ago in the month of March when the mornings were sunny and then around noon the clouds would roll in from Daugava and by early afternoon it would be snowing.
Little shops and cozy nooks have all been replaced with modern store fronts with some exceptions in the side streets. It was just overwhelming, Riga looked like any other large city.
The only part that evoked any childhood memories were the cobbled streets of Old Riga, the Opera House and of course the Freedom Monument. Had to be careful taking photographs so that the McDonalds Arches were not included.
When I took my mother in 1995 it still was as my mother remembered it even through 50 years of neglect. In June there were flower vendors and the big market near the railroad station was bustling with happy shoppers.
The difference between the large cities and the countryside is still unbelievable. Its like stepping into a different century.
Latvians are known to conjure up god in difficult times. Hopefully they will see that its they themselves that are in charge of their destiny.
"Heaven never helps the man who will not act."
-Sophocles
Say hello to Riga for me.
Goodnight
Zigrida Dzenis
zdzenis@earthlink.net
Zigrida. Thank you for your lovely comments. I shall try to be fair in my comments and reflect what I see. As you can see I am still here so I must enjoy the place. I am also a member of the new SCP party so I do political work every day of some sort.
ReplyDeleteWe have a new governement. We shal see what that brings. Keep reading.