A Brave New World

Last month, I spent my first and only day in Eastern Europe. I was staying in Vienna at my friend Alexander's, and he and his friend Rheinhard accompanied me on the 1.5 hour bus ride to Bratislava (Slovakia's capitol). Wandering through the city centre, we were treated to the ravages of Communism: beautiful old buildings left to ruin through decades of neglect. We could tell they must once have been grand, for every five buildings or so there was one that had been restored to its former aristocratic splendour. But oh, the contrast between the derelict and the fixed-up.

Eventually I became frustrated with the attitudes of the Slovakians: just because you don't have any money doesn't mean you can't keep things up. Does it? It was baffling seeing the environs of the cathedral: painted, stuccoed buildings with teenage boys in cassocks in their gated entrances sharply contrasted with the shell of a building abutting the cathedral on the other side, its broken windows covered with the fading plywood paintings schoolchildren must have done to brighten it up. "Why doesn't the Church fix up this building?" I cried. But my Austrian friends had no answer.

We got answers of a sort in the rest of the town. Frenetic building was going on apace, with restorers, reconstructors, contractors all vying for making the most noise on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. The amount of work needed to fix up Bratislava--and no doubt all other cities in Eastern Europe--is staggering, but work is starting for the first time since the buildings were constructed. With the money coming in from new EU membership, no doubt the city will be transformed within the next five years.

With the shops closing at 1 p.m. on a Saturday(!), I was not surprised that so few people were about. Why would they be out and about with nothing to do? However, the closer we got to the cathedral, the more the near-empty streets were explained. They were all inside. Encouraged by the sight of multiple TV trucks that something important was going on, we passed by the throngs of teenages with namebadges on, taking the flyer they pressed on us. Half in Latin, half in Slovakian, we were at a loss, even after entering and being struck by the two enormous screens showing pictures of the Pope interspersed with flashes of the 9/11 destruction and other newsworthy events of the past years. A choir accompanied by a guitar was singing, and most of the people joined in after a time, although throngs of them milled around the back of the sanctuary where we stood.

My friend Alexander asked someone if they spoke German. No, they did not, but rushed off to find someone who did. A small teenage boy, perhaps 16 or 17, came over. "Sprechen zie Deutsche?" Alexander said, and the boy began to talk in German. Alexander began translating for me. "Wait," the boy said, "Do you speak English?" We all did, so he switched over to that, explaining that this huge celebration was because Slovakia was joining the EU in a month's time. "All of the new countries are celebrating," he said.


And they are. Why not? For the first time, they are linked with Britain, with Germany, with France, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, more than just because they're part of the European continent. The 10 new member states are ecstatic, by all accounts. Money will pour in, tourists will come, they will be able to practice the languages they study in school for years with people who actually speak English or German as their native tongue.

But the growing pains will be hard, more for Western Europe than their Eastern brethren. My Austrian friends are especially fearful, as they stretch the farthest into Eastern Europe, bordering Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. Will these people flood their cities, placing a burden upon the Austrian government and taxpayer? Currently, any member of the EU can go to school and work in other member countries. As the Austrians explained to me, there is a waiting period of several years on the work borders being opened, and another stretch before these new member countries will be able to use the Euro. But, as they pointed out, it is not a solution to the problems, only deferring a decision. The real test will come in several years' time.


As the country who harbours the most asylum-seekers of anywhere in Europe, along with one of the two English-speaking lands in Europe, the United Kingdom has been a promised land to many Eastern Europeans. Already there is tension with France, whom the Britons claim foist their illegal immigrants onto the British Isles. With its high standard of living, its free healthcare, and its language that dominates the world, Britain is a beacon that draws more than its fair share of poor, uneducated Eastern Europeans, hoping to make a better life.

I spoke online to one of my English friends a few days ago. He's travelled widely, has studied and lived in the U.S. and Australia, and can't wait to leave. He'd changed his MSN Messenger screenname to "can't wait to leave this confounded country...and soon!" When asked why, he replied, "Too many foreigners." I forsee Eastern Europeans becoming to Britain what many view the Mexicans are to the U.S. They see only the ones so poverty-stricken that fleeing to another country seems their only option. They can't speak the language, they send their money abroad to help their family at home.

Even the new EU members are worried. On NPR on the eve of the new countries joining, a Latvian official said that they are worried--that in two years' time the government suspects over 100,000 people will leave Latvia. Surely having that many people leave a country of 2 million can't be a good thing in the short term.


But nonetheless, seeing the hope and happiness in a cathedral full of Slovaks, I like to think that the EU will emerge from its expansion stronger, more coherent, and perhaps even enriched.

Theresa