 Spring Time and a New Start By Glen Willard |
Princess Olga appears ready to sprint. St. Andrew looks to clock her speed, while Cyril and Methodius offer encouragement. These caricatures grace our March cover. What is it about March that seems to bring excitement and hope?
Frequently, at this time of year, the weather outside is still inclement: cold and snowy. But the days are beginning to get noticeably longer. Spring is here, though most of us feel it more so around the 20th or 21st of the month, as the vernal equinox arrives, rather than on the 1st as designated by our Ukrainian calendar.
March is the month we celebrate International Women's Day, a very important event and an especially well received and participated-in holiday for Ukrainians. Of less importance, except usually for a few expats, St. Patrick's Day is also celebrated in March...though it has been noticed of late that Ukrainians too, never willingly wishing to miss a chance to have fun, are beginning to wear a little green on that day.
But our cover represents more that just the traditional hope of spring and the holidays that the month of March brings. Princess Olga is crouched, as if ready to begin a race. It is as if there is now reason for hope and a new beginning.
For there has been a revolution: The Orange Revolution.
It occurred over several months just passed. Hopefully what was so deliciously wrought during those times represents only a beginning. The people elected new leaders. Now those leaders must begin the task of attempting to fulfill the hopes, dreams and wishes of those who placed their faith in them.
Perhaps no other people have suffered so much in the past century as the Ukrainian people. Through two world wars Ukraine was a major battleground. Communism, with its totalitarian face, was the master over the lives of Ukrainians for 70 plus years. The people as a whole faired no better than under the previous totalitarian regimes of the tsars. Famines, natural and man-made, occurred. People were displaced, starved, murdered. The people had elections, but still no voice in choosing their leaders. There was environmental disaster, there were deadly coal mine tragedies...there was Chernobyl. All these things together cost millions of Ukrainian lives.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, a new nation was born. For the first time in history the Ukrainian people had a recognized country. That country had all the symbols of a nation: a flag, the trident, emblems, an anthem and, in time, even a constitution.
And with independence in 1991 came hope. But the hope of that beginning was squandered. The leaders that were chosen were not wise. Those leaders, in concert with others, governed for their own interests and the interests of their friends. Again the voices of the people were not heard, the interests of the masses, the common citizenry, were not served.
Because of the Orange Revolution, Ukraine has new leadership. There is a new start. There is a new beginning. Hope has been renewed. The new leadership, working with others, worked hard to get in their positions. They successfully worked with the people and helped energize the people. And the people have placed their collective trust in them. In this, they were aided by the clumsiness, ham-fistedness and even, I would say, stupidity coupled with arrogance, of their opponents and their opponents' backers.
The primary charge now for President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoschenko is simple in concept and it is easy to state: they must work for and serve the people.
That seemingly quite obvious statement is necessitated because it is clear that Ukrainian leaders in the past have not understood the concept. Or if they understood it, they deliberately ignored and abused it. The people must be the sole beneficiaries of the efforts of the new leadership.
If the new leadership understands their duty is solely to the people and understand that they are merely trustees for the people as beneficiaries, then there is hope to be had for the country and for the continuation of the people's revolution.
All of the above seems obvious. What is also obvious is that our new leaders' tasks will be difficult. Much opportunity has been squandered over the past 14 years. The image of the country sank low. Many of the country's assets at the time of independence have been lost, wasted or stolen. Expected foreign investment never came in the quantities expected due to over regulation, inept regulation, general corruption and for other reasons too numerous to cite.
Large tasks are now at hand. The scope of the problems and challenges that face the new leaders are enormous. And the need to act quickly in so many areas compounds the challenges.
Where does one begin?
One can look at the big institutional problems: the judicial system, the military, the size of the bureaucracy. The generic problems. There is corruption everywhere. The legal system is not reliable, import/export controls and customs, the fairness of the tax system, the underground economy. The constitution needs shoring up. Freedom of the press and media must be protected. Some of the "guarantees" under the constitution need significant changes, either through elimination or by indicating that they are only aspirational.
What about the highway system? The country cannot entice industry and trade without providing adequate transporta-tion corridors. Industries such as tourism, which have great potential, have been neglected. Land registration and recordation, a system that protects creditors so lending capital can be freed up.
What about the collapse of the medical delivery system? How can pensions be protected? How can the coalmining industry be reformed so that so many miners will not die so tragically? Ukraine needs better pay for teachers and educators. What to do about so many so-called public officials, who are provided expensive automobiles, even bodyguards at public expense? What about the regions, some fare far better than others-there needs to be equal access to all citizens in all regions to the benefits of the public purse.
Clearly one can go on almost endlessly with the problems to be faced. The above is but a short litany.
Whatever the tasks, our new leadership must begin immediately. Years have been wasted.
A suggestion only here. It might be good to begin with some areas that require only a little in the area of creating even more hope. The leaders should have a long view, for the tasks seem overwhelming otherwise. And to have that time it might be worthwhile to create some immediate perceptions that indicate a direction. These areas generally involve communication with the public. The voters first and the outside world next.
While some efforts have been made, the commitment to certain ideals and goals can be made plain. Examples: A pledge to honesty and integrity in government; a pledge to work to eliminate conflicts in government service, including a pledge to eliminate parliamentary immunity for those who serve in government; a pledge to eliminate bribery in government, particularly to make immediate efforts in those areas that hamper foreigners from investing and trading; a pledge to reduce regulations on commercial activity, etc. These and other forcefully made pledges, understood to be meant by the leadership, and for which they intend to be accountable to
the voters, might create an impression that at long last a government was in power that was opening up to its own people and to the world.
Other "problems" that seem paramount of late in the news such as EU membership, NATO membership, entrance into the WTO, etc. are important, but they will occur more likely if the people's present problems are addressed first.
Princess Olga, as she enters the starting blocks for her race, might prepare herself for a long race, not a sprint. The Saints, Andrew, Cyril and Methodius, might caution that she pace herself.
The new government needs all the best wishes, as it prepares to move ahead to future happy spring times for its people.
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Read also previous issue' articles:
Tourism: Ukraine's Greatest Lost Opportunity
Cars, Cars - and More Cars
The Long Slide Into Instability
Sex, Money and the Modern Dacha
How to Stop Worrying and Love the Property Market
Separating Chornobyl
Fact and Fiction
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