I just happend to watch an intriguing Estonian talk show called Kahvel (fork). They had a guest who was a fireman. He told everything about firemen`s lives - things they have to witness everyday, rigths they don`t have (to protest or strike for example), and their low salaries. The numbers are really ridiculous. He earns 4380 krouns (net) a month!!!!! Minus monthly taxes, which leaves less than 3000 for everyday expenses. And he has a wife and 2 children.
He also said that a lot of fire fighters work on two places, mostly as builders and taxidrivers. These men are our rescuers. Where is this country headed???? one day they are just not gonna be there when the fire takes off...
Thursday, November 24, 2005
unbelievably unbelievable
government made a gift to our prime minister, a German Brockhaus`s encyclopedia comprising 30 volumes. The reference book costs 40 000 krouns. It`s meant to help this important man with his speeches and communication scills. The gift also includes over 4000 audio recordings like voices of animals for example.
Well, let me remind you the numbers of salaries of the people working in medical, educational, salvage services, etc. I mentioned them earlier in "can`t bear very much reality". those workers should work about 8 months without expenditure to be able to afford that kind of thing. Doesn`t the government have anything better to do with the money. Whenever some organisation needs governmental support the answer is mostly the same, the state budget doesn`t have enough money.
Does prime minister really have the time for discovering that masterpiece well enough to make him wiser... I believe all that kind of information is also available in internet these days. Some public school would make much more use of that unbelievable encyclopedia.
Well, let me remind you the numbers of salaries of the people working in medical, educational, salvage services, etc. I mentioned them earlier in "can`t bear very much reality". those workers should work about 8 months without expenditure to be able to afford that kind of thing. Doesn`t the government have anything better to do with the money. Whenever some organisation needs governmental support the answer is mostly the same, the state budget doesn`t have enough money.
Does prime minister really have the time for discovering that masterpiece well enough to make him wiser... I believe all that kind of information is also available in internet these days. Some public school would make much more use of that unbelievable encyclopedia.
Monday, November 21, 2005
money doesn`t talk, it swears - Bob Dylan
Our government is planning to increase tuition fees in universities. The purpose is to bring up the reputation of Estonian educational level and keep students from leaving their home country. Hey, you, men sitting in chairs of power! Have you ever been a student and having to take bank loans? a student maybe, but apparently not in need for loans. And if otherwise, then you should know that it will make even harder for families to educate their children. Oh, banks will be so pleased, they can make the loans higher and get more clients coming in. juhuuu!! I guess there`s not enough families who will be paying their debts for the rest of their lives; there`s not enough poverty in this country; there`s not enough young people who can`t afford higher education. It`s almost equal to study in other Eu countries, don`t you think that higher tuition fees will push even more youth away from home? Anyway, I´m one of those students who has taken loans from a bank and I am planning to leave Estonia. To earn money for school (I can`t watch my parents going crazy when counting those big sums) and also to live normally apart from school,because it`s not possible to earn good money next to studies. All you can count on in this country is you, yourself and your ego. Work, work harder, earn money , pay taxes, but don`t hope do get anything back, no way! oh yeah, sorry, I forgot, there`s gonna be higher educational level!
serial killer wannabe
last week they arrested a saw maniac. As strange as it seems, a 74-year-old man was apparently sawing in branches on the cemetary so that maybe later they would fall on people. He was doing that for quite a long time. The town offered 10 000 krouns for the one who`s information helps to catch the crazy person (as we know, they can`t do it on their own....so let`s spend a bit money to make people talk).... I should shut up, shouldn`t I.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Can`t bear very much reality
In this country, the ones who study and work for government and get most important responsibilities, have to face the lowest salaries.For example...I have a friend who graduated from the academy of domestic defence (Sisekaitseakadeemia)..now she`s working as an investigator in a police department and she gets only about 6000 (gross) a month.. so of that she sees about 4500 (net). The last popular news is bribe taking among traffic officers! And government is soooo surprised?!
Did you know that paramedics` ambulance cardrivers get only 3500 krouns a month. Therefore most of them work also as taxidrivers. So there`s always a possibility, that, when you are taken to hospital in an ambulance car, the driver is exhausted from last night`s taxidriving. Better to let your mom to take you to the hospital, or call a taxi...
what about teachers who hold the education of our children in their hands. They get about 5000. It`s almost impossible to find a math, physics,chemistry teacher when the former one retires. it`s especially problematic in smaller towns. And the government is worried about the future of education because there`s less and less young people who are willing to study teaching. so why the hell don`t you do anything about it?
And I`m not gonna even mention the loss of doctors in our country!
I was waitressing for some time..I didn`t have higher education...and I earned much more (plus tips). Where`s the rationality?! the wiser you are the less you get from it? one is sure..I´m never gonna work in civil service!!!
Did you know that paramedics` ambulance cardrivers get only 3500 krouns a month. Therefore most of them work also as taxidrivers. So there`s always a possibility, that, when you are taken to hospital in an ambulance car, the driver is exhausted from last night`s taxidriving. Better to let your mom to take you to the hospital, or call a taxi...
what about teachers who hold the education of our children in their hands. They get about 5000. It`s almost impossible to find a math, physics,chemistry teacher when the former one retires. it`s especially problematic in smaller towns. And the government is worried about the future of education because there`s less and less young people who are willing to study teaching. so why the hell don`t you do anything about it?
And I`m not gonna even mention the loss of doctors in our country!
I was waitressing for some time..I didn`t have higher education...and I earned much more (plus tips). Where`s the rationality?! the wiser you are the less you get from it? one is sure..I´m never gonna work in civil service!!!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
based on true story
some troublesome facts from an article about Estonian healthcare. Who can read Estonian and is interested: http://www.ettk.ee/et/kommentaarid/2005/09/item21637 . For others a short overview:
- deathrate caused by heart- and haemal diseases 3 times higher than EU average;death from cancer, a third higher; number of men dying from exogenous causes- 4 times higher; number of women dying from endocervical- and breast cancer - 3 times higher
- from our 5000 doctors every 5th is over-60-year-old
- in EU the ideal norm is 1 nurse per 100 people. in Estonia there`s 1 nurse per 225 people.
- salary in finnish medical sphare is 7 times higher than in estonia (I wonder where have all the doctors gone)
therefore in Estonia we have the longest waiting times ever just to get to see a doctor - people have to wait for their ear-nose-throat surgeries for 2 years; queues to specialists are several months longer than they were few years ago.
Quite sad, isn`t it!
nock-nock...is anyone home?!
I just read an article about a survey that was made among Estonian citizens, that also includes non-Estonians. And to be honest, it made me furious.
The main question of the research was "did you like the life in Soviet Union more than now?". And guess what, half of the non-Estonians found the life to be better under Russian power. A THIRD of Estonians agreed with that half. I mean...people...don`t you remember? I´m still very young, but I do remember. I remember standing in a very long line with a food stamp..to get the last bread. I remember my grandma telling me she was in jail...just in case... Don`t you remember that people were deportated to Siberia?
I mean...I`m half Russian and I have nothing against Russia itself...but really...come on people!
I feel insulted.. (and just in the last post I was explaining how desperately you would need help with learning our language... damn)
The main question of the research was "did you like the life in Soviet Union more than now?". And guess what, half of the non-Estonians found the life to be better under Russian power. A THIRD of Estonians agreed with that half. I mean...people...don`t you remember? I´m still very young, but I do remember. I remember standing in a very long line with a food stamp..to get the last bread. I remember my grandma telling me she was in jail...just in case... Don`t you remember that people were deportated to Siberia?
I mean...I`m half Russian and I have nothing against Russia itself...but really...come on people!
I feel insulted.. (and just in the last post I was explaining how desperately you would need help with learning our language... damn)
broaden your world
I just remembered how I once happend to visit a third biggest town of Estonia - Narva, situated in eastern part, next to Russian boarder. Anyway...I entered one shop and asked for a pack of gum in Estonian language. To my big surprise the salesperson didn`t understand a word of it and asked me to repeat it in Russian...
Estonians who have been to some Lasnamäe`s (city district of Tallinn) little basement stores, visited some wierd looking bar in Kopli (also a part of the town) or visited Narva...they know that you can`t deal there with Estonian language. It`s an everlasting problem of our country.
I´m not blaming them for not knowing the language (ofcourse the younger generation should learn it at school), but it`s also a fault of our government. Studying Estonian has become extremely expensive. it`s a known fact that Russians, who don`t speak EStonian, have very low salaries. So ofcourse they can`t afford any language courses.
there`s 75 000 workers in Tallinn , with Russian background and not speaking Estonian. All of them have to face the same problems - lack of money and fear to fail the exam, because the government is not the one who pays for language courses. And because of that most of them don`t even try to take that step.
I think that we should give the people, who wish to learn our language, a compensation for studies. It will make their life here easier and also help us to keep our official language.In that way Russians will understand us better and perhaps the anger between nations will decrease, because at this point Russians and Estonians are fighting with each-other like white and black people, blaming other in racism. If there`s something we could do about it, then this is something that would work - free language courses.
Limits of one`s language means the limits of one`s world.
Estonians who have been to some Lasnamäe`s (city district of Tallinn) little basement stores, visited some wierd looking bar in Kopli (also a part of the town) or visited Narva...they know that you can`t deal there with Estonian language. It`s an everlasting problem of our country.
I´m not blaming them for not knowing the language (ofcourse the younger generation should learn it at school), but it`s also a fault of our government. Studying Estonian has become extremely expensive. it`s a known fact that Russians, who don`t speak EStonian, have very low salaries. So ofcourse they can`t afford any language courses.
there`s 75 000 workers in Tallinn , with Russian background and not speaking Estonian. All of them have to face the same problems - lack of money and fear to fail the exam, because the government is not the one who pays for language courses. And because of that most of them don`t even try to take that step.
I think that we should give the people, who wish to learn our language, a compensation for studies. It will make their life here easier and also help us to keep our official language.In that way Russians will understand us better and perhaps the anger between nations will decrease, because at this point Russians and Estonians are fighting with each-other like white and black people, blaming other in racism. If there`s something we could do about it, then this is something that would work - free language courses.
Limits of one`s language means the limits of one`s world.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Eastside story..
Oscar Wilde: "We are each our own devil and we make this world our hell"
I spent this weekend in eastern-Estonia. The part of the country, which is populated mostly by russians,where the cruelest crimes happen, where all streets look so miserable. And that is not said in a rassist way, cuz I´m myself half russian,these are just the facts.
The words of O.Wilde are just the right ones to describe that part of Estonia. The only difference is that people living in that hell don`t really see it like that. Even more, it`s absolutely normal to live that way.
Teenage girls giving birth and not graduating from highschools, boyfriends beating them up; looking out of the window you can see little children running around in dirty clothes, spitting everywhere, taking adults as an example; A lot of old dirty and stinking men drinking on streets 24h a day; homeless pets running around everywhere; youth gathering in basements for smoking and taking drugs; third grade boys drinking alcohol during breaks; schoolparties (if they are not forbidden yet) ending with deadly knifewounds.......I can go on and on.....all that is so normal in everyday life in eastern part of towns.
I know all that...because I have lived in it for sometime.... And yet the place I lived in is quite little,with population of about 2500. And people who are not hoping anything from life will stay there till the day they die and while alive... they create hell for themselves and for their offsprings.
I spent this weekend in eastern-Estonia. The part of the country, which is populated mostly by russians,where the cruelest crimes happen, where all streets look so miserable. And that is not said in a rassist way, cuz I´m myself half russian,these are just the facts.
The words of O.Wilde are just the right ones to describe that part of Estonia. The only difference is that people living in that hell don`t really see it like that. Even more, it`s absolutely normal to live that way.
Teenage girls giving birth and not graduating from highschools, boyfriends beating them up; looking out of the window you can see little children running around in dirty clothes, spitting everywhere, taking adults as an example; A lot of old dirty and stinking men drinking on streets 24h a day; homeless pets running around everywhere; youth gathering in basements for smoking and taking drugs; third grade boys drinking alcohol during breaks; schoolparties (if they are not forbidden yet) ending with deadly knifewounds.......I can go on and on.....all that is so normal in everyday life in eastern part of towns.
I know all that...because I have lived in it for sometime.... And yet the place I lived in is quite little,with population of about 2500. And people who are not hoping anything from life will stay there till the day they die and while alive... they create hell for themselves and for their offsprings.
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