Cafe Europa – Slavenka Drakulic Essay, Research Paper

Dear friend,

This semester I am taking a history class called ?History of East Europe?. Even though, as you know, I am from Greece, and I have lived there most of my life, I see that I know very little about my neighbor countries and their recent history. It is interesting and at the same time sad to learn that so many people are fighting with each other for a piece of land and independence, while the real purpose is just politicians attempting to gain more political power. Croats fighting with the Serbs, efforts to split Bosnia Herzegovina in parts and all this for what? Only so that some politicians gain power, there is no economic gain?s and nothing related to the improvement of the people?s life?s within those countries. Communism has made them vulnerable and unable to react, because they are not used to democracy they don?t know their rights.

I have been reading a book, ?Caf? Europa?, which illustrates how people today live in East Europe and particularly in Croatia where Slavenka is from. It is really amazing how people in countries so close to us have such different ways of living and thinking.

Slavenka Drakulic is a reporter. Her husband is from Sweden. In her book and the collection of essays she stresses the post-communist era in East Europe and how people are reacting to it, what has changed after the fall of communism and why people are still living with the old lifestyle even though they have the ability to change.

One of the issues she is addressing is the egalitarian principle. She talks about this on her essay titled ?To have or to have not?. Slavenka is a talented reporter and is therefore in a good economic standing. She is traveling frequently to West-Europe and she always brings presents back for her friends and neighbors in Croatia. She does this because she feels obligated (actually these presents are most of the times essentials ? like nappies). People in her home country can?t afford to buy these things. They are used to communist times and fell that everybody should share their fortune. Everybody should have equal things and that?s why the rich should feel obligated to share and give stuff to the less fortunate.

When Slavenka travels to the West she has to take advantage of the opportunity and bring back things that are not accessible to people in her country. The poverty that is still visible in Croatia is incredible. One makes five times less in Croatia than in Sweden and has to pay for even more expensive products. They don?t seem to be doing anything about it though. They live in their poverty they accept it as if they still live in communism. Maybe this is because they don?t know their right?s within a democracy. Maybe because politicians are too busy putting them to fight each other instead of educating them about their new political system and how to take advantage of it.

In her essay ?Buying a Vacuum Cleaner? I found out that Slavenka wanting to buy a new Vacuum from Sweden because she knows it cheaper there, and she doesn?t care that it is not accepted by the Croatian custom laws to bring things back. She has witnessed the way of life in other Democratic countries so she refuses to accept the misery and she is trying to do something about it.

Similarly, in her essay ?On bad teeth?, she realizes that taking care of one?s self is essential for social status, something that has to be taken into consideration in a capitalistic society. It is not acceptable to accept a low status of life, and you should pay a premium in order to build a higher status and maintain it.