Into the Neverlands

There's another half an hour left to blog about poverty and to join the forces with the rest of the bloggers participating in this campaign.

Talking about poverty in the Neverlands is different. The way I see it here is dissimilar to the other countries I have lived in - Lithuania and Ireland (I suppose I could include the USA where I spent half of the year). In a nutshell, I don't see it here. Magnum photographer Geert van Kesteren says that "<...>poverty in the Netherlands is different than in the developing world. It's invisible. In my previous blog which I was writing while living in Dublin (many of the topics were focused on the binary East-West, in which I sometimes found myself trapped) a few times I posted my remarks on begging (here and here). I noted that the amount of people begging on the streets of Dublin was disgraceful, especially Ireland being (or having become) one of the most prosperous countries in the EU and the world. I questioned an idea that perhaps despite the job market offering vast opportunities (and the minimum wage being one of the highest in the EU) those people (mostly younger than 40, oftentimes male) where in the streets by choice rather than driven by the need (given the fact that the Irish social system is quite generous and quite easily fooled - an issue I addressed in my posts more than a few times).

The Neverlands is a rich country. Ha's Blog backs my statement, even though he notes that in the face of decent figures the Dutch still manage to complain.

When I say that I don't see poverty here I mean that, for instance, I don't see people begging on the streets. But here I'm reminded of the case with disabled and mentally ill people in the former Soviet Union - you didn't encounter them too much, in fact they didn't exist (they were spending the days either in hospitals or other secluded places). In this respect I am asking two questions:

1. Are the Dutch coping with poverty much better than, let's say, Ireland and the rest of the world could take that as an example?
or
2. Perhaps Geert van Kesteren is right when saying that poverty here is invisible, or shall I say hidden?

It is an open question I can not answer due the fact that I have haven't spent enough time here, besides, much of it is spend in the academic environment, which I must say, the more time I spend there the more it seems auratic and elitist (are these the features of the education by default?). That's what my next post will be about.

In the meantime I am asking - how come I do not see poverty in the Neverlands?

Bookmark this post:

I come from a country where agriculture has been one of the main industries for quite a while (too long a while in my opinion - no wonder the Estonians are taking the world by storm - sugar beet and cabbage had their requiem performed to them a while a go and the midget of the Northern East is aiming to be one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, quite successfully we should note). Anything to do with vegetables can hardly surprise me. I've done it all: picking mushrooms in the deepest woods, simmering a giant pot with raspberries and sugar in order to make a few jars of homemade jam from the berries you've just brought from the forest, helping dad to grate 15 kilos of cabbage to produce homemade saukerkraut, drinking birch sap , just name it. Wicked pagan rights, you might say? So be it. In my modest opinion, the nature-culture bond we have (especially in the suburban areas of my country and the bond we are unfortunately loosing) is one of the quintessential features inherent in our suburbian character. After all, ours was the last bastion of paganism to surrender to the Holy Roman Empire. Just about in the middle of the second Christian millennium that is - 1387.

Arriving here from Ireland - post-agricultural-turned-the-haven-of-high-companies-island - was a pleasant change in terms of the variety of food available. Vegetables in the Emerald Island? Think the Irish flag. Green for broccoli, white for cauliflower, orange for carrots (accompanied by a decent handful of potatoes of course).

Another trip to the local supermarket and I have to take my hat off for the inventiveness in the Neverlands. Beetroot with pears and cinnamon! Lekker!

Bookmark this post:

On a day like this staying sober should be considered a cardinal sin. Hence I popped in to a neighbouring off-licence, which at first glance seemed to offer a wider range of wines than the supermarkets in the Neverlands. I haven't explored Albert Heijn top shelves yet, but it seems that it is hard to find something moderately better than plonk - haven't noticed too many bottles for around 10 Euro and when the ones for 4 are actually quite good I was hoping to get some bargains, alas...

So the local one had a nice selection of beers (I have a bit of a soft spot for the Belgian ones), but in terms of wines the selection was rather meagre apart from a few Italian and Spanish reds (the selection of whites seemed neglected) there were the usual few expensive Chablis and Sancerres (same 12-15 Euro like in Dublin) and a few odd bottles of Aussie reds. Come on! And when I asked if they had any Kiwi wines the response was "No, just a few Australian". My my my... Just because the two countries are quite close doesn't make their wines the same. That's a rant from somebody who used to be part of "Oddbins" for about 3 years (perhaps a bit two long, but enough to know my way around in the terroirs of oenology). Once I learn a bit more than de rekening, alstublief and dank u wel I might have to cash in on those crumbles of knowledge as I will have to look for a job in the Neverlands, unless I am lucky to become a research assistant of some professor - a (rather well paid) job that is not that easy to get though. But think - besides the required bibliographies, copy making and other usual errands I could suggest wines for academic lunches! Sipping a refreshingly crisp Marlborough Sauvignon or a seductive Greco di Tufo and discourse Deleuze. A lip smacking delight! (Every single professor seems to be mentioning him and after reading a a few essays from his Desert Islands and Other texts I am starting to understand why.) Actually, discourse matching could become a totally new field in oenology.

Anyway, so I stocked up on some beers (since they are much cheaper than wine and VERY cheap compared to the country of Guinness).



A rough comparison:

Leffe Brune - 0.9 Euro vs 2.19
Hoegaarden - 0.59 vs 2.19
Westmalle Dubbel - 0.89 vs (haven't seen that one in the shops, but would probably round 2.50 and about 6 Euro/btl in one of the few international beer bars Porterhouse). Ouch!

Now I have to hunt down some glasses. Any suggestions apart from a stroll through the city centre at around 1 am? :)

PS Statiegeld - is that tax? Which is actually not included in the price, just checked the receipt. And does it only apply to booze? Even so - the prices still are unbelievably Neverlandish.

Bookmark this post: