The ones who made it
Based on true stories.
The reason for the couple of lost generations that follow the change in the political landscape after 1989 is a bit of an enigma to me, so I decided to find out why this seems to happen. Some time ago I spoke to people outside one of the capitals in the Balkan region and found out that once one finds a spot in the capital they seem to stay there. Also a very popular motto: One can do be a server but being a server in the UK is prestigious and being one at home means you are wasting your life.
Maybe one of the most prominent reasons for such kind of thinking is the lack of opportunity for a break through and this seems to be caused by the previous generation.
The ones who made it after the fall (of the communist regime) are a curious bunch. They can be split in two big groups: the ones who made a lot of money, mostly through criminal activities or the grey economy. And the ones who made it because they are either brilliant or work very very hard.
The first group favors nepotism, gives to their family and friends and share the jail cells if and when brought in front of a court. Among them you can find politicians, businessmen, celebrities. They love it to give business to their sons and mothers, launder money through cousins and invest millions to buy landmarks. They hold on to their own - until there is a better option.
The second group is far more difficult to understand – they refuse help to even their nearest and dearest.
Let us showcase some examples.
1. Let’s say you are a brilliant musician. You have a son. You know people in the government and high society. And you will not help your son. The question is why?
You are a self-made man. Or at least you believe so. Thus, you insist on your son making it on his own. You do not want to be ashamed of him and you do not want to risk the name-brand you have built. But are you indeed self-made? Let us go back to when you were a student:
Q: How many could afford to travel abroad to study?
A: Not many and usually they needed to have a relative in the government to be issued a travel approvals and visa (to be able to leave, not to be able to enter – this was a different issue). So, you had at least one party-member relative who vouched for you. You also had some financial support from your parents.
Q: What happened when you graduated?
A: You traveled back home and obtained a high-ranking job for life right of the gate.
Q: How?
A: According to you – with an interview. According to reality – the interview was secured by your father and your father-in-law made sure it was the first and only one they would hold.
Result: Your son will be a part of the lost generation – waiting for a chance that will never come, because the ones that get help, get ahead and he is not one of them.
2. Let’s say you are a well-known scholar. You managed to travel to the West European countries, where with a lot of work you were able to build a career and a name. Your own child does blue collar work because there is no much ambition in them. They will inherit you someday so they do not need to invest time and work for it. They just enjoy life. In your immediate family there is a young person who translates books and wants to work in a publishing house. They have contacted all of them and were refused. And they ask you for a referral. And you refuse to help – you want to keep your contacts for yourself although you are retiring and do not need them anymore. Why?
Q: Why not? This is not your child! Maybe you will want to translate books when you reach your 80s? Maybe you are holding on for your child? Nobody knows. But when you were a young man you had help finding a way to study Western languages and not Russian like all the rest. You had the references and referrals in order to be able to travel. You had your chance and you seized it but all you have and know should stay with you. The ones who follow have to prove themselves on their own as you did.
What would you do?