Extra Post: Communications and Thoughts

Extra Post--Sept. 8, 2016--Peja

I have spoken with a few local people over time during my visit here and in visits in my previous cities since Wes returned home.  One topic that has come up regularly is how difficult life is here--that it is difficult for many people to get a job and that the the pay for those who do get jobs is low.  I've even been told specific salaries.  One person told me he makes 500 Euros a month (about $560 US) and that his father, a retired teacher, gets only 120 Euros a month (about $135 US).  Another person told me that he makes 300 Euros a month (about $335 US).  Another didn't tell me how much he makes, but he lives at home with his mother and a sister, and he seems to be the breadwinner for the three of them with a job for a non-profit organization (called an NGO, for non-government office, here in Europe) that probably doesn't pay much.  I can understand now from knowing these salaries why one person in Sarajevo was shocked and said I was paying too much for my apartment when I told him I was paying $20 a night.

I continue to see beggars and people going through dumpsters everywhere I go.  My guess is that these are people with no salaries or pensions.  The fact that communism ended just in the 1990s means there are many elderly who live off very low pensions, since they never worked much under capitalism.  And those who do not have the skills for getting a job are left with foraging and begging.  Often, I see young children going through the dumpsters and putting things in their pockets or into plastic bags--probably to take home to feed their families or to try to sell for money.  Many women here hold small children in their laps as they beg.

I saw a pickup truck pass me flying an American flag today.  It was a bit faded, so I figure it is someone who has had it on his truck ever since the US military helped stop the war in Kosovo.  People here are very grateful that Kosovo is free from rule by the Serbians who have always been a minority in this region but were the holders of power.

Because of all the years of communism when people were not allowed to be religious, Muslims are not fanatics here.  Men will claim to be Muslim, but they may not ever go to the mosque.  It's just that the Albanian people have always been Muslims since the Ottoman Empire, so they call themselves that.  But one man told me that as soon as communism disappeared, the country did have an invasion of both Christians and Muslims from elsewhere arriving with the purpose of pushing religion in the region.

Ethnic tension (based predominantly on religious differences and memories of atrocities) remains under the surface here though.  It shows in travel posts and signs that are at tourist sights:  _____ was burned by Albanians during the war.   ______ was destroyed by Serbian bombs and had to be rebuilt after the war.

As I walked around Peja the past two days, it has been interesting to note how many dental offices and barber shops there are here.  The dental offices are fancy and probably are quite inexpensive.  It's too bad I don't need any dental work done while I am here.  And I spent so much time trying to find a barber in Cetinje when I should have just waited until I was here.  I have seen barber shop after barber shop, and they tend to have young barbers who can probably speak some English and would have done a better job of cutting my hair the way I like it.