Sturovo, Slovakia

Just a quick update to let you know that one of my images is now being featured on Kodak’s homepage for professional photographers! When you have a chance, stop by and check it out…


Kosovo 2005 © Damaso Reyes

Štúrovo, Slovakia

On Friday I went to the annual dance that the local high school puts on for its students. What was remarkable is how unremarkable it was. Girls were all dressed up and had their hair done; the boys looks uncomfortable in their suits and tuxedos. They danced to bad music and had a good time. The scene could have been in Berlin or Brooklyn for that matter, which is very much the point.


Swinging and swaying… © Damaso Reyes


Watching and waiting. © Damaso Reyes


Music Playing… © Damaso Reyes


Hoping… © Damaso Reyes


In the moment. © Damaso Reyes


I’ve also visited the school twice to talk to students about my work. For me what’s interesting is how they view themselves and their lives, which is to say very much like their Western European counterparts. All of them have mobile phones and computers and plan on attending university. They shop online and listen to American pop music. Just twenty years ago this of course wasn’t the case. The entry of Slovakia into the European Union no doubt accelerated this trend.



The future is now. © Damaso Reyes

Štúrovo, Slovakia

I thought I would end the week on a positive note, or at least as positive as I can manage given the state of the world at the moment. A new government has been formed in the storm battered nation of Iceland. At its head is Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, whom we learn more about from the International Herald Tribune.


Let the games begin! Stuttgart 2007 © Damaso Reyes

“Sigurdardottir, 66, is a former flight attendant and union organizer, and served as social affairs minister in the previous government.

“She is Iceland's first female prime minister, and her Cabinet is the country's first to be split evenly between men and women.

“Sigurdardottir also is the first openly gay national leader of modern times, apart from Per-Kristian Foss, a Norwegian politician who briefly served as his country's prime minister in 2002.”

Progress comes in many shapes and forms. In America, the election of Barack Obama is one such example; another is the fact that we have had two female Secretaries of States in a row, the current one would likely have been president if Obama had not won the nomination. It seems like more and more we are heading towards a world where the circumstances of one’s birth will not limit one’s opportunities. But as we all know a world where that is fully realized is still some time away.

Štúrovo, Slovakia

Life in Europe is very much dominated by history. Be it the monuments to those lost in war or the traditions which have been passed along down the centuries history is ever with us here. An interesting article from Der Spiegel in Germany talks about some recent history.


Monument to the dead. Berlin 2007 © Damaso Reyes

“Chris Gueffroy died in February, 1989 while trying to flee across the Berlin Wall. He was the last East German citizen to fall victim to the state's policy of shooting escapees in the divided city.

“Berlin paid tribute Thursday to the last person shot trying to cross the Berlin Wall. Chris Gueffroy died in a hail of bullets as he tried to flee East Germany on the night of Feb. 5-6, 1989. He was the last person to fall victim to the East German policy of shooting people trying to flee across the Berlin Wall -- although more were to die trying to escape from East Germany before the borders were opened on Nov. 9, 1989.”

If that wall had not come down I would likely not be writing from Slovakia right now. I remember growing up it was hard to imagine a world where there wasn’t a Soviet Union and today several Warsaw Pact nations are now part of the E.U., that most capitalist of institutions. They also have a common currency, something they didn’t even have under the Soviets!

But it is also important to remember those who made the sacrifices for the freedoms we enjoy. Though it is hard for people of my generation and those younger than I to understand the walls that once divided us we know all too well about the cultural and economic ones that still exist.

Štúrovo, Slovakia

Europe needs a constitution. And it certainly needs a first amendment as we learn in an article from the New York Times.

“Four executives of Google begin trial Tuesday in Milan on criminal charges of defamation and privacy violation in regard to a video posted on Google’s Italian site.

“The case involves a three-minute cellphone video, posted in 2006 to Google Video, in which four youths in Turin tease a boy with Down syndrome. After an Italian advocacy group complained that the video was objectionable, Google quickly removed it from the site. Prosecutors argue that the video should not have been published at all.”


Stop, my head is hurting! Vienna 2008 © Damaso Reyes

First I think if we want to live in a society where there is a free exchange of ideas we have to be willing to be offended. Second, when we start putting restrictions on speech, whether it is something odious like denying the Holocaust or disturbing like the case above, we start down a very slippery slope. Why should an Italian court decide what goes on Google Video? More importantly will they be able to control content that is not made or hosted in Italy but can be seen by Italians? You begin to see the enormous challenges that we face when we start to regulate speech.

Banning political parties and books and speech is a tradition in Europe, one that modern democracies can do without. We can object to and argue against speech and ideas we find repulsive without banning them. Once the government begins to do that it won’t be long until we are living in Oceania...

Štúrovo, Slovakia

So last weekend was not just about dancing, let me tell you! I also got to do some relaxing, which in this part of the world invariably involves drinking, and lots of it. Well, when in Hungary, do as the Hungarians do, I always say!


Opening the taps! © Damaso Reyes

My friend Almos invited me to his hometown where his father makes his own wine, as well as Palinka, a local liquor which is very smooth even if it has an alcohol content “above 50%” as I was informed.


This ain’t just water! © Damaso Reyes

It seems like having a wine cellar is as much of a Hungarian tradition as having a backyard is in America. From what I was told making alcohol is the local pastime, one I can enthusiastically support.


Almos pours out a taste. © Damaso Reyes

I have to say that the wine was excellent, as it should be since it has won several local awards. And the Palinka was even better. Of course I can only sip a little at a time, after all, I would like to keep my insides intact, but it was exceedingly smooth and had a lovely subtle fruit flavor.


All in good fun. © Damaso Reyes

What I like about drinking in Europe, and in Hungary in particular, is that it is a family affair. That is to say that it isn’t stigmatized the way it is in America and children grow up understanding it is a part of life, rather than having adults try to hide it from them. This is a much healthier attitude.


Mmmmmm? © Damaso Reyes

Of course when you drink you must eat, another good thing about the European perspective. Of course when you are a stranger in a strange land you will sometimes encounter new things, as I did…


Mmmmmm! © Damaso Reyes

But fun was certainly had by all!

Štúrovo, Slovakia

What’s truly ironic is that if America had treated the huge wave of 19th century Italian immigrants they way Rome is, and has proposed treating the African migrants who come to its shores every day I doubt there would be a pizza shop in Brooklyn. Italians, along with the other immigrants who came to America seeking opportunity have contributed far more than they have taken. What is to say that African immigrants won’t do the same? As we learn from Der Spiegel, yet another controversy has erupted around the Italian policy towards immigrants.


If only they could read German. Vienna 2008 © Damaso Reyes

“Under Rome's proposed new policy, refugees will no longer be transported directly to the mainland, but will be held in camps on the island instead. Lampedusa is ideal for this purpose. No one can leave without a boat, and a stranger would have trouble hiding for more than a few minutes in the single town on the island. The Africans shall be deported to some other country, eventually -- but it will be difficult, and it will take time.

“The 6,000 Italians living on Lampedusa have spent the last two weeks rioting and striking to protest the government's plans for their island. They are worried that the detention center could harm tourism, one of the mainstays of the local economy. After all, who books a vacation in Guantanamo? Some fear that thousands of refugees will converge on Lampedusa, and that the entire operation will be bigger than the Americans' notorious detainee camp.”

Clearly any policy that can be readily compared to the Guantanamo is not well thought out. Of course one could say that bringing back the current prime minister might not have been the best move either (a better argument for term limits cannot be found). It seems that even Italians are becoming tired of the xenophobic and reactionary policy their government is taking. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen…

Budapest

I don’t know about you but I had a pretty busy weekend! There’s so many photos to share that I will have to break it up into two posts. On Friday I went with some friends to Budapest to take in some traditional Hungarian folk dancing.


One moment. © Damaso Reyes

The music may have been traditional, but the crowd was mostly young people in jeans and dresses.


All together now. © Damaso Reyes

From what I was told traditional music and dancing was discouraged under Communism. Today there has been something of a renaissance of all things Hungarian.


Trio. © Damaso Reyes

I can’t tell you how nice it is to hear. Whenever I go into a supermarket, or any public space that has music, I am assaulted by American pop music. If I wanted to listen to Britney Spears I would have stayed in the United States. But here it was nothing but the sweet melodies of the violin that filled the room.


Slowly. © Damaso Reyes

For sure American and Western European influences abound, especially among the youth. But there is an intense pride in the Hungarian identity that is not chauvinistic but proud.


Watching and waiting. © Damaso Reyes

I recorded some music and will hopefully put together some kind of slideshow later in the week. It’s hard to get across the feeling without hearing the music which inspires the dancing.


Smile. © Damaso Reyes


Embrace. © Damaso Reyes


Circle. © Damaso Reyes


Pair. © Damaso Reyes

Štúrovo, Slovakia

“Davide Boni, a councillor in Milan for the Northern League, which also opposes the building of mosques in Italian cities, said that kebab shop owners were prepared to work long hours, which was unfair competition.”

This is just one paragraph from a great article in the Telegraph. It seems that some right wing politicians have decided that the “invasion” of foreign food in Italy must be stopped at all costs.


First food then people. Vienna 2008 © Damaso Reyes

“The tomato comes from Peru and spaghetti was probably a gift from China.
It is, though, the “foreign” kebab that is being kicked out of Italian cities as it becomes the target of a campaign against ethnic food, backed by the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi.

“The drive to make Italians eat Italian, which was described by the Left and leading chefs as gastronomic racism, began in the town of Lucca this week, where the council banned any new ethnic food outlets from opening within the ancient city walls.

“Yesterday it spread to Lombardy and its regional capital, Milan, which is also run by the centre Right. The anti-immigrant Northern League party brought in the restrictions “to protect local specialties from the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines.”

Not only is this nonsense, it is offensive. If the only way your culture can survive is to diminish others then what you seek to protect is not long for this world. First, kebabs are yummy, as anyone who has had one can attest. Second, it is doubtful that Italians will ever stop eating pasts. This move is simply an attempt to stoke divisiveness, one that most Italians will see through.

But of course it is still a worrying phenomenon. I can only hope that Italian politicians will stop focusing on these petty issues and begin to address themselves to the economic issues which are crippling the nation. The quote at the top of this entry is a perfect example of the backwardness that some, even elected officials, still cling to. In America the “hardworking immigrant” is an ideal that we hold in esteem. Clearly some Italians seem to think working hard and long hours is a bad thing, which is probably why the country is in the shape that it is in. If Italian politicians keep this up people will no longer refrain from laughing behind their back but do it to their faces!

Štúrovo, Slovakia

It looks like the economic downturn will give the protectionists in the U.K. we spoke about earlier in the week exactly what they want, as we read in The Guardian.


Guess he won’t be coming to London after all. Cologne 2007 © Damaso Reyes

“The use of migrant labour in Britain will decline abruptly as companies face a sharp fall in demand for their goods and services, the Confederation of British Industry told MPs yesterday. John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director general, told the Commons home affairs committee that the first response of many firms to the downturn was to reduce their dependency on agency staff, many of whom are migrant workers.

“He said that there was evidence that many nationals of new EU states were going home as unemployment rose in Britain and suggested that the flow of skilled migrants from outside Europe would also decline. He added: "I expect that, when we have the next report from the [Home Office's] migration advisory committee on the needs for skilled labour, we will not see the same need for non-EU labour in the same numbers because of the need to provide as many employment opportunities as possible for the unemployed. All I'm suggesting is that the market will correct itself, but what we cannot avoid is a significant increase in unemployment, which is a sad but inevitable consequence of recession."

And where will that leave British workers and consumers? It’s doubtful that they will be much better off than they were before, after all, if Pawel from Lodz won’t come and work will Tom from Coventry all of a sudden be gainfully employed? Doubtful I think. More importantly the money these migrant workers were adding to the economy and the taxes they were paying will likely be lost. Many of these workers are being laid off and fired, meaning those jobs just don’t exist. More importantly will Brits be willing to work for the wages that even immigrants won’t? Also doubtful I think…

Sturovo, Slovakia

So the other day I got invited to visit a carnival party that a local elementary school was having. Take 100+ kids under ten, add sugar and music and stir vigorously!


Truth in advertising. © Damaso Reyes

In truth it was actually a lot of fun, for the two hours I lasted. I surely don’t remember ever having that kind of energy but if scientists ever figure out a way of bottling this stuff, they would be rich.


Remains of the day. © Damaso Reyes

One of the things that has surprised me while I have been in Štúrovo is how diverse a place it actually is, given how small it is. Though it is in Slovakia it is actually about 70% Hungarian, which simply speaks to how malleable borders are compared with the nedless reach of history.


Representing the future. © Damaso Reyes

No, what’s far more interesting is the people of color I have found in this town, like the young girl in the middle whose father is from Gambia. From what I have learned there is a Congolese man (the local pharmacist who has lived here for years) as well as a Chinese family and some Vietnamese as well.


Bridging the gap. © Damaso Reyes

Apparently this trend goes back to state socialist times when fraternal communist nations sent people to Eastern Europe to study. Some decided to stay. I was surprised that even in a town of just 11,000 immigration is a fact of everyday life.


Dancing. © Damaso Reyes

I didn’t think I would have that much of an opportunity to explore immigration while I was here but this is exactly why I try not to have too many assumptions before I go to a place. You learn far too much when you actually have an opportunity to live in a place than simply reading about it…

Sturovo, Slovakia

If anyone thinks that immigration is a problem which will go away with enough enforcement is living in a fantasy world. Just take a look at Italy, which for years has used some of the harshest methods when dealing with illegal immigration. That doesn’t seem to be working as we learn from an article in the International Herald Tribune.


The writing is on the wall. Paris 2007 © Damaso Reyes

“Hundreds of migrants and refugees have broken out of an overcrowded immigration center on an Italian island to protest their treatment, the authorities said.

“About 600 people forced open the gates Saturday and marched toward the center of the island, Lampedusa, before making their way back, according to officials at the immigration center and news reports.

“About 2,000 people have been crammed into a structure built for 850.

“Last week, the United Nations refugee agency criticized Italy for the conditions there, saying many people slept outdoors under plastic sheeting and urging the authorities to address the "difficult humanitarian situation."

Even with these conditions imposed upon them if they are caught, still they come. It certainly says something about the determination that those who seek a better life in Europe has. I think it says even more about just how ineffective these measures are…

Sturovo, Slovakia

This is the 100th Photo of the Day! Exciting, isn’t it?


Let the good times roll. Cologne 2007 © Damaso Reyes

I started this series for a few different reasons. I wanted to be able to post every day but the day in and day out of shooting is far less exciting and glamorous than Hollywood leads you to believe. I thought by posting interesting news items it would give us all a chance to both observe what is happening here in Europe and discuss it. I hope you have found these posts of interest to you.

In the meantime, scandal and controversy are shaking the small nation of Wallachia as we learn from the New York Times.

“A political coup has shaken the Czech Republic since Boleslav the Kind Hearted Forever was ousted as king of Wallachia, a sleepy kingdom where locals drink 110-proof plum brandy for breakfast and use a wheat-backed currency pegged to the dollar.

“The faux Kingdom of Wallachia is nestled in the northeast corner of the Czech Republic, 230 miles from Prague. It was founded in 1997 by the itinerant photographer Tomas Harabis, its current foreign minister, as an elaborate practical joke.

“The ruse quickly captured the imagination of Czechs, long drawn to black humor and parody, and Wallachia, which also happens to be a real place, became one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. Its success has led to a real-life battle over who owns the kingdom, which generates hundreds of thousands of euros in revenue each year.”

Hopefully the conflict there will not escalate into full blown war but if it does know that I will rush there to cover the fighting!

Sturovo, Slovakia

The Brits have always been an island unto themselves if you will forgive a bad pun. The idea of Europe, and especially the E.U. has always been seen with a wary eye, although in fairness it was Winston Churchill who coined the phrase “United States of Europe.” Of course when times are tough the wariness rears its head once more as we learn from the Washington Post.

“Hundreds of British energy workers walked off the job Friday to protest the use of foreign labor on British job sites, the latest sign of an increasing backlash against foreign workers amid the global recession.

“Workers carrying placards that said "British jobs for British workers" staged demonstrations at more than a dozen refineries and power stations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“The workers are protesting a decision by Total, the French oil company, to award a $280 million contract to an Italian firm, IREM, for work at a plant in Lincolnshire, England. The project will involve about 400 foreign workers.

“Nearly 2 million Britons are jobless, the highest unemployment level since 1997. As job losses mount, officials are reporting increasing antagonism toward foreign workers.”


Who is thinking about me? London 2005 © Damaso Reyes

The mistake that nearly all European leaders have made is to point out the benefits of integration without honestly speaking of the hardships and difficulty involved as well. It’s easy for people to say British jobs for British workers but what about the hundreds of thousands of Brits living in Paris and Berlin? Should they be sent packing as well? More importantly if you are building an addition to your home are you willing to pay more to hire British? Do you look for Made in the U.K. labels on your jeans? The answer is mostly no. The use of foreign laborers comes from economic demand, the demand that British consumers make. Blaming foreign workers for taking “our” jobs is a cliché so old one wonders why it still works. But the lack of an open and honest discussion about the pros and cons of a greater Europe have left the door wide open for these types of arguments…

Sturovo, Slovakia

Many feel that further integration means a loss of identity and culture. Personally I disagree but what do I know, I’m an American! An interesting article from The Local in Germany talks about the decline of scholarly German in academic publications, an interesting topic.

“The German language is “on its deathbed” in the field of science, the Council of German Culture (Deutscher Kulturrat) said this week. Their figures indicate that just one percent of the world’s published scientific works currently appear in German.

“Retaining use of the German language in science is not about promoting excessive Germaness, and it is definitely not about nationalism. On the contrary, it’s about ensuring cultural diversity and maintaining cultural independence,” council Managing Director Olaf Zimmerman said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that there should be no doubt that German is the lingua franca within the country.”


The writing is on the wall… Heidelberg 2008 © Damaso Reyes


On the one hand I understand the concern; on the other hand Europe and Germany are becoming increasingly international. For better or for worse English has become the linga franca of Europe. If you want your paper read by the other 96% of humanity that doesn’t speak German, you had best publish in English. Other than Austria and Switzerland the German speaking world is very, very small. In one hundred years scholarly written German may very well be something very few people write in. But if your objective is to reach as many people as you can then writing in English is the clear choice. Of course let’s not forget that German has, and will continue to have a huge impact on the English language. But there are some who see the demise of German in academia as another ill effect of integration.

Such is life…