Thoughts On The Job Tourism Crisis

Was Job Tourism a term up until a few minutes ago? Cause now it is.

It may not be the proper one, but we have had words for it for centuries. It was called Ангария/Angaria (something from Turkish or old Turkish if it was different centuries ago), then practitioners became Gastarbeiters (from German, literally meaning Guest Workers), etc. As a college student in Bulgaria you had the option to join summer Work&Travel programs, meaning going for a vacation of manual labor in the UK or the USA...mostly.

Well, free global labor markets have two sides (more than two if we get down the rabbit holes of safety and affordability, but we would not go there right now, would we?).

You, as a worker, could go where conditions were better for you to earn;

You, as an employer, stuck where you are...had to think of ways to compete with employers in higher standard countries. It's the same as urbanization, actually. But in terms not of cities vs villages. In terms of countries.

It took some bravery and some initiative. It took some sacrifices of contacts with close ones/ loved ones. You, as a worker, did it for the better salary and for the experience.

The graver conditions became where you were, the greener the grass on the other side became. So it became a natural thing for young and skilled people to leave the country I live in for greener grass abroad. Most would not return to work here.

People with no high/er/ education would do that, too. I've talked to a lot of them, telling stories of hard work and hard conditions abroad, but salaries to compensate for that. Which they lack here.

Any kind of labor here became unattractive. So, next time, I am translating a song for you.

But now, I'd like to just mention the implications of the current crisis that impedes free travel and globalism. Was it a gift for most states? Yes, I think so. States needed a way to force on people what they were unable to attract people to.

We can't pay you well enough. We can't have an environment where the local market pays you well enough. We can just take away your alternatives for...as long as you would endure.

And you, as a worker in my country, you can endure a lot.

So, how's the state faring? Well, the young medics are already gone and I don't believe they're coming back in any hurry. I've got a medic near retirement in my family who fills the spots in three or four hospitals at the same time, and cover an area of many thousands of square kilometres.

And I decided to ramble on the topic because of a chance meeting with a friend of mine who is among those few young professionals who would stay. Same sentiments. Not enough people to maintain the system.

How about basic stuff as food production? We were an agricultural state and now we import the ingredients for almost anything traditional.

Our salt pans. A glimpse away from the port where we get our Tunisian salt delivered (well, in fact, The Mediterranean is twice as saltier as we get around here). If that halts...we got not enough salt mining and refining potential to supply our own food production factories.

I mean, we got the natural resources but we don't have the human resources to extract them. Our human resources were used to making money abroad. We'll see if that would change long-term. I doubt the efficiency of the oppressive measures taken on a global scale. Is oppression the best way to sell the sustainability idea?

Oh, the hypocrisy involved...

Meanwhile, a "gastarbeiter" company is mining our gold. Taking away thousands of tons per year. As per the terms of the agreement of those who felt they can sell the country's gold. The sad part is...they can.

Thanks for reading! Would you rather stay and build on shaky grounds where you were born, or would you rather go looking for solid ground abroad?

Peace!

Manol

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