Living History... and it's cold

I think back in the not so distant past when I was in America watching the news. Of course, I'd be saddened and upset about what I saw, but when I turned the tv off or closed the window on my computer, it was gone. It might come up in conversation, but the events that happened "over there" did not directly, or even often indirectly, affect me "here." Now, I find myself in Eastern Europe very much affected by what is being reported on the news. Let me explain...

(As you may have been hearing...) For years, things have been happening between Russia and other countries. A lot of these incidences have been swept under the rug or quickly patched up... until now. While the problem between Russia and Ukraine is commercial, there are very much political grudges involved. Simply talking in the commercial terms, Ukraine has not paid all of its bills to Russia; Ukraine knows this. However, the dispute is how much is owed. Ukraine claims Russia is raising the number higher than previously negotiated. So ultimately, Russia turns off the gas that runs through Ukraine's pipes (which gives Ukraine heat and money). Bickering is now going back and forth as each country blames the other for the hindrance in solving the problem. Ukraine says Russia keeps the gas off, but Russia says that Ukraine won't let the gas pass the border.

In America, I would just shake my head. In Bulgaria, I still shake my head, but I do so in a colder environment. You see, when Russia turned off the gas, they did not just affect Ukraine. They affected most of Eastern Europe and even some of Western Europe. In much of Eastern Europe, offices, schools, and homes are heated by gas FROM RUSSIA. In fact, according to CNN, in many Eastern European countries (including Bulgaria), 90-100% of such buildings do not have heat because of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Now, my apartment has electric heaters in each room, but the families of that 90-100% statistic are struggling to stay warm in this cold winter as just this last weekend temperatures dropped below 0 degrees Celsius.

It is different hearing about the news when it so greatly affects you. The connection came even more clearly when I found out that the school where I volunteer is heated by gas... from Russia... which means no heat. Now, each classroom has electric heaters, but the hallways (which is where I have my ESL classes) are freezing. Furthermore, the building itself is kind of crappy, for when all the heaters are on high and all the lights are on, the system breaks. Therefore, the school must be run without some lights and medium heat.

So Russia, Ukraine, and the EU need to get it together not because of my heat or even this one international school's heat but for all the European families who are having it so much worse.