Lеwiss Carroll creates Alice’s Mirror Land as a metaphor for a journey from the imaginary world of the child to the enigmatic and real, almost sickening world of adults. Everyone has their own land in the mirror, in which they always lose themselves and occasionally find themselves. This can be the world of a metropolis, of relations with the opposite sex, of a passion that captivates life. My personal encounter with my country in the mirror always takes place when I come into contact with Romanians.
The road to our neighbour to the north is not only my own. Many Bulgarians have been here or there, north of the Danube, in the years after our countries joined the European Union. The number of Bulgarian tourists exceeds 300 000 every year, while trade with the neighbouring country reaches 3.5 billion euros. In other words, an intensive process of communication, knowledge and comparison is taking place between our peoples.
This is where we Bulgarians pass into the country of the mirror. Of course, some of us refuse contact with our neighbours, describing them with unpleasant epithets. But many who have experienced Romanian customs are tempted to idealize them.
For example, I have heard from Bulgarians that Romania has statehood – i.e. respect for laws and fear of authorities; that there are no so-called “mutri” (thick-necked businessmen-mafia) in Romania, teachers are respected and so on. Many Bulgarians envy the neighbouring country’s notorious fight against corruption, which has put a cabinet of ministers in jail. Or they envy the success of Dr Raed Arafat, who created Romania’s new emergency medical system: SMURD.
It may be that each of these positive points has a basis. But many Romanians are surprised when they are told that their country has good health services or that it has managed to save ethics in communication between people. There are voices that say the fight against corruption is a TV show for the masses, who want to see the rich handcuffed. Many times when I have praised our neighbours, they thought I was mocking them.
I thought that in Romania statehood is much more respected than in our country, where we are used to linking administration with corruption, bad leadership, thievery and clientelism. But the Romanian journalist, Christian, told me that in Romania public services are not well paid, are not prestigious and do not attract young people. He was in Bulgaria on business and was surprised how many young Bulgarians want to work for the state administration. He got the impression that Bulgarians respect their country more than Romanians respect theirs.
At one point I had the impression that eternal moral principles are still alive in Romania. I noticed that as a rule Romanians are calmer, less stressed at work and it seemed as if they have more levels of moral education when talking to each other. In their media it seemed to me that there is less negative news, and when people from different lobbies speak on a show, they intertwine and don’t clash.
“Nothing like that! – Diana explained to me – in your country there is more respect for people, especially older people.” When she was in Ruse with her elderly mother, her mother’s health deteriorated quickly. First the people around, whom she asked for help, took care of her and transported her to the hospital. He remembers their kindness to this day. She is convinced that Romanians are generally indifferent to their fellow citizens, to people they don’t care for.
“You still have common sense” – adds another Romanian – Miruna.
From all this communication on the Romania-Bulgaria axis, I understood that each person is tempted to see in his neighbour those things he lacks. What I think was confirmed when, looking for contacts in the protest movement in Romania, I met the eco-activist Teo. “I respect you for banning shale gas drilling and exploitation. How did you do it?” – was his first question, when he understood that I was Bulgarian.
After this event I walk with new confidence. I think more and more that the bond between our peoples must grow, to give each other those things, which we lack.
It seems that I also give the Romanians something they don’t have. After clashing with my positivism about them, the psychologist Ovidiu told a mutual friend: “We have to make it so that he always comes to us. We need him!”
What we all need to see, however, is what’s behind the mirror and so give depth to our appreciations. Let’s get rif of the temptation to blame the other and realise that on the other side of the communication is a human, who in many ways is just like us.
Source: Tema Magazine
Photo: Mirror Land (source: Pixabay, CC0)
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