CULTURE SHOCK
EDITORIAL
by Ira Hadzic
Published in PLOTKI 06/09: Culture Shock
Let's start with some intriguing, politically incorrect, small little piece of annoying gossip before we move on to Freud's 'Civilisations and its Discontents':
My third cousin's best friend's mother goes to Turkey for a holiday. While choosing a meal at a restaurant she gets into a chit-chat with the waitress. The waitress, trapped in her exciting mood, brings up a story of 'the good German' ? how she named him ? who, unlike the local guests, refuses to smoke inside the smoke friendly restaurant. This sweet and anticipating effort of sparing all the second-hand inhalers - subject to 'the good German's' common sense - triggers a short chain of unpredictable reactions: He goes out, lights a cigarette and as smoke has mysterious ways of finding its course, it sneaks up directly into a nearby passing nose. The person attached to the nose detects the source, shouts "no, you can't!" and starts accusing 'the good German' of his unbelievable rudeness, his lack of common sense and the inability to realize that all noses in the whole world should be inhaling only and only one thing: neutral air.
And the exciting news is: We will skip Freud and go directly to the point of the story?
Once learned, culture becomes the secure, largely automatic way of getting what you want from your environment and as such it turns into a value ? into common sense. When this familiar orientation system starts becoming impracticable (Childhood Limbo), it is high time for developing new ways of perceiving oneself and the world (The Honeymoon Stage).
The challenges of 'normal' behaviour (Radical Spy) and the questioning of common value systems (Guerilla) enforce the development of new skills and of the ability to see the world from a different angle (Take a Walk on the Park Side). Such a change of perspectives is an important component of critical thinking (Aurelio and Ana Kiri).
This month's issue is about Culture Shock ? the transitional feeling that results from the adjustment period when a person changes his familiar environment (Hotel Commercial) but also when the familiar environment undergoes transformation processes (In Every Way). It is a feeling lying in ambush and moving through migration (36 Boys) and the media (Fugazzi).
To realize that the notion of common sense you have learned in your life is not necessarily valid in another culture can open up new worlds? to the extent to which frontiers are broken down.
Enjoy!
Ira Hadzic
06 JUN 2009
PASSPORT
EDITORIAL
by Ira Hadzic and Alexandra Szoeke
Published in PLOTKI 08/08: Passport
The holiday month August brings you rumours about man's most travelled document: the PASSPORT. This little booklet -subject to identity, surveillance and mobility- provides a system of managing the movement and activities of people around the world, embracing some individuals, excluding others. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the most precious PASSPORT of them all?
Leave your beach, garden, balcony or wherever you are spending your holidays and join our expedition into the soul of passports! Let our guides light you the way:
The "Passports" - email exhibition takes us back in time to be amused by various passports from the 19th and 20th centuries. After this time travel trip, join the Chicken Traveller Nihal in her strenuous quest of fighting consulates, border guards and identity crises to obtain her visa. What is it to be UN-WANTED - Mascha gives an account of the 'segregation' of young Serbians through the EU visa policy. But Sanja's Passport Blues is there to cheer us up. Then with Ira we enter the world of Afro Hesse - a rapper and a Sans Papier, while with Heli we can experience the Unbearable Lightness of Having a Passport that Finns have. After tasting Oil and Vinegar: an American in post-Soviet Ukraine with Orysia, Captain Hook leads us among pirates and passport conspiracies in Growing Pains and Pirate's Issues. But what can you do if you are a Ukrainian and face the visa issuing 'committee' - say A Prayer for Visa with Olenka. After this nothing else is left, but to set out to the East with sinisterpenguin, humming the biggest hit of the block on the way to Residency Transnistria.
Enjoy your tour through our 'sites'.... and don't forget to take your passport!
Ira Hadzic
31 JUL 2008
SANS PAPIER
By Ira Hadzic
Published in PLOTKI 08/08: Passport
OVERTURE
First time I harshly experienced what it means to have a 'right' passport, or rather papers how we, refugees from former Yugoslavia, called valid German status and travel documents was when I turned 14 years old. My class was preparing to go to England for a school trip and I was the only one who was not allowed to go, as being a refugee I didn't have 'the right' to leave the country. After many tears and feelings of humiliation, I became obsessed with the idea of travel. The harder it seemed the more I wanted to travel. When my family finally was able to receive the second worst German visa - which at least enabled a 'legal' movement and seemed as a jackpot at the time - my traveller's quest started. The visas for the countries of destination cost me more tears and feelings of humiliation but they also provided the experience of fighting for my goals no matter how desperate it looked at first. Even before I turned 18 I knew everything about it. The circle of, how I sometimes thought, never ending struggles seemed to close when I later on finally managed to obtain a student visa for England where I stayed for one year. That was shortly before I became German citizen.
My new passport seemed to have left a track on my appearance, as the first impression I made on Afro Hesse was that I was so 'German'. One day he stopped by at my apartment together with a mutual friend. When he saw my middle sized bathroom he commented in a funny way that five asylum seekers could live there comfortably and was surprised when I mentioned that I, together with my family, once lived in a room that size for a while. He didn't expect to hear that. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop wondering how openly he was talking about living a life without any legal documents. Eventually, it turned out that we had more in common than we initially thought: We both fled to Germany because of the civil wars in our home countries, we were both living as refugees during the nineties and we both spent more than half of our lives growing up in Germany as the so called 'Ausl?nder'. Whereas I was forming my path through the visa applications and the hierarchical school system struggles, Afro was fighting through music.
Afro Hesse almost always wears a baseball cap, sweatpants and a pair of sneakers. After all he has to feel comfortable as he is always on the move. What he can do today, he never leaves for tomorrow. He is charismatic and comes into contact with people easily. People love him, because they cannot explain him. Some also hate him for the same reason. Every time you meet with him, you never know how and where it is going to end. Last summer we were filming on the streets about the streets - Afro's favourite subject. We met kids, immigrants, nazi-communists, actors, rappers like Sido and B-Tight? When you are with Afro you can be sure that you are crossing the limits of your own censorship on the social order of everyday life. It is always surprising how Afro ? which is considering his status quite ironic ? day after day turns into an immediate connecting joint of the society or rather societies he lives in. He brings together young and old, black and white, rich and poor, famous and infamous, 'right passports', 'wrong passports', no passports whatsoever and much, much more that lies in between and beyond any firm categories.
JUSQU'ICI TOUT VA BIEN, JUSQU'ICI TOUT VA BIEN...
What does 'passport' mean to you?
Passport means freedom, comfort and many possibilities.
What kind of passport do you have?
I used to have one but the German foreigners' office took it away from me. They tricked me. I was very young and naive then. I had to give it away they said? They said, they wanted to prolong my visa for seven or eight months and so I never got it back. Instead they told me I had four weeks time to get out of the country.
When did you come to Germany?
In 1991, together with my family. We came as asylum seekers because of the civil war in Algeria. In the beginning we always had some kind of problems with the documents. When I was 17 I started to realise what it really means?. Together with my school friends I wanted to travel to Holland and I couldn't ? So that was when I felt it on my own skin. Six years later I had nothing and should leave the country.
Why was that?
They told me that Algeria was stable again; that there is no reason for me to stay in Germany any longer...
What happened when you had to leave Germany?
As I said, I had an ultimatum of four weeks time to leave the country on my own. So I was thinking what to do? I was very young and so on?Very confused, I couldn't imagine what was going to happen. Until then everything was o.k., "jusqu'ici tout va bien?" as they say in the French film 'La Haine'. I didn't want to go back to Algeria. I grew up in Germany and already had a different mentality than the Algerians I used to know. So I decided to go to France. I bought a train ticket for 40 Euros, and got on the train called 'Euroliner'. I went to Paris where I was hustling for one and a half years. I had one small bag with me. And I've been living like that for five years now? 'Sans papier' - without papers.
And that's also the name of your song. Can you tell a bit about the song?
I am reflecting my story in it. I am describing how you feel when you are without a passport. For me, however, life is fun: I am a person who loves to have a laugh, who loves the life, I am a fighter, I am an artist? That's why I am a bit crazy. I haven't had any serious problems yet, which means I am repressing them. (Laughter) However, I realised that I can cope with my situation better than someone who doesn't speak the language and has no experience with the European society. Someone like that would go completely mad here. This song is about me and also about other 1,5 million people like me, alone in Germany.
Although I was never involved in crime, I am being perceived as a criminal by the German society, as I don't have any valid papers. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, was recently talking about terrorism and illegal immigration putting them into one pot. I am seriously wondering how this can be the same? I don't see any connection. This is just an indicator that the society here is so frustrated with its own lives, that people with no papers who just want to live are being perceived as terrorists. So when you don't have any passport, even if you are a good person with no criminal intentions, you will be perceived as a criminal anyway.
Do you think that the situation in Germany is going to improve?
I don't think so. Even the foreigners who have a legal status are experiencing many difficulties in Germany and you can imagine how it is for people like me. So I don't think that anything will change for the better. However, I still have hope? You know how they say: "hope dies last".
You are currently organizing a concert, what is it about?
'Kein Mensch ist illegal - Sans papier'. It's a solidarity concert and should help me to earn money for living. I invited my musician friends and some other bands that will play there. I also got a big venue, so there is going to be entrance fee and we will be selling drinks. That's how I earn my living. No drug dealing, no killing, just through music.
Ira Hadzic
Berlin, 28 Jul 2008
HOW I REMEMBER SOLIDARITY
by Ira Hadzic
Published in PLOTKI 05/08: Solidarity
Solidarity is alive! I found her on facebook today. We used to be good friends until the early nineties and haven't heard from each other since. I tried to remember how she looked like. If we met right now would we recognize each other? We have both changed, that's for sure. Now that I finally found her, I click on her profile to discover more information, more hints. What kind of person did she become? In her profile description are no pictures, only this: "Solidarity is a union arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes and peoples". She is "related to a community of feelings, purposes, a community of responsibilities and interests." I never thought of her that rationally. I never could explain her: I guess we were too close for that. What I remember of Solidarity is a sentiment rather than words. Thinking back, I took her for granted as if a friend like her was the most natural thing in the world.
Before Solidarity and I first met at the school ceremony I ran into her couple of times by chance. As far as I recall she always seemed to be a prevailing spirit and that provoked a drive inside of me forcing me to compete with her. I finally started preparing to become a pioneer, which was about to happen during the 29th of November school ceremony. I was busy learning the lines of the pioneer's pledge by heart in advance in order to - in the climax of the exciting moment - make no mistakes when loudly reciting it after the leader's speech. I myself wouldn't have bothered preparing something that unnecessary but I wanted to be better than Solidarity and I thought that this was my chance to prove it. In fact, I was extremely fascinated by her. She seemed to have an old soul hidden in a child's body. She was "the old little-one". For that reason I thought that if I come close to Solidarity I will also come close to growing up.
Under her political views she wrote "mutual responsibility"? and her religion was "common sense". She is currently a member of one social group, which is "Free Tibet" and her favorite music genre is world music. I see that she is French: Solidarite. There are two possible reasons I can speculate about:
Some of her ancestors were French, which made everything much easier. That would mean she has a French origin. Funny. I never perceived her that way: Would anything have been different if I had? Back then I wasn't interested in stuff like origins. I believed that all people are somehow the same.
The other possibility would be that she has been living in France for a long time and thus was able to get a French passport because it enables her to travel around the world freely - without the visa-stress. I bet she travels a lot. Did she eventually have to marry for that?
Back then I was doing things to impress her, things I thought she would do: making my seat available to elders when using public transport; greeting neighbors and everybody who comes and goes through my building and sometimes helping them with the transport of their groceries. Later on, my impression-attempts included more adventurous stuff like dancing Lambada at my first party or trying out smoking behind the school building. Solidarity and I went through this together.
On the big day of the 29th I was fully equipped with clothes and symbols.
"Today, as I become a Pioneer; I give my Pioneer's word of honor."
Solidarity was standing next to me, upright and straight, repeating the lines.
"That I will study and work tirelessly; respect parents and my seniors and be a loyal and honest friend."
She was so loud I could hardly recognize anything else but her omnipresent voice. So I screamed even louder wanting to over-shout her.
"That I will spread brotherhood and unity; and that I will value all peoples of the world who respect freedom and peace."
Thinking back, I reckon this was the moment when we became friends. I never met someone like Solidarity in the years that followed. Every now and then, I used to have a nightmare where we are about to meet and she is asking: "What's in it for me?"? And there were times when I was not even sure if she ever was real. When those moments came I used to take a look at something that proved her existence: a newspaper-cover that was shot on our big day. Thousands of newspaper's readers have seen us together lifting up our schoolbooks. And whom to trust if not the newspapers?
A while after we separated I was to witness something disturbing about our picture: Solidarity's image has been fading away more rapidly than mine. So I started drawing over her outlines. For some of them it was already too late. I had to guess where they were standing, how thick or thin they were. The bones, the nose, the chin, the lips, the skin: She doesn't look like a real person anymore, but that is how I remember her.
Ira Hadzic
Berlin, 01 Jun 2008
THE QUEST FOR THE FIRST EUROPEAN PYRAMIDS
by Ira Hadzic
"That would be the tip of the iceberg - The pyramids would attract a lot of people and trigger all the projects: better roads, better hotels, better food, etc. A huge boom could take place."
When people talk about Europe nowadays they mostly mean the construction of the EU. Through the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the decreasing US influence, Europe entered a new stage where there are neither colonies (at least not in the former sense) nor occupying forces against which it needs to define and establish itself. Due to these facts Europe was 'forced' to redefine its identity by turning to itself as a 'center'. In the past decade Europe has been going through this identification process that includes geographical landscape as well as the peoples and their cultural values. To support this, following elements have been introduced: A European flag, a hymn, stamps, passports, student exchange programs like Erasmus and Socrates, and last but not least European History Books.
The content of established history books is something that Semir Osmanagi? doesn't take for granted. He is rather interested in 'rewriting' them. After all, he was the one who stated the unbelievable hypothesis of the existence of the most remarkable man-made structures: The first European Pyramids. In the year of 2005 the Texas based businessman and pyramid researcher of Bosnian origin climbed on top of Visocica Hill (now also known as the Pyramid of the Sun) and made the discovery that has become a life changing matter for the inhabitants of Visoko - recently known as Pyramid Town located 30km north of Sarajevo.
Thematically speaking, Visoko has had a history rich in being a center: A center of the Bosnian kingdom during the Middle Ages or a center of trade and commerce in the centuries after. It used to be told that a Visoko tradesman has a power to sell anything to anyone. One local joke goes, "If Jesus came upon Visoko he would, thanks to the cunning skills of the Visoko people, be buying nails."
Nevertheless, in the course of the Civil War (1992-1996) and, in the period that followed, the once glorious town spirit has faded away. The aftermath of the violent conflict has been reflected in the form of a depression effecting all spheres of life. Consequently the economy of the once famous trade and commerce area has stagnated and so did the mood of its people. The feeling of resignation and of exclusion - from success, economic wealth and much more - could be smelled in the air.
After a period marked by such high unemployment rates it was as if everyone in the town had just been waiting for something or someone to appear and change this. And it appeared in the shape of a pyramid. Many Visoko inhabitants voluntarily joined the excavations-project lead by the Pyramid of the Sun Foundation and its Indiana Jones (nicknamed by Visoko people), Semir Osmanagic. The interesting point is that the local landowners are eager to participate in the Pyramid project too. They have put their land at the foundation's disposal. And they benefit from the project by working on the site and getting some compensation. Thus, the town has become livelier and has reawakened its true spirit from the past.
According to Osmanagic, the time period for the pyramid project has been estimated at ten years. In this period the area should develop a more sophisticated infrastructure by means of the increased tourism. This would contribute to providing more workplaces and improve the quality of life. In the recent months there has been a completely different atmosphere: "One wasn't even aware of the changes. Everybody is in a better mood now, especially young people, but also the older generation. It's been ten years now since the war ended, and finally something good is coming up," says Tarik from Visoko.
Peter Buerger, an economic commissioner who has been assigned here by the German government as part of a project for the reconstruction of Bosnia, has seen the enormous potential that exists in this country, but has also noticed that the foundations for the redevelopment are missing: "One of the foundations that is missing are the so-called European industry standards. With my old companies I always manufactured in emerging markets and so I saw that in Portugal, here in Europe, or in Asia, in Korea or China, it looked just as bad as it does here. It's a completely normal path, in terms of business, back to recovery. It's just a matter of time, the potential is here. And one of Bosnia's biggest potentials is tourism. But of course, nowadays tourism needs some foundations." Some of those foundations are transportation infrastructure as well as the hotels and accommodation options. Foreign investors like Peter Buerger started setting up certification for institutions and businesses in all sectors - such as manufacturing, administration and of course tourism. In order to make quality tourism possible the locals are keen on learning how the western people 'function'. The tourist agency recently named Pyramid Travel will organize language courses for the locals who don't have any experience with tourism. "And that would of course be the tip of the iceberg, in a positive way. The pyramids would attract a lot of people and trigger all the projects: better roads, better hotels, better food etc. A huge boom could take place," claims Peter Buerger enthusiastically.
Similar as with the introduction of the EU elements I mentioned before, the trade of pyramid souvenirs has also had both a uniting and a motivating effect. The feeling of cultural, political and economical exclusion from the EU constructions has influenced life visions and opportunities of the people in Visoko. Nevertheless, they also find themselves in the middle of a similar process of redefinition and new identification. In this case they are actively setting the boundaries of a new center themselves - the Pyramid Center. Thus, they form their own inclusion-exclusion construct.
Whereas other areas in Europe started to experience progress, improvement and most importantly inclusion Visoko, for many years, had shifted the opposite way. Eventually, the hypothesis of the existence of the Bosnian Pyramids has had an awakening effect on the town and its people. Everyone started making something out of it: Selling t-shirts and souvenirs, triangle shaped pizza, etc. The local motel changed its name to The Pyramid of the Sun Motel. The subject matter sneaked its way into the entertainment sector as well: Songs that relate to the pyramid-hopes are being made. For his last album Dr.Zo - a rap musician located in Visoko - wrote a song called Reality that tells about young people leaving Bosnia. It describes the post-war situation of the country. What's so interesting about Zo's new single, released after the hypothesis of the existence of the Bosnian pyramids, called Grab the Shovel, is that people start coming back to Bosnia because of the discovery of the pyramids: "Back then (in 2005) the whole thing didn't seem so important yet. There wasn't any turmoil about it at all. But with time it all got structure, and so we produced the song Grab the Shovel. It's about all the good things the discovery of the pyramids brought with it. It tells the story of the Bosnian people who emigrated, and that there is no longer any reason for it, because better times are coming now. We all see a kind of light at the end of the tunnel. There is finally something good happening also to Bosnia and Herzegovina. You can feel the positive change already, although it hasn't really started yet - but it's going somewhere" (Dr. Zo).
Due to the consequences of globalization and the shifting power relations European countries, both the EU and the Non-EU ones, find themselves in the process of reinvention and redefinition. Whereas the EU-members are establishing a strongly guarded political and economic center of their construct, Bosnia - and Visoko in particular - is playing with a hypothesis, which if it proved right, would put all center and periphery definitions ever made at stake. What I find remarkable, however, is not the hypothesis of the first European pyramids, but the charmingly strong will and bravery to make something huge out of something very little. And I don't mean the Pyramids.
Ira Hadzic
Berlin, 28 Jan 2008