Monday, June 14, 2010

Little Corruptions

The Czechs had a phrase during communism times: "If you're not stealing, you're stealing from your family."  Since the government back then felt oppressive, and wealth created through industry often felt like it was shipped off to the Soviet state, and no one was really "the owner" of property, this felt like a victimless crime to an entire society.

This attitude is slowly dying out, but I learned to always make sure when buying something that the price was clearly displayed ahead of time because if I had to ask, as a foreigner, I was going to be charged a higher price.

I had been told by Bulgarians that "wealth by any means, no matter how you get it" was a continuing problem in Bulgarian society.  This attitude, far from dying out, is continually glamorized in Bulgarian pop culture, and infecting the young.  It reminded me of of the gangsta culture of a lot of American hip-hop music.  To me, it seemed in both places, Bulgaria and America's urban projects, that new freedoms brought a confusion of how to use them and a slow build-up to wealth through hard work and investment didn't have much attraction. Where's the drama in that?

You have to constantly watch and make sure that you are not getting ripped off in formerly Eastern Europe.  For example, when I left the Czech Republic, the luggage storage attendant told me that my cost was going to be twice what I had expected.  The sign said the stated price was for 24-hour storage. "But you brought it in one day, and left the next." said the attendant. Hmmmm, I guess I should have confirmed beforehand the price was for 24 hours in a row.

"How much is it for extra bags on the bus?" My Czech bus ticket attendant told me 200 kc extra for each bag.  I decided to wait to pay this because I wasn't sure what my final bag count would be. When it came time to get on the bus, no one made me pay for extra bags.  The question was viewed as a money-making opportunity according for the staff.

Leaving Bulgaria, I rolled my suitcase onto the tram and an inspector insisted I pay her 10 lev on the spot for not buying a ticket for my suitcase.  I knew if I was supposed to buy a ticket for my suitcase the Bulgarians who first helped me when I rode the tram would have told me I needed to do so.

"Nope, sorry, not paying it."  I started to write down her badge number and name.

She got more and more insistent.  I just kept writing.  "I'm calling the police because you're writing down my name and number." 

"Okay, go ahead. Call them." This stance had the potential to make me miss my bus to Istanbul and possibly have to repurchase a $50 ticket, but I wasn't going to be bullied into this shakedown. Surely, writing down an inspector's name and number could not be a crime in Sofia.  Indeed, she probably had to wear the badge for precisely this occasion.  After lots of shouting in Bulgarian, she finally let me off the bus when I put another one lev into the tram box for my suitcase.  All talk of the 10-lev "fine" was forgotten.

Upon arriving at the bus stop, the lady in the bus office wanted to charge me 2 lev on the spot as the official cost for having my luggage stored for five minutes in the office while I ran back to the luggage storage spot to get my additional bags.

"Could I have your name please, I would like to confirm this policy with your management." I asked politely about seven times.  She slowly slid the two lev back over the counter to me with a glare.

The shakedowns in Bulgaria are so obvious they were hard to miss.  Giving in would mean I had helped contribute to dysfunctional culture rather than help healing dysfunctional culture.

These examples made me think of a famous book called "Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity" by Frances Fukuyama where the author compares two cultures on two aspects: their trust in each other and their relative wealth. Societies with high wealth have enormous degrees of trust in each other.  The author used the example of Jewish diamond merchants who did million dollar deals on a handshake.  Their word is their bond and should they ever break it, they would be finished as a diamond dealer.  He then compared young men living in an urban culture with no trust in each other.  No wealth either.  Bulgaria's poverty is profound, it felt cruel to photograph it, so I didn't.

There are other examples out in the word though for all of us to see. The Scandinavian countries are known for both their wealth and their lack of corruption.  African nations are getting bled by leaders who are using their countries for their own wealth creation through bribery rather than working on behalf of the people.

The United States has gone through a period of constant erosion of public trust.  Is the wealth of the United States increasing or decreasing? The evidence provides more proof of Fukuyama's theory.

I wish the author of "Trust" would create a pop version of the title for regular people. The book is recommended more for academic circles and frankly, at 480 pages, it's too damn long. But the central premise of his title needs to move out of the academy and into the living rooms of the world! Wouldn't it make a great "One Book, We All Read It" selection because it's all about changing public culture for greater prosperity?

12 comments:

Kim said...

This is a great post. I haven't spent time in Eastern Europe, but I have been to North Africa and Mexico, and I was lucky enough both times to be almost constantly accompanied by a local. I feel this probably saved me quite a bit of money. It's such an awful feeling when you feel like you're getting ripped off, especially coming from a country where as you point out, trust is worth something.

Knedliky Etc said...

Thought-provoking piece... And good on you for not backing down. It's hard not to give into the temptation just for an easy life...

Hope you are still enjoying your trip despite these trials and tribulations though!

Knedlikova

http://knedlikyetc.blogspot.com/

Jana said...

I won't deny that many people here (my country is the Czech Republic but it can be extended to the whole post-Communist world) try to rip off foreigners. But in case of the luggage deposit I believe you are wrong. Whenever I used this service (with Czech Railways for example), I was charged for every calendar day, not for 24 hours, and it was their official policy according the price list.

I, on the other hand, feel ripped of when an Italian bookstore charges me 40 EUR for shipping although it only costs 15 EUR for the old EU members. Not to speak of the many "Western" online stores that simply won't ship here although they ship to Austria, which is about 100 km from me...

Anonymous said...

very interesting post
thank you

sarka

Sher said...

Hi Karen,
Interesting post about the corruptions of Eastern Europe.

The Czech saying is, "If you don't steal for your family, you're stealing from your family." As you point out, these kinds of statements and practices are often born of necessity. The Czechs didn't have access to much of anything under the communist regime, so they added to their families' well-being by "borrowing" items from work, which was essentially "borrowing" items from the state. I believe Americans, or any other culture under similar circumstances, would also use this way to improve their families' lives. This is the result of living in a very closed, controlled society, where only the top officials and some businessmen live off the backs of the poor. The poor have their own way of "living off the backs of the wealthy." Thankfully as the Czech Republic's prosperity increases this practice is dying out.

Being a foreigner you can be "taken" for extra fees and charges. This is pretty common all over Europe--not only in the Czech Republic (Central Europe) and Eastern Europe. Even in the US foreigners are charged more for taxis, in restaurants, etc. Its a shame foreigners are taken advantage of the world over.

You're certainly having many adventures! See, that book will be coming along one of these days :0) "That book" being the one you write about your adventures abroad :0)

Have a great day,
Sher :0)

MiGrant said...

I remember occasionally running across signs in the ČR — I think one was at Karlštejn castle — with posted prices in numbers for foreigners, and written out in words for locals. Fortunately I was actually able to read the words.

MiGrant said...

Wait, maybe that wasn't clear (or was it?) — the foreigners' price in numbers was several times higher than the local price in words, of course.

Karen said...

I love it when a post gets this much feedback! Jana, if the policy was for calendar days, it wasn't clear from the signage which is why I thought it was open to abuse. That was my impression at the time. I could be wrong though, which wouldn't be the first or last time that happens. :-)

Sher, thanks for clarifying the saying.

Michael, we knew what you meant. :-)

Knedlickova, these experiences weren't even a blip in my day! Just observations. Just being over here to experience them is a privilege.

Thank you everyone for your comments. It means a lot!

Choranzanus said...

Good post, I really like your blog, you are very perceptive.

The thing about corruption, I agree. It has much larger impact on wealth than people believe. Unfortunately things are not looking good here in CZ from this perspective.

The Alicat said...

Good ol Prague...

Nice blog

Alicia (Expat 4 years(
http://alicia-prague-blog.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

MiGrant, two prices were very common in the past years. Now the entrance fees got higher and they are the same for locals and foreigners. The price difference at Karlstejn is because of the fact that you need higher qualified guide for guiding groups in foreign language. They admit the difference even on their En version of their site http://www.hradkarlstejn.cz/admission/ If you can speak and understand Czech, you are able to buy the cheaper ticket, if you can't speak Czech then buying the cheaper ticket is waste of money.

MiGrant said...

I'm sorry, but people have the right to decide how to waste their own money. If the price discrimination were just about the tour language, it would be the easiest thing in the world to post prices in numerals for tours in different languages. And what if I don't want a tour in the first place, but just want to look around on my own schedule? Both the dual pricing and allowing entry only as part of a guided tour are all about squeezing every halíř they can out of the tourists.

 
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